It is top 15 bare minimum. It was widely speculated that Stevens would hold out for Indiana for as long as it takes. Illinois took a shot in the dark and tried anyway. Anyone who bashes them because Stevens turned them down really doesn't know college basketball and should probably just stop making themselves look incredibly stupid.
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butler coach should goComment -
LOL... I'd love to see your list of the top 20 coaches in the country so I could laugh at it.
Why do all of these basketball analysts, who know MUCH more than you do say that Illinois is a top 10-15 job?
Should we believe you over all of these basketball analysts? You have demonstrated you know absolutely nothing about college basketball in your posts in this thread, just so you know.Comment -
IntheDrink,
Rating programs is an inexact science. People will use profit margin/revenue/what kind of arena you have/what ties you have to large recruiting markets/how much $$$ can be spent to improve the program, attract good coaches, good assistants, improve facilities, etc.
You say Illinois isn't a top 15 program but in all actuality, you probably know nothing about Assembly Hall. You probably know nothing about Chicago recruiting. You probably know nothing about Jerrance Howard, who has done a great job recruiting Chicago the last two years.
You know nothing. Why you insist on coming into this thread and spewing your ignorant shit all over the thread is beyond me, but please see yourself out.Comment -
This is not a good job at the moment. Will be very difficult to pass up Indiana, Michigan St, Michigan in the next few years in that conference. Ohio State will also be strong.
Indiana has the best recruiting class in the nation at the moment. Michigan State will always be strong. Michigan has a solid coach and is looking better and better. Ohio State is in the final four. Why would you take this job again?Comment -
what a fukkin clown you areComment -
LOL you are so god damned stupid it is incredible.
You are making the poster baskets look like a god damned genius compared to you.
If you say isn't a top 15 program, when all of the stats and all of the analysts say differently, lets hear your reasoning. Come on... I'd like to hear you analyze the illinois basketball program and explain why everyone is wrong about them being a top 15 program.
What a god damned hamburger. Doesn't know shit and his main argument is 'No, they're not a top 15 program? Why not? Because my opinion is all that matters and I'm a god damned moron.' - InTheDrinkComment -
Doesn't work like that.
List the top 20 coaches in the nation, line them up with the top 20 jobs in the nation, and you will quickly realize there are some Stud Coaches at mediocre gigs, and medicore coaches at Top Gigs.
Look at Howland at UCLA - dude should be gone, and should be filled with Smart, but it isn't.
Tom Crean? Dude is nowhere near a top 5 coach, but he is at a top 5 job.
Illinois is a top 15-20 job, based on the location and money backing.
They'll get an up and comer, but not a current top 20 coach.Comment -
What a god damned moron. InTheDrink has proven that he knows the least about college basketball of any poster on this forum. That is pretty fukking impressive.
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Michigan St was nothing before Izzo got there, now they are untouchable, There is a lot of hope for Illinois, they just need to get a guy who can build it up and STAY there. Groce does nothing for me, or for anyone else i am sure. Look to go elsewhere.Comment -
yeah obviously who the best coaches in the game are is a dynamic thing...howland was pretty high in the ranks a few years ago and is shit now
but then again ucla will lure guys from jobs like pittsburgh so it's safe to call them big time...if a program cant get a guy that's towards the top of their list then they're not big time...simple as that
god help them if they end up with groceComment -
The reason why Illinois is a top job: LOCATION!
Any semi-competent recruiter who can lock up the talent in that state, and keep them from going elsewhere, will be a perennial B1G title contender, and as a result, always part of the national discussion.
That is why I love Romar for this gig.
With the kind of talent you can constantly pull out of Chicago/St. Louis and Illinois rural, will keep even the worst X's and O's coach on the right side of 20 wins.Comment -
If Illinois gets groce, they're going to slide uncontrollably out of the top gigs in the nation.
Right now, Weber made them slide pretty profoundly considering. Groce would be a disaster, and this time 3-4 years from right now, they're hoping some decent assistant at a mid-major will consider them.Comment -
Guys, lets just stop talking about it. InTheDrink says we aren't a top 15 program so that is how it is.
Sorry.Comment -
I'm hearing scott skilesComment -
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nobody wants this shit job...top 15 program....gimme a fukkin break...hahaha what a joke...good luck whoever takes that shit job...Comment -
what proof? you're a funny dude
again...the rumors are that the coach from fukking OHIO UNIVERSITY is the frontrunner for the job
what did he hit the lottery to get one of the best jobs in college basketball after one strong year or is it not one of the best jobs in college basketball?Comment -
You're just insanely dumb. It boggles my mind how dumb you are. what proof? you're a funny dude
again...the rumors are that the coach from fukking OHIO UNIVERSITY is the frontrunner for the job
what did he hit the lottery to get one of the best jobs in college basketball after one strong year or is it not one of the best jobs in college basketball?
Financially, Illinois is worth the 13th most
Sagarin ratings rank Illinois 6th in history.
They have a huge market of players to recruit from... there are boat loads of 4 star and 5 star talent in the Illinois/Chicago area.
They have a loyal fan base and a very large alum base with deep pockets.
Seriously... you have not brought anything to this thread but your idiocy yet you continue to troll the thread.Comment -
fukkin groce would be lost in the big ten at that school
prikk had 1 mini run in the tournament with some shit school
by the time he would be done at illinois if he got the job he would run em so far into the fukkin ground they would think of dropping the basketball program
weber really fukked this team up badComment -
Groce actually hasn't done that bad at Ohio. Considering they were nobody, they are now probably the best program in the MAC. 3 tournament wins since he was hired at Ohio a few years ago. Not terrible. I think if they hire him, they'd be doing it for his recruiting. He seems to recruit his balls off based on everything I've read about him. I don't want him, but this whole talk about Illinois not being a top job is stupid.fukkin groce would be lost in the big ten at that school
prikk had 1 mini run in the tournament with some shit school
by the time he would be done at illinois if he got the job he would run em so far into the fukkin ground they would think of dropping the basketball program
weber really fukked this team up bad
If Illinois is not a top job, why did they get Weber the last time they had an availability? Weber was 'the big name' on the market that year just like Shaka Smart would be this year.Comment -
so again...they're reportedly chasing after a guy at a mid major who's only a candidate because of one season
of course there's fukkin boatloads of talent in chicago....and yet theyve never won shit with it
i suppose the reality is that the strength of the job will come in who they end up hiring...so we'll all see right?Comment -
The real problem is that someone has to be the coach. The only 2 prime candidates out there are both holding out for ELITE jobs. That is unfortunate, but I never claimed Illinois could contend with Kansas/Indiana/UNC/Duke/Kentucky/Louisville.... those are the kind of jobs that Smart and Stevens have earned with their success and they'll get one IF they continue their success.
There really isn't anyone else out there is the problem and it has nothing to do with how great or not great a job Illinois is. Every other good coach is either content where he is or striving for an elite job.
That being said, I really don't think you understand how this whole process works or how one would attempt to rank college basketball programs. Illinois is a very attractive job though and if they do end up with Groce, there is no guarantee that he wouldn't be a great hire. He has turned a bad MAC team into the best MAC team.. winning 3 tournament games in 4 years in the MAC is pretty damn impressive.Comment -
Not sure why PWAD gets so defensive when people say Illinois isn't a great job.
5th best job in a conference (which Illinois currently is in the B1G TEN) means you have to severly overachieve just to win a conference title.
Tried to explain this to you before, but you're too much of a simpleton to comprehend it.Comment -
There is a fire that burns inside John Groce, a determination to succeed at the highest levels. In more than a decade working for some of the titans of the college basketball world, he earned a reputation that included traits such as passionate, driven, tireless and bright.
The work that Groce has put in over the last 18 years has given him an ample taste of that success. He has reached the postseason 16 times in his 18 years on the collegiate sidelines, helping guide teams to a Final Four, two Elite Eights, a National Invitation Tournament championship and numerous conference titles.
As he enters his fourth season as head coach at Ohio University, Groce has wasted no time instilling that same fire into every facet of the Bobcat program. In 2010, he became the fifth coach to lead Ohio to the NCAA Tournament in it's 104-year history. A stirring run through the Mid-American Conference Tournament featured an overtime win on the road in the first round, a toppling of regular-season champion Kent State in the quarterfinals, a victory over archrival Miami in the semifinals and capped with another overtime victory against the defending conference champs, Akron.
The historic season did not end in Cleveland as Ohio advanced the to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 and third time in the last 20 years. The 13-seeded Bobcats faced 4-seeded Georgetown and knocked off the Hoyas, 97-83. It was Ohio's first win against a nationally-ranked program since 1998 and advanced them into the NCAA Second Round for the first time since 1983. The win was also the fifth all-time for the Green & White in the Big Dance.
Ohio led the league in scoring by averaging 74.7 points per game and had five players average 10.5 points or more for their 2009-10 campaigns. The 2,763 points scored last year were the most by any Bobcat team, breaking the previous mark of 2,668 set during the 1993-94 season. The Green & White also finished second in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.366), three-point field goal percentage defense (.312), rebounding offense (37.1), assists (14.16), turnover margin (+2.51) and three-point field goals made (7.51).
While Groce's attacking style of play undoubtedly leads to results on the court, it also benefits the Ohio players when it comes time to collect hardware. Last year, D.J. Cooper was named the 2009-10 MAC Freshman of the Year after an outstanding season. The guard was one of just two players in the nation to rank in the top 15 in both steals and assists which also helped him land a spot on the 2010 CollegeInsider.com Freshmen All-America Team. Armon Bassett was an honorable mention All-MAC performer after leading Ohio with 17.1 points per game and finishing fourth in the league in scoring. Bassett was named the MAC Tournament MVP after averaging 29 points per game and setting a MAC record with 116 points scored.
Already known as one of the premier recruiters in the college game, Groce and his staff enjoyed an off-court success of a different kind during the 2008-09 season as their five-player 2009 recruiting class was regarded as the 10th-best in the country among mid-majors and one of the top-70 in the nation overall by Hoop Scoop Online. Two members of the class were named the best incoming players at their position in the MAC by Rivals.com, while all five were nominated for McDonald's High School All-America status during their final prep campaigns. For this upcoming season, Groce has brought in even more talent with the addition of four freshmen and two transfers.
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next Illini Coach! Isaiah Thomas or Reggie TheusComment -
5th best? So they are behind Michigan? What you don't understand is that historically and even recently, Michigan can not even compete with Illinois. Hell.... Michigan's win at Illinois this year was their first win there in almost 2 decades.
You put Michigan above Illinois based on Illinois' struggles with Bruce Weber. What people fail to do is CONSIDER how good a program can be at its peak, when it has a good head coach. That would be what happened in the Henson era, in the Self era.
5 years ago, you'd rank Illinois above Michigan program wise but now it is reversed? That is focusing WAY too much in the moment.Comment
