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How many teams even started out 0-4 in that time period? Maybe 20%?

QUOTE (ptatc @ Apr 10, 2015 -> 05:47 PM) It's all his fault. It was a mistake. He actually called for a triple. Pfft, only an idiot would ask for less than a HR.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 10, 2015 -> 05:42 PM) Hitting back to back, they have accounted for 4 of the 7 runs the Sox have scored this year. It's not going to last, but I certainly would rather see them than LaRoche right now.

60 pitches through 2 innings is less than desirable.

Good start.

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Apr 10, 2015 -> 11:24 AM) I know that, but the game it is supposed to work for is in about 24 hours and the app is not cooperating with me yet. It's my understanding that they text you 2 hours before game time where your seats will be.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 6, 2015 -> 02:33 PM) They don't wan't Abreu to become a full time DH at his current age, so while it seems they would be better off defensively if LaRoche played more, long-term, it's probably better Abreu gets more time in the field. Hasn't LaRoche really declined defensively the last few years?

Pequod's is probably my favorite deep dish pizza in the city, but I also think Lou Malnati's is a bit overrated... so you guys might not respect my opinion very much

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Apr 2, 2015 -> 11:04 PM) Apparently the Sox are like Illinois and he is looking for Notre Dame type money His mom loves Groce, though.

QUOTE (Brian @ Mar 20, 2015 -> 02:27 PM) Groce was NOT here to see Lovett. Maybe tomorrow but who cares if he shows for a 3rd place game? FWIW: Michael O'Brien @michaelsobrien LoVett broke out in a huge smile when I asked him about Parham watching. Obviously a good relationship there.

Who do you want getting the 5th starter spot while Sale is out, DA?

Ole Miss really trying to get on the not top 10.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 19, 2015 -> 05:00 PM) That was great. The look on the coach's face was almost as good.

QUOTE (Rowand44 @ Mar 19, 2015 -> 04:19 PM) SMU choke job coming up. Alford for 3?

In

QUOTE (bigruss22 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 10:32 AM) Completely on this page. I actually haven't disagreed with too much of what Groce has done, but it hasn't worked out thus far and that's still on him: -Tate - that was an obvious we lost out on everyone and need a pg body and this helps the Simeon relationship. Should never have seen the court this much. I understand the need to take him, but not getting anyone better is on the staff 100%. -Cosby - This blew up so hard, 40% 3pt shooter from the Big East comes in and just s***s his shorts. I loved the transfer when it happened, honestly thought it was a brilliant move to get a piece you really needed in, just didn't work out at all. -Starks - This was my biggest problem, it "worked" out that he didnt get to play last year because otherwise we would've been stuck with Tate even more this year. But clearly we took a player that didn't fit what we wanted at pg and didn't fit whatever offensive scheme we have. This was a desperation move by Groce to get shooting last year, but then he didnt get the waiver and never really fit in besides having a PG title next to his name. Have to add Colbert, Morgan, and Paul to the players that just haven't worked out list as its been 2 years for these guys and we still haven't gotten any production out of them. Obviously, the Paul situation involves him getting kicked off the team, but he did basically hold onto a scholarship spot for the past 2 seasons. It's tough to succeed when 5-6 of the 10 long term players you bring in just don't work out to some degree or another.

QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 09:51 AM) ? This is his roster sans 2 players, one that didn't play, and one that was clearly one of the top three players on the team. I shutter to think how bad they'd be with Morgan/Colbert for 40 minutes. Call me Debbie Downer, but I'm not buying next year, much like I didn't buy this year. Abrams is a 33% shooter (27% from three) and he's still not a true, set-up man PG. Upgrade over Tate/Starks, but he's no where near the level of replacing Rice. Neither is JCL unless he's the second coming. You're relying on Black to take a massive leap....he didn't improve at all really this season. One bright spot, otherwise just thuggery all around. Jordan/DJ shouldn't be expected to do much of anything next year. Few minutes here and there. Finke is a wildcard, but he seems undersized for the Big Ten. And Paul isn't some skilled post player. He shoots a ton of threes. An upgrade over Egwu on offense, sure, but a huge drop off on defense. I predict it's the same year as the last 3 - decent non conference, hovering around .500 in the big ten, sweating it out in March for a bid. Finke is bigger than Colbert, but your prediction seems accurate.

QUOTE (illinilaw08 @ Mar 18, 2015 -> 09:38 AM) Honestly, this has to be a factor when evaluating Groce. The vaunted 2010 class was a bust (though Leonard is one of only 2 current Illini in the NBA). The 2011 class had only Abrams and Egwu as long-term contributors. The 2012 class was empty. Starting next year, the roster is Groce's. His first class is upperclassmen. There shouldn't be a need to bring in anything other than spot transfers at this point (adding a 5th year when you have an open scholarship just seems like good policy). IF: 1) Abrams is healthy next year, the point guard position goes from terrible to B1G average - a huge improvement. 2) Paul and Finke can score from the 5 spot without being atrocious defensively, the offense will look significantly better (Illinois was 6-1 this year when Egwu scored in double figures - including the Maryland and @ MSU wins). 3) Two of Black, Colbert, JCL, Jordan, and DJ Williams are ready to provide consistent minutes (lumped together because Hill can play 4 if necessary). Honestly, I think it's reasonable to expect improvement from Black and that JCL - the 2nd highest rated B1G recruit next year - is ready to play right away. If all that happens, then next year should be a good year. If not, this is another NIT season and Groce's seat gets really warm... The thing that's getting me is that it's obvious that Groce lost the team this year. There were several games where we were playing for our lives, and the team flat out didn't show up. Is he going to be able to get the team back purely by losing Rice and Egwu?

DJ Williams may never be a great player, but he's infinitely more talented than Jaylon Tate. I don't think it's really fair to compare their situations directly. I'd guess that he'll eventually be a solid role player for Illinois.

Shoutout to Brian's boy, Jaylon Tate, and his 0 pt, 0 ast, 2 to, 4 foul line right now.

I knew this team quit about 4 games ago, but wow lol.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Mar 13, 2015 -> 12:11 PM) Courtney Hawkins as a 19 year old struck out 160 times. Courtney Hawkins as a 20 year old struck out 143 times. Trey Michalczewski as a 19 year old struck out 161 times. Would you like to revise your support for putting him above Hawkins or not? Probably worth noting that Michalczewski had 152 more PA's as a 19 year old, though the majority of them were at a slightly lower level. Edit: reading baseball reference is hard.

QUOTE (Boogua @ Mar 12, 2015 -> 04:34 PM) So it's all on Groce that the only upperclassmen on the roster that was highly recruited was Egwu? Groce had to take risks on transfers because of what he inherited. I'm not absolving him of the blame, but to say the trajectory is the same just seems to be a bit of an overreaction. Well, the difference with them being transfers is that they're not freshmen that we have been developing. Starks and Cosby took two years of scholarships and gave negative value. It would be nice if we had something to pair with Black and Finke as opposed to whatever benefit having those two was. Still not sure what Paul will bring to the table. My point mostly is that we're still a middling to bad team which still can't recruit a team that fits together (now on year 4 recruiting a PG/C). How much different from Weber is that really?

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 12, 2015 -> 03:35 PM) Like I said its just strange. Illinois under Weber was getting a good amount of recruits Bo Ryan wanted. Egwu and Bertrand both turned down Wisconsin offers. I'd say Kaminsky worked out pretty well for you guys, though.

QUOTE (Boogua @ Mar 12, 2015 -> 03:24 PM) He's a fine coach when he has guys that can fit his system. He didn't do well recruiting to his system at Illinois and doesn't seem to be doing well at K State either in that regard. The team was about to become devoid of talent. To put it in perspective to an outsider these are the schools where some of his last recruits are playing: DePaul, Bradley, NIU, SIU, San Jose State, and Kentucky Wesleyan. The only three guys that were weber recruits on the team last year were Bertrand, Abrams, and Egwu. You can include Hill if you'd like. That's it. At the end of the day, everything is on Groce. He is the one who took on the failed transfers of Paul, Cosby, and Starks. He's the one who hasn't found any better recruits than Tate, Colbert, and Morgan. He's the one who let his team basically quit on him in several opportunities to get to the tournament. If we're talking trajectory, we've just missed the NCAA tournament for two consecutive years for the first time in 25 years. We still don't have a legit PG or C. We still haven't landed that big time recruit. The trajectory is every bit downward. I guess you could argue the recruiting has been better, rankings-wise, than Weber's last classes, but we're still doing the whole "let's recruit 10 wings and see how it works out for us" thing. He deserves another year, but he has a lot to prove.