Evan Turner @thekidet

Coach Groce's offense is legit. Built for guards. The big ten is going to get even better in the future. Yessir

 

Evan Turner @thekidet

@BP3 you're going to enjoy Groce's offense if he's your new coach, believe me!

 

Evan Turner @thekidet

I hear my old college asst. coach may get the job at U of I. If he does then the illini will have no problems gettin Chicago players

Seth Davis ‏ @SethDavisHoops

"People" have good jobs. AD also scaring em away RT @Devblair: why does it seem people are staying clear of the Illinois job?

Looks like it. Thomas has completely messed this situation up. He needs to be gone if Groce is the hire.

Mark Tupper said the BOT nixed the hire for now. Awesome. I'm actually at the point where I'm rooting for those guys.

Edited March 27, 201214 yr by Buehrle>Wood

The whole hiring process at Illinois has been a joke since day 1. MT is a joke.

Edited March 27, 201214 yr by Soxfest

Illinois is a mess.

 

I was going to joke that the only reason I can see this not going through is that someone realized Groce wasnt black, which is seemingly a requirement for this job.

i dont see that seth davis tweet on his feed. you sure that's a real one?

 

And why the hell would the BoT nix this? Oh I know, because Groce isn't black.

i dont see that seth davis tweet on his feed. you sure that's a real one?

 

And why the hell would the BoT nix this? Oh I know, because Groce isn't black.

 

Yup, I just found it again, it was while he was doing his 20 questions feed with followers. 47 minutes ago, so like 12:40 ish.

Yup, I just found it again, it was while he was doing his 20 questions feed with followers. 47 minutes ago, so like 12:40 ish.

 

ah, ok. i wasn't going back far enough.

Theus! Theus! Theus!

 

 

Since were below the bottom of the barrel anyways, might as well appease to the two crowds we've been ignoring for so long, the BoT and Chicago

Mark Tupper said the BOT nixed the hire for now. Awesome. I'm actually at the point where I'm rooting for those guys.

 

Where did you see that from Tupper? I just went on the Decatur Herald website and didn't see anything. If true, that's, in my opinion, the first truly embarassing moment of this search.

And why the hell would the BoT nix this? Oh I know, because Groce isn't black.

 

Frank Martin would have been considered a minority hire. Just sayin.

Think Bruce would take his job back?

On his Twitter.

It's amazing how much the media can influence people's opinions on the AD and the probable coaching hire.

 

What exactly is it that makes it Thomas's fault that none of the "big splash" hires came to Illinois? I'm sure this will be an easy answer because you were all present for the negotiations. And, since when did "overtures" to coaches start counting as misses for the AD? I would think that if a coach denies interest in a job offering immediately kind of implies that there was no amount of negotiating that would change their mind about it.

 

What exactly is it that makes Groce a bad hire? Is it his track record of being a good recruiter, including actual Chicago recruiting experience, something that the aforementioned "big splash" hires do not have? Is it his ability to win games of actual importance, giving him the majority of Ohio's NCAA victories as well as 2 MAC Championships, something his predecessor could not do despite the better record in the regular season? Did I mention that his entire current team is returning for next year, which would likely mean that we are hiring him a year before he becomes a "rising star," which would give him a very similar track record to one Bill Self? Does he just need a big name to be a good hire? How is that working for Minnesota? Similarly, Tom Izzo wasn't exactly a flashy hire and look how that turned out for Michigan State.

 

Is Groce my first choice? No, but that doesn't mean he is a bad choice.

 

 

Also, Theus wasn't good enough for DePaul or Nebraska, why does anybody want him at U of I?

 

 

Steven Winner ‏ @sa_winner

@MattSpiegel670 RT @MarkTupper In 15 min had calls from good sources saying unhappy trustee was squawking, hire done, then no hire yet.

I am finding this choas entertaining, despite the fact that it's embarassing the university.

Everyone thought USC was embarrassing when they hired Pete Carrol. The rest was history.

It's amazing how much the media can influence people's opinions on the AD and the probable coaching hire.

 

What exactly is it that makes it Thomas's fault that none of the "big splash" hires came to Illinois? I'm sure this will be an easy answer because you were all present for the negotiations. And, since when did "overtures" to coaches start counting as misses for the AD? I would think that if a coach denies interest in a job offering immediately kind of implies that there was no amount of negotiating that would change their mind about it.

 

What exactly is it that makes Groce a bad hire? Is it his track record of being a good recruiter, including actual Chicago recruiting experience, something that the aforementioned "big splash" hires do not have? Is it his ability to win games of actual importance, giving him the majority of Ohio's NCAA victories as well as 2 MAC Championships, something his predecessor could not do despite the better record in the regular season? Did I mention that his entire current team is returning for next year, which would likely mean that we are hiring him a year before he becomes a "rising star," which would give him a very similar track record to one Bill Self? Does he just need a big name to be a good hire? How is that working for Minnesota? Similarly, Tom Izzo wasn't exactly a flashy hire and look how that turned out for Michigan State.

 

Is Groce my first choice? No, but that doesn't mean he is a bad choice.

I'm not asking for a splashy hire. If you have a big name, great. If not, well, you better have a track record as a good coach. And outside of a three game sample size, he doesn't. 34-30 in the lowly MAC and never finished better than 3rd (Bill Self won 71% of his conference games at Tulsa, Bruce Weber won 69% of his games at SIU). Overall, he won just 60% of his games. Who cares what he has coming back to Ohio next year? We're going to base this hire around what he might do in the future in a bad basketball conference? Tom Izzo coached at MSU before. Groce has no ties to the state of Illinois. What is this Chicago track record? He obviously did a great job making DJ Cooper out of South Holland come to Ohio, but out side of that I do not see much.

Also, Theus wasn't good enough for DePaul or Nebraska, why does anybody want him at U of I?

Yea give me Groce over Theus any day of the week.

Nebraska picked Tim Miles over Groce as well. I don't think Theus was ever considered for that position.

Edited March 27, 201214 yr by Buehrle>Wood

I saw a list of schools that Theus went after only to get passed over, that list was not full of prime basketball schools.

Everyone thought USC was embarrassing when they hired Pete Carrol. The rest was history.

I really hope Illinois doesn't become that corrupt.

I saw a list of schools that Theus went after only to get passed over, that list was not full of prime basketball schools.

He's a wildcard, that is for sure. At this point though, it's the only way to save us from a complete PR disaster. Other coaches will be doomed from the start.

He's a wildcard, that is for sure. At this point though, it's the only way to save us from a complete PR disaster. Other coaches will be doomed from the start.

It's already a complete PR disaster.

 

And any coach is doomed from the start. He's not in your eyes because it's your guy, but that won't make one difference. Any hire is the same at this point.