He's officially in no man's land.
He's proven he can take a mid-major to the dance consistently. He really has nothing left to prove at this level.
He also proved he wasn't ready for the prime-time at Illinois.
Not sure getting bounced in the first round every year is the stuff of dreams to make P5's think he's grown/corrected/gotten better from his first stint in Champaign.
Maybe a small step up into A-10 or MVC might give him an opportunity to show he can continue to take programs to the dance but with an actual shot to win a game here or there.
At the very least, I think he's proven he deserves another shot - and if I was an AD I would be more likely to give him another chance than maybe some sort of flavor of the week, less proven type. But I'm more of a stability guy.
This era, who knows.
With the NIL and the portal, you almost NEED a splash hire just to get the donations flowing and portal eyes looking. Can Groce do that? Maybe. But I think lack of Illinois success would be the first thing on every message board and comment section.
There are worse things than making $1M a year at Akron though. He's still so young its hard to imagine he's in the frame of mind that this is anywhere near his last stop.
I think Dayton would be an ideal marriage.
Last Edited: 3/23/2025 10:57:45 AM by M.D.W.S.T