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One of the TNT announcers just said he's been told Shaka will be the next coach at Illinois. Hear anything like that Districtballer?

I hope it's not true...Just because i want Groce to get it...so he can take Cooper and everyone else with him too...

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Man, I just have to say how much I love VCU's style of play. One of the announcers just summed it up pretty well when he noted that VCU is "relentless" on both offense and defense.

If I could wish for one thing, it would be that KD would put all the Zips players on a serious endurance training program so that they could play flat out on offense and defense for the whole game without tiring out. I want to see Zips players begging to stay in instead of asking to be subbed out.

Smart learned a lot at Clemson and Florida where he gained experience working with teams with a ton of athletic talent. He knows how to take that athletic talent and do something with it. That is what a young coach really learns at big time programs. We don't have anyone on our staff with that kind of experience.

Here is how you get players in game shape beyond just weight training. Instead of playing every player under the sun during the OOC schedule, get 7-8 guys in game shape by playing them more minutes. We don't need a nine man rotation. We need 7 good guys and two to take up minutes. Figure that out and the players conditioning won't be a problem.

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If you analyze the number of players the Zips and VCU played this season and the number of minutes they averaged, there's not a significant difference. The VCU players did not get into better shape by having fewer players playing longer minutes in games than the Zips.

Nobody made the comparison.

Smart may be bringing in better athletes than KD.

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LOL. Steve Lavin is talking out of his ass. He has absolutely no connections to Shaka to be able to make such a statement.

Shaka will be in Richmond next year as it stands.

Thanks for the support from Zips Nation! We're losing one player off this squad so we're hoping to be back and making even more noise next year.

Mike Thomas will be doing everything he can to change this.

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That's great to hear that Shaka is among those coaches who recognize the grass isn't necessarily greener elsewhere.

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That's great to hear that Shaka is among those coaches who recognize the grass isn't necessarily greener elsewhere.

...even when he can make twice as much in that elsewhere place! I hope the Rams fans appreciate what they have. Not you District Baller, I mean the casual bandwagon fans.

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Shaka has developed a pretty solid pipeline for talented players at VCU. But to translate that to Illinois he would have had to be successful recruiting in Chicago. Several sources are reporting that Shaka had concerns about recruiting in Chicago, and I'll post a couple of links below. Interestingly, the first link is a Chicago Tribune story that mentions concern about Illinois schools letting D.J. Cooper get away.

It's pretty interesting that first Mark Few at Gonzaga and then Brad Stevens at Butler and now Shaka at VCU have taken mid-major teams to high-major levels, they've all been pursued by high-major schools, and they've all to this point decided they were happy right where they were.

I have to believe that each of them has dream job head coaching positions at schools that they would not turn down, but that none has yet gotten the perfect offer.

Recruiting Chicago gives Shaka Smart pause

Shaka Smart Does Illinois A Favor, Says No

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Here's the funny thing. Groce's name has to my knowledge not yet been mentioned in connection with the Illinois head coaching position. Yet here's the coach who talked Chicago HS player D.J. Cooper into coming to OU, which still burns enough to be mentioned in a Chicago Tribune story. Here's the coach who took a MAC team to the sweet 16 and took the Tar Heels into OT.

Groce could be a killer head coach at the University of Illinois.

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Here's the funny thing. Groce's name has to my knowledge not yet been mentioned in connection with the Illinois head coaching position. Yet here's the coach who talked Chicago HS player D.J. Cooper into coming to OU, which still burns enough to be mentioned in a Chicago Tribune story. Here's the coach who took a MAC team to the sweet 16 and took the Tar Heels into OT.

Groce could be a killer head coach at the University of Illinois.

Illinois wants a minority coach. They are under a lot of pressure because all their football and basketball coaches have been white. So Groce's chances in UC are slim to none. And that, my friend, is equal opportunity :lol:

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Yeah I watched their game tonight and he's got a lot of energy and put together a pretty darn good team there. For DJ Cooper to go 3-20 and still take UNC into overtime says a lot. I especially like Baltic's game. That guy is extremely quick and has great vision for his size.

I suspect Illinois will likely end up with John Groce, and he looks like he could do a good job there given all the inherent advantages being Illinois without any real competition in state and a ton or recruiting hotbeds close by.

After not getting Shaka, the fan base might go 'meh' but it's a hire that looks to show real promise as he gets settled in.

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Groce is definitely on the radar with the Illini:

Who’s left for Illinois?

“I’d put John Groce, the Ohio dude, at the top,’’ the source said.

Butler’s Brad Stevens denies contact with Illinois for coaching vacancy

Groce is becoming a hotter name after the Bobcats advanced to Friday night's Sweet 16 against North Carolina, the team's second trip to the NCAA tournament in three seasons. His Mid-American Conference affiliation is also a common tie with Thomas' hiring background, including new Illinois football coach Tim Beckman.

After turndown, Illinois broadens search

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