NCAA basketball 2015-16 thread

[Dick Allen]

Illinois job >>> DePaul job

I agree, but that doesn't mean he would take it. I would assume he would, but you never know.

 

I think its moot. Groce will be back unless it just gets really embarrassing the rest of the way.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Dick Allen

[southsider2k5]

He makes 250k there and would make 2 million plus here. He'd be in Champaign in an hour if you offered him.

 

Knowing what I know of the Drew family, I kind of doubt it. He could have had a $2 million a year job years ago.

[Boogua]

Ha. I can't see him leaving what he has at Valpo for Illinois. Dude has it made there. He is a literal hometown here. He led their high school to a state title when he was at Valpo High in 1994. The family loves it there.

 

If he is going to leave, it is going to be for a program that doesn't need to be rebuilt from the bottom floor.

He would potentially inherit a soph class that has 4 4 stars (two being top 50 guys) and a 5th in Finke. Not to mention two seniors that average over 15 PPG. The program still needs help, but bottom floor is hyperbole. What Groce took over was bottom floor.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Boogua

[Buehrle>Wood]

Knowing what I know of the Drew family, I kind of doubt it. He could have had a $2 million a year job years ago.

What we know of the Drew family is that his brother left Valpo to take over the biggest scandal in the history of American sports. And at one of the worst basketball schools even outside that scandal. But it's somehow inconceivable for Bryce to leave a for a top 25ish, B1G program.

 

He's a low level coach. Major programs aren't exactly knocking on the doors of the Horizon League.

[southsider2k5]

He would potentially inherit a soph class that has 4 4 stars (two being top 50 guys) and a 5th in Finke. Not to mention two seniors that average over 15 PPG. The program still needs help, but bottom floor is hyperbole. What Groce took over was bottom floor.

 

With what he has done at Valpo, he had plenty of teams try to talk him out of the Crusaders job. Over the years Miss St, DePaul, Tulsa, and even Northwestern have been rumored publicly, and I know others have called him in private. He walked away from all of it, even though it would have been multiples of money over what he was making. He loves Valpo, and it would take a good program to get him to leave. That I know first hand from his family.

[southsider2k5]

What we know of the Drew family is that his brother left Valpo to take over the biggest scandal in the history of American sports. And at one of the worst basketball schools even outside that scandal. But it's somehow inconceivable for Bryce to leave a for a top 25ish, B1G program.

 

He's a low level coach. Major programs aren't exactly knocking on the doors of the Horizon League.

 

No, that is what YOU know of the Drew family.

[Buehrle>Wood]

Yep and it's a ton to go by.

[Buehrle>Wood]

I agree, but that doesn't mean he would take it. I would assume he would, but you never know.

 

I think its moot. Groce will be back unless it just gets really embarrassing the rest of the way.

In the last week Illinois has had a player arrested for attempting to stab someone with a knife and suffered one of the worst home court losses in 100+ year history. This will be hard to top the rest of the way to be honest.

 

Edit: oh Minnesota at home sunday. Perhaps I spoke too soon.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Buehrle>Wood

[LittleHurt05]

With what he has done at Valpo, he had plenty of teams try to talk him out of the Crusaders job. Over the years Miss St, DePaul, Tulsa, and even Northwestern have been rumored publicly, and I know others have called him in private. He walked away from all of it, even though it would have been multiples of money over what he was making. He loves Valpo, and it would take a good program to get him to leave. That I know first hand from his family.

 

Did he "walk away" from DePaul and Iowa State after interviewing or was just he not offered the job at either school?

[Balta1701]

All right...win one in the cornfields next tuesday and you clinch a share, and then you have the Turtles in the place where ranked teams go to die.

 

Let's do this.

[RockRaines]

If there was ever a refereeing crew on the take its in his Iowa v OSU game. Just blatant incompetence.

[RockRaines]

Well they tried their best to give Iowa the win but the ball don't lie.

[Balta1701]

Things I'm not used to saying:

 

Thanks Purdue and Ohio State.

[cabiness42]

So IU clinches share of BIG title.

[RockRaines]

Things I'm not used to saying:

 

Thanks Purdue and Ohio State.

Impressive season by IU

[GGajewski18]

If Illinois loses to Minnesota at home with 4 of their top 7 scorers out, no way Groce survives.

[fathom]

If Illinois loses to Minnesota at home with 4 of their top 7 scorers out, no way Groce survives.

 

Groce stating Thorne could possibly get a redshirt for this season seems ludicrous. Absolutely no way should he be granted one.

[farmteam]

Well they tried their best to give Iowa the win but the ball don't lie.

I have no idea how it took that long to review the 3-point shot and still get it wrong.

 

And wooooohooooo conference champs!

 

I'll take a split from @Iowa/vs Maryland for the outright title. Sounds good to me.

[GGajewski18]

Illinois just got Damonte Williams! Absolute huge get

[Brian]

Illinois just got Damonte Williams! Absolute huge get

 

So Groce stays?

[fathom]

So Groce stays?

 

As someone that saw their favorite program suffer for six years cause they didn't fire Hewitt after he landed Favors....you should never let recruits impact your decision.

[caulfield12]

Being a fan of Iowa is similar to being a fan of the White Sox...

 

Whenever things are going really well, the bottom seems to fall out. This happened two years ago, although at that time fans probably believed with Aaron White and Marble on the roster that that particular squad was superior to this year's. Uthoff is the only player who has a future NBA career on the roster right now.

 

Oh, well. The runs in football and basketball were nice while they lasted. After starting out 9-3 and losing to Iowa State (granted, we were up 20 in Ames), Dayton and ND (two more pretty good teams), most Iowa fans were expecting to barely eke out a tourney appearance and more likely the NIT.

 

Just goes to show how much momentum, confidence and only having two consistent scorers in Uthoff and Jok can allow opponents to game plan and adjust. Iowa could find their 3 point range and smothering defense again, but it feels like it will be hard to reverse this trend.

 

2-3 weeks ago, McCaffrey was National Coach of the Year. Now we're in danger of finishing behind Wisconsin and Ohio State. And it's not like we're getting blown out, we had OSU and Wisconsin both down 6 late but couldn't close. There haven't been any terrible losses, other than at Penn State, but the collective psyche of the fanbase is a bit of a mess right now. They've gone from getting #1 votes for the first time since 1986-87 and a Big Ten championship to also-ran status, seems they just couldn't handle the pressure of expectations.

[Buehrle>Wood]

As someone that saw their favorite program suffer for six years cause they didn't fire Hewitt after he landed Favors....you should never let recruits impact your decision.

Yep. Need to fire Groce now so next coach has a shot to get these kids.

Edited February 29, 2016 by Buehrle>Wood

[Rowand44]

Illinois just got Damonte Williams! Absolute huge get

Never felt so old in my life.

[bigruss]

As much as I've lost faith in Groce, I think it's pretty clear that he is coming back next year.

 

Getting Williams was a huge step though, there's still a chance he turns this around. Will Groce ever reach the potential we saw after his first year? Chances are real slim, but this at least gets us 1 step closer to being good again whether Groce survives or not.