Does anyone know what OHIO is doing to try to keep Coach Groce?  Knowing Ill.  can over pay anything we offer.  Just trying to be hopeful, knowing we have a great team returning next year!

Everyone keeps saying we need to pony up.  We just can't afford the kind of dime he can get at places like Illinois.

We need to hope Illinois finds somebody else, because I'm not sure I see another opening Coach would jump to.

You added an extra "r"

Greetings Ohio fans,
Obviously am an Illinois fan and I come in peace.  It appears the people "in the know" are saying John Groce is who we are going to go after as our new coach since we whiffed on the 2 "super-stars".  First, I know that sucks for you guys.  We went through it with Bill Self when Kansas came calling.  As a mid-major, success usually leads to people coming for the coach.  Kind of an unfortunate fact of NCAA basketball these days.  All most of us know is the tourney run.  Was just looking for your opinions on what kind of coach he is if you all are willing to talk.  A couple questions.

What kind of offensive style does he like to run?  Does he like to get out and run or grind it out?
What about the defense?  Does he play any zone or press on a regular basis?  Does he switch defenses?
How deep does he like to go off the bench?
How do you feel he is as a recruiter?  I know he was Thad's guy for a few years, so assume he is probably solid.

I apologize in advance for any Illini trolls that will inevitably show up on your boards if this moves forward.  99% of the fans are great and the ones online are pretty knowledgeable.  Feel free to head to illinoisloyalty or another of the active boards and talk to us.  We had a couple of great VCU posters during the Shaka-mania we went through for a bit there.

Hey Drew - Coach Groce is a great man who demands a lot from himself and his team.  He cares for the well-being of his players and adores the fans and supporters of Ohio Athletics.  All that other crap doesn't mean as much to most of us, and as of right now he is still our coach...So I'll stop right there for now.  Best of luck in your coaching search.

:)

LOL!  If you guys do not want to discuss it right now that is fair enough.  Have a good evening.

Maintaining a sense of humor is essential in troubled times.

Borna, I hope you are better than your Peyton prognostication!  I worry that  it may be easier for Stevens to say no with Stevens making maybe double or triple what Groce makes.  Illinois wanted to throw a lot of money at Shaka and Stevens, if they quadruple Goce's salary with an offer, multiples years, and a good severance buy out, he may find it tough to turn down this Big Ten job to stay in the Big MAC.  However, he is frankly loaded coming back and would have a superlative opportunity to make a third appearance in the NCAA tourney.  You and other folks are more knowledgabble than I, but with an excellent record, I would venture to say we could earn an at large bid if we somehow trip up in the MAC play offs. He will have a much better chance of earning a return trip with this team than Illinois'  decent roster and tough schedule.  This article from the Tribune also shows that there are new president factors and a board of trustees' preference for a minority hire.  http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-spt-0326-illinois-basketball--20120326,0,1634851.story  .  We may be doomed, Groce is an unmistakable member of  the oppressed bald minority.

Do you have any in mind?  I've been asking myself the same. 

I was expecting Groce to stay (I thought he could do better than Nebraska) until the illiniois talk got serious.  I agree, there is no doubt that the job is damaged good now.  To me, that's the biggest deterrent.  It isn't the job it was a year ago.  If the transition out of the Weber-era had been handled more smoothly, that's a very good coaching position.  You really recruit and win there.  It doesn't have the ceiling that some other jobs we've talked about possess. 

I could argue it either way.  I wouldn't pretend to know what to do unless I knew what's inside Groce's head and all the details of the position. Seems like a big-time gig for him to pass on though.  He's not on Stevens or Shaka's level yet.

Yes, the man who recruited Greg Oden,Mike Conley and D.J. cooper  would go completely unnoticed.

Do you think conference finishes drive hires? Honestly?

It's about recruiting. That's it.

Charlie Coles didn't forget how to coach. He just stopped recruiting good talent. That's why he was run out of town.

Going into Chicago and pulling out D.J. Cooper drives big hires.

=>Nope Brian.

Does not matter that he recruited studs to OSU.  Does not matter he recruited D.J. Cooper to Ohio.  None of that matters.  There are lots of assistant coaches at high major programs who have recruiting NBA players.  There are lots of head coaches at midmajors that have recruited 1st team all-league kids.

Had Miami beat OU in the MAC semis a few years ago and had Akron pulled out the win in the MAC final a few weeks ago, nobody would have heard of John Groce and he would have been considered a ho hum average coach in an upper tier midmajor league.  John Groce's name was all over the place with Nebraska, SIU, and now Illinois because of 2 MAC tourney titles and 3 NCAA wins. 

That is the truth about midmajor basketball.