How do you figure? Seven Big 10 teams made the tourny this year. 

I agree with Bobcat8811. The main point, which many responders missed, is that he had everyone back next year. This provided a rare chance to do something very memorable from a personal standpoint. And each and every year there are significant head coaching jobs that open up and he could very well get an excellent job next year, too. It isn't like becoming the head coach at Illinois is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Yes, Groce would make a lot more money next year, but the special situation at Ohio next season would make one more year in Athens worth it as a coach.

Also, the basketball world is littered with the mid-major coaches who were successful for a couple years at their schools, moved up to the big time at schools who weren't the traditional powers in their BCS-type conference, then were unemployed maybe three years later after they failed to win their league titles.

So, let me get this straight... you'll accuse others of "talking about the birds in the bush" when it suits your purposes, but then turn around and do a whole lot o' "what ifs" yourself. The fact is, Akron DID miss the FG, which, coincidentally, is in the mold of the same kind of close finishes that decide, oh at least 90 percent of all games every played, anywhere, and any time. 

Yes, there are risks involved in staying at OU (just as there would be going to Illinois -- what if, say, your starting five trips and breaks their legs next season?) but when you preach loyalty and sacrifice, and your star player makes some big sacrifices to stay in Athens, well... pardon some of us for not throwing roses at our departing coach. 

As with Groce, I will take actions over words. Let's see now if DJ stays or goes.

And yeah, maybe so many are trying to get to the top, but some still manage to show a little loyalty and sacrifice now and then.

Boom, and boom! Thank you for actually comprehending what I had to say. In fact you probably said it better than I did.

And let me ask all those who disagree with me one question: if you were DJ Cooper, how would you feel right now? Would you not feel at least a little angry and betrayed? You could've bolted for the bigger school, but you stayed at OU out of a sense of loyalty and fair play. And again, with the ENTIRE team returning for one last shot at glory, wouldn't you expect at LEAST the same from your coach? Is one more year really too much to ask? That's why I just don't get the attitudes of some people towards Groce. 

Fairly stated! Whatever else, we agree on the fake-ness issue. It makes you laugh, doesn't it, looking back now on all the tearful post-game speeches, and how he professed his public love for the "special" atmosphere of Athens. Hey, if the rest of them want to still buy the line, then fine -- you know what Barnum said about one being born every minute.
The ironic thing is, they may characterize you as the rube, when in fact they're the yahoos buying the snake oil the barker's selling from his stagecoach. Thanks for your response.

When the base pay of your job puts you in the top 1% of all wage earners, and your company is willing to almost double it to keep you - you really bolt every time?

Don't forget that's the top 1% of all wage earners with your company willing to almost double it -- with the cost of living in Athens.

And again I'll say "DJ Cooper." You know, the guy who had the option of going to Tennessee or Baylor, but chose to honor his commitment to OU. 

Sometimes the cynical view isn't necessarily the right one -- even when it comes to human nature.

I'll do my best now to stop beating the dead horse, especially as I think you've summed it up best. Yours is the attitude I'd expect most OU fans to have -- instead, to my surprise, most here are blowing kisses at the guy who basically thumbed his nose at them, and the entire program. I simply don't get it.

I'm glad you see through all the hogwash -- especially the whole "Illinois is my love, my dream" nonsense. And sorry, nobody who is sincere with all the tears, and all the choked-up speeches, turns around and just leaves that easily -- especially when you've got a school begging you to stay. You have to be downright pathological to act like that. 

And maybe you're like me -- tired of all the coaches who preach loyalty and sacrifice to their players, but throw that stuff all aside when it comes to their own personal gain. Groce had both the contractual and MORAL obligation to see it through one more year, considering that the whole team was coming back. Instead, as the commenter states, Groce chose to do what was convenient for him -- the rest of you be uh, darned.

And not only that, he chose to shrink from the opportunity that might TRULY define him as great -- the shot to take a MAC team even further next season. Yeah, there are risks with that -- yeah the team could flop, and you lose your place at Illinois. But the alternative -- NOT taking the chance -- defines you as a weenie IMHO. 

As you've said, and I agree -- all you expect from Groce is simply for him to fulfill his obligation, his promise. And to realize the true "once in a lifetime" opportunity he had to finish what he started, with probably the best team this school has ever fielded. He failed on both counts. Maybe that makes him just another of the coaching crowd, and we should all just shrug our shoulders, and salute the American way. Fine -- but to throw roses at the guy on his way out the door to Paydayville, well, that's another thing entirely.

And for those of you who still care to believe Groce's claim that Illinois was his "once-in-a-lifetime jump-at-the-chance dream job," I leave you with this little bit of reading:

http://www.therepublic.com/view/stor...OLUMN_7630419/

Quote: David Haugh: Illinois should know its place as coaches say no When hotshot mid-major coaches Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens turned down Illinois, it provided a stark reminder of how good the job in Champaign is - or isn't - in today's college basketball world. But perhaps the most sobering measure of the position's diminished stature came in the last 48 hours as Ohio coach John Groce exercised every ounce of leverage Illinois delivered at his doorstep. When a 40-year-old Mid-American Conference coach making $307,985 hedges at taking over a once-proud Big Ten program and won't agree to do so until his considerable demands are met, it hardly labels Illinois an elite job. If people still were wondering if Illinois was a destination job, now they know. Coaches don't tiptoe to destination jobs. They run. Their hearts set the pace for their heads. They make plans, not conditions. The Illinois plane had filed a flight plan at noon Tuesday scheduled to go to Athens, Ohio, but never left the runway after the trip was canceled because the tenor of negotiations changed, according to two sources with knowledge of the talks. Somewhere, Michael McCaskey hated being reminded of Dave McGinnis again. Groce's 11th-hour power play says Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas got what he deserved in a clumsy search that began nearly three weeks ago. It underscores how badly Thomas needed Groce to say yes - a fact apparently not lost on Groce, who already displayed a knack for making shrewd decisions late in the game.

Given our APR problem, to say he left the program in excellent shape might not be true. It's not a problem he inherited, but its a problem he created while learning to be a head coach.