I am here to tell ya

I was the last one on the Groce to Illinois train. Just like my premonition with Peyton I believed that JG would be here for one more year. I told Fear there were no really good stops on the Carousel this year and thought JG would want to move to a dream job in the hoops world.

I underestimated the allure of the job and I was way wrong on the dream. This is HIS dream job despite all the intangibles and counterintention. He jumped and mandated his condititions to an AD that needed him to say yes badly.

Anyone close to me knows JG despised me and my presence here on BA. There are things that wil never see the light of day that transpired between us but irregardless I always said to his face "I will be here long after you have gone, I have loved this place since the day I got here". 

I am surprised he left, just as I am that Manning left but in the end the money is too good to pass up. I would love to have leverage like that. He is in a very good place for him and his family. I am not angry or betrayed that he left with a full cupboard but I am not an Illinois fan after after living in Chicago for 12 of my most  formative years. JG being there is what he wants and I am happy for him. I will not change my views of Illinois just because he is there. If they are entertaining and palying well I will probably like what he has done.

I look forward to what our AD is bringing in an admire the kids that are going to stay and be the band of brothers JG always preached about. Preaching about things does not often make you something. It is when adversity is presented that the real meaning of what has been talked about and thrust upon you becomes a reality. In his leaving JG may finally get the cameraderie and reliance up on each other JG preached. THey are presented withthe opportunity to  become the band of brothers that is oft talked about, they can come together and offer all their skills to the next coach who make take them to another level with fresh eyes on an already good situation. He may be the guy who can develope their individual skills and decision making processes better. I have no doubt the AD can bring in a guy who understands what is here and is willing to rerecruit every player on that team and tweak an already fine situation.

NO malice or bad feelings about JG, he came, he coached, he made people better, he made the program better and he did exactly what we thought he would. Good memories, opened doors and left the place better than when he came. Buena Suerte Coach.

You act as if you've never encountered a coaching change. It's as naive of a post as I can imagine. I find it shocking you're in the business world and are stunned by the power of ambition and money.

Did you not see Roy Williams leave Kansas? Rick Pitino leave Kentucky? John Calipari leave Memphis? Were you in a deprivation tank when BobbyPetrino left the Falcons for Arkansas IN THE MIDDLE OF A SEASON?

This happens. Get over it. Metaphorically shake Groce's hand in your mind, wish him well and act like an adult.

I sounded like you when LeBron James left Cleveland. Then I realized I sounded like a child, that bitterness is a suicide pill and now I hope he has a good life in Miami.

No, I expected debate, in fact I relished seeing it.   But the arrogance and condescension of those who feel old-fashion loyalty is stupid, backward -- and has never been seen in public in modern times -- can be a little galling.  No one here is trying to stifle debate.  I just wish that folks on the other side, who feel that money is and should be the warp and woof of what makes the world go round, would act a little bit gracious to those like 8811 who appear to see otherwise, even if just to a small extent. 

So now it's immature to suggest there are other things to consider in life besides chasing the almighty buck and climbing the ladder -- and in doing so, I'm not acting like an "adult"? Interesting concept of maturity you have there.

Your LeBron analogy is totally off-base. Read my above post -- I'm not sad Groce left, because unlike James, I don't think he's that great a talent. LeBron made the Cavaliers, so grousing about him leaving is one thing. Groce, on the other hand, didn't drive the Bobcats as much as Cooper did -- and I'm hardly mourning his loss. What part of "Good Riddance" don't yet get? 

And again, if you bothered to read, you'll see I pointed out "real world" examples of people who stayed at businesses for less money for other reasons. So it's hardly "naive" to suggest it happens, regardless of how rarely it does -- the fact that it DOES happen is all that counts.

One more time: I'm not sorry to be losing the "great" coaching skills of Groce. I AM sorry he couldn't recognize the truly special opportunity he had in Athens, and that he chose to cloud his real reasons for leaving and make suckers out of so many there in that "special place" he so tearfully referred to. 

You guys have twisted what I've said and turned it into a "you're whining about Groce leaving get over it!" thing when in fact it was anything but. The fact is, Groce is an OK coach who inadvertently struck oil getting a player whose skills qualified him for programs much bigger than the MAC -- but, ironically, landed at OU because he observed the old-fashioned, outdated concept of sacrificing personal gain and showing loyalty. OU won many a game because Cooper was the best player on the court. Coach apparently didn't realize how dumb-lucky he got here -- which again, is a shame for HIM.

We'll see if Groce can duplicate this at Illinois, when he'll be lucky to have any player on par with the top Big 10 schools. I doubt it, but we'll see. 

No, you're pretty much on target there -- wish the rest of this crew would get that before they go throwing roses at him on his way out.

An anecdote that illustrates what you are trying to say 8811 was an email I received from a dear friend in Columbus who is a BG grad and a long-time OSU fan.  His message to me at the time that Groce was hired at Illinois was entitled "Sorry" and he went on to say that he didn't think that Groce was going to leave based on his televised locker room emotional outbursts and other things the man had said.  Now this is a guy in Columbus, who's reading Columbus media and who, on his own, came to that conclusion.  Let me say that my friend is much more cynical on these matters than I tend to be, so if he picked up on the fact Groce was portraying himself as a maverick and one who wanted to build something special at Ohio with, perhaps, a long-term commitment, it wasn't just simply us romantic old fart hicks in the hills of  SEO who were picking up on this.

borna...gret post.  We'd all probably all like to hear about some of those things that will remain unsaid and I really respect you for that.  Stick around here, I personally like your insights and you are apositive force on this board.

Stand Up and Cheer!

I never said it was the same thing as abuse itself -- I said it was akin to the making excuses part. Please bother to read and comprehend before you go calling something insulting -- that, in itself, is an insult.

To claim I even suggested that -- and not the act of making excuses rather than some act of violence itself -- is ridiculous. And you know it. PLEASE, you are reaching. But I will cease all future references out of respect to OTHERS. Thanks for your concern.

I hope this doesn't insult your sensibilities too much JSF.  Let me tell  you a story.  It starts with a time when I once had a very narcissistic and mean boss.  This person was finally after many years replaced with a very kind and compassionate boss.  At that point one of the women who worked in this large enterprise -- in an entirely different department from mine -- made an analogy to our situation very much like 1188's.  The woman noticed that it was taking us all a lot more time than we thought it should to come out of our collective shells and to start to once again interact in the collegial and productive manner that we once had.  She then opined that we were like a bunch of battered women.  We had gotten so use to being abused emotionally and in other ways on a daily basis that we were having a hard time re-establishing trust.  Virtually everyone involved in this enterprise agreed with this statement, in fact, it was viewed as almost an enterprise-wide "ah ya" phenomenon. 

8811, it's not so much what your opinion is that is crazy, it's how you present it. While I found a good portion of your original post absurd, I actually found a few points quite valid.

It's great you have some examples of people who didn't chase the money. Great. I'm sure in THEIR evaluation of the offer THEY decided it was in THEIR best interest. How loyal was the Apple board to Steve Jobs when they removed him from the compan he founded? It can go both ways. The part in all of this I have an issue with is that YOU seem to think you know what was in GROCE's best interest. You're right that maybe next year there will be jobs open that YOU feel are better than Illinois. Some of you have pined the Big Ten. Fair enough, I suppose, but it's hard to argue the collection of head coaching minds and the success the conference has had in recent years. If Groce wants to remain in the Midwest, to be closer to his family, doesn't that rule out some of the jobs you have mentioned? How many truly desirable jobs are in the Midwest that you know would be open next year? Illinois has great potential, and while he may be looking up at OSU, Michigan State, and Indiana wasn't he staring up at Kent and Akron when he took over for TOS? I mean by your criteria why in the world did Crean leave Marquette to go to the Hoosiers?

I don't buy your DJ to Tennessee or Baylor argument either. What did DJ have to lose? IMO, quite a bit. Possible playing time, not to mention a year on the bench. Groce doesn't have to sit out a year before collecting his $1.4M. And since when did $350k in Athens equal $1.4M in Champaign? I was unaware that Illinois' campus was apparently relocated to the Upper East Side of Manhattan . . .

Groce gave Ohio and Athens his all for 4 years. You don't have to like that he left, but hoping the door whacks him on the way out is pushing the issue.

I wish we could somehow add a like or dislike button to all posts and topics...admins?