Posts Tagged ‘John Groce’

James decommits from Illini

Published by Source on May 30th, 2012

2013 point guard Jalen James has decided to reopen his recruitment after committing to Illinois last September. Though he had previously told Rivals.com that he would stick with the Illini following the hiring of John Groce, the two sides parted ways Wednesday.

Though the guard runs with the Illinois Wolves AAU team and is a native of the state, he is playing his prep ball at La Lumiere School in LaPorte, Indiana. This past season, his first at the school, he was able to team up with future B1G players Hanner Perea, Jay Simpson and Raphael Davis.

James was influential in the recruitment of Malcolm Hill (SG, Belleville East), who is now the only member of Illinois’ current 2013 class. Hill committed to the Illini just a day after James and has recently confirmed his loyalty to the school and the new coaching staff. Hill is a rising star, currently ranked #52 nationally by Rivals.

The news comes just one day after the Illini lost new assistant coach Isaac Chew to Marquette. According to Mike Mullins, James’ AAU coach, James has already been contacted by Marquette, SMU, DePaul, Nebraska and several others. SMU hired former Illini player/coach Jerrance Howard as an assistant this off-season, as they are entering their first season under Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown. Expect to see Kansas State get involved, as their new head coach Bruce Weber is the man who James committed to in the first place.

James tweeted his support for the program shortly after the news was announced: “I wish Coach Groce And The Illini Staff The Best Of Luck In The Future!”

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Posted in Chicago HS Prospects, DePaul, Illinois, Marquette, Nebraska
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Illinois loses assistant Chew to Marquette

Published by Source on May 29th, 2012

New Illinois head coach John Groce scored big when he hired assistant coach Isaac Chew away from Missouri back in March. Unfortunately, Chew’s time in Champaign was short-lived and the coach is already on to his next destination.

Marquette head coach Buzz Williams grabbed Chew to be an assistant for him up in Milwaukee. Chew had originally turned down a spot at MU before taking the Illinois job, so it is assumed that the monetary offer was much greater this time around.

Chew was the recruiter that Groce needed to re-establish the Illini presence in the Chicago prep circuit. The Chicago-native played his high school ball at Wells and was the Chicago Public League Blue West POY in 1994. His Chicago ties will be beneficial to Williams and Marquette, as they continue to compete for the top talent in the city year after year. Williams already has a solid Chicago freshman coming to campus in Simeon big man Steve Taylor.

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Posted in Chicago HS Prospects, Illinois, Marquette
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LeVert a late addition for Wolverines

Published by Source on May 11th, 2012

A former Ohio University commit has made the decision to cross state lines and become a Wolverine.

2012 forward Caris LeVert (Pickering Central, OH) has committed to the University of Michigan after visiting the campus last weekend. Apparently the decision was made right after that visit, but no official announcement was made until this Friday.

LeVert, a friend of current Wolverine point guard Trey Burke, chose UM over Xavier, Dayton and Purdue. He was originally let out of his letter of intent at Ohio U after head coach John Groce left the school to take over at Illinois.

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Posted in featured, Michigan
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Illinois lands Drake transfer Rayvonte Rice

Published by Source on April 26th, 2012

Rayvonte Rice was perhaps the best player for the Drake Bulldogs as a sophomore last year: he led the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and was second in rebounding (5.8 rpg). He was a 2nd team All-Missouri Valley selection and previously was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team – he averaged 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in his first year.

But, after the Bulldogs finished 18-16 overall and just 9-9 in Valley play, Rice decided that it was time to look for a more high-profile team. Meanwhile, back in his hometown of Champaign, Illinois, the Fighting Illini replaced the coach that failed to recruit Rice out of high school. With new head coach John Groce at the helm at Illinois, the path was cleared for Rice to return home for his final two years of eligibility. (more…)

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Posted in featured, Illinois
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Meyers Leonard leaving Illinois for NBA

Published by Source on April 2nd, 2012

Illinois sophomore big man Meyers Leonard will forgo his final two years of eligibility and remain in the 2012 NBA Draft field, he announced on Monday.

Leonard is an incredibly skilled big man and has an NBA-ready body. His maturity has come into question numerous times in his tenure at Illinois, but that really seems to be his only knock at this point. Most draft experts project Leonard as a late lottery-pick, somewhere in the 10-15 region.

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Posted in Illinois
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John Groce hired at Illinois

Published by Source on March 29th, 2012

After a long and somewhat troubling search, Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas has hired Ohio University head coach John Groce to be the next Illini men’s basketball coach. After the job was reportedly turned down by the likes of Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens, Thomas turned to what some media members call his sixth-choice in Groce. But regardless of how he got there, Groce is headed to Champaign with the goal of getting the Illini back in the top half of the conference and into the NCAA Tournament.

Groce seemed like a logical candidate from the beginning – a mid-major coach with ties to the area and conference that has tournament success and a proven winning record. In his four seasons at Ohio, Groce took the Bobcats to 2 NCAA Tournaments, including a Sweet Sixteen run this March. Before landing in Athens – his first head coaching job – Groce spent eight total seasons as an assistant to Thad Matta at Butler, Xavier and Ohio State. He was on the Ohio State staff in 2007 when the Buckeyes lost to Florida in the National Championship game.

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Posted in Illinois, Ohio State
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The 2012 NCAA Bracket is out!

Published by Source on March 12th, 2012

Congrats to all 68 teams that were fortunate enough to have their name called tonight! Six teams from the B1G received spots in the field, as well as local Big East teams Marquette and Notre Dame. Below, you will find a breakdown of who is playing who, where they are playing, and what day the game is on.

UPDATE: Times/broadcasts have been added at the end of each game description.

Michigan State – The Spartans got the 4th 1-seed in this year’s field after beating the Ohio State Buckeyes in this afternoon’s conference title game. Tom Izzo leads his Michigan State squad into the NCAA Tournament for the 15th straight season and this is the 4th time that they have been a 1-seed in that span. This year, the Spartans sit atop the West Region and will face NEC Champion LIU-Brookyln in the first round (Columbis, OH). A first round win will result in a match-up with either Memphis or Saint Louis over the weekend. [9:20pm/8:20cst on TBS]

Ohio State – Despite losing in the conference title game, the Buckeyes were given a 2-seed in this year’s East Regional (Syracuse is the 1). They will face off with 15-seed MAAC winner Loyola (MD) in the first round and would face either 7-seed Gonzaga or 10-seed West Virginia after that. Those games will be played in Pittsburgh. This is the 6th NCAA berth in head coach Thad Matta’s 8 seasons in Columbus and the 3rd time the Buckeyes have been a 2-seed in that time. They were also a top seed twice, including last season. [9:50/8:50p on TNT]

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Posted in featured, Indiana, Marquette, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin
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