mes102

My last two tweets concerning Tilmon(until I see something more concrete about his next move)

It's funny we're talking about this because earlier today, I sent this to a few people: "If someone would have told me after the 2012 MAC Championship game, that in 5 years Dambrot would leave for Duquesne and Groce would be the next Akron coach, I would have told you 'Who's your dealer?" A couple of them answered back: "Those people would say that their dealer is Alex Abreu"

I thought about it before I even saw that tweet. Just mentioned that I wasn't the only one thinking the same thing...

I think Utomi has a chance to really improve under Groce.

Okay, I got you now. He must have like Groce enough though to have all those offers and want to play for Groce at Illinois. Maybe that would carry over to here. IF(and that's a huge if) Tilmon comes to Akron, can you imagine what Groce can do in recruiting in the next few years? It would definitely send a message and foundation for future recruiting.

Today is April 5th, correct? If you look at his Instagram post, it says 12:21 on 4/5/17.

Guys(and gals), there's a reason why I said "Future Zip?" I doubt it happens too. This is a huge coincidence to most people. I'm one of those people that don't believe in coincidences though. All I'm saying is the timing of this, makes me have to question it. He's had three weeks to request a release from his NLI, and decides to announce it after Groce lands the Akron job officially? It was just a thought.

At least I'm not the only idiot that thought this since he posted it on his Instagram at 12:21pm today, AFTER Groce took the head coaching job here at Akron. Tilmon has had 3 weeks to request a release from his NLI. Why wait until after Groce got a head coaching job again?

Okay, just thought the fact that he waited until Groce landed the Akron job to request a release from his NLI meant that maybe he wanted to follow Groce if he got a head coaching job elsewhere.

Future Zip?

With Groce here, I couldn't help but think how Josh could have been in a Bassett/Offutt type of role on this team. I don't think he would put up the same numbers as those two did at OU, but it would have been interesting.

An OU grad's tweets about Groce to Akron

According to EA, press conference scheduled for 11am tomorrow in Akron Student Center

What Illinois thinks of Groce to Akron (post 641 for those that want to skip the Georgetown/Ewing discussion) http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=23769&page=26

LZip, wadszip, and ValpoZip, +1(I'm out of likes) The year they made it to the Sweet 16, they had to face #1 seed North Carolina. Even though Kendall Marshall was out, UNC had a ton of talent on that team. You can argue and say they had more talent on that team than the team that won the national title this year. John Groce and his kittens took the Tar Heels to overtime. - Beating Georgetown in NCAA Tourney - Beating Michigan and USF to make it to Sweet 16 - Taking North Carolina to overtime in the Sweet 16 - Beating #1 Indiana on an out of bounds play(while at Illinois) And a lot of other magical games for him. He finds himself in those games on a consistent basis, and majority of the time, he finds his way to be in them and pull out a win. I much rather have that than have our 20+ wins per season streak continue and lose in the MAC Championship game(or get blown out in the NCAA tourney).

Not only did Archie Miller have a spot for him on his staff, Miller trusted him enough to be his recruiting coordinator as well. The fact he is taking the Akron job over staying in the Big Ten where he could get another head coaching job in a year or two, tells you everything you need to know about how he feels about this job.

Here's Groce press conference AFTER he already was let go at Illinois:

For those that wanted a coach with more than just the one out of bounds play that Dambrot ran? How refreshing is this?

McDevitt

To be honest, on the surface, this isn't appealing to me. However, if he can recruit like he has and connect with the community(aka HS coaches, etc.), then I see this as a win-win. It's a win for Groce, and a win for us. If Groce leaves, then that means we won an NCAA Tournament game or two, and our head coaching job will possibly be more enticing than it is right now.

Since this search is coming to an end it seems, here was the list of names I gave our AD on 3/28, a week ago from today. ========================================== Tom Crean - Former Indiana & Marquette head coach John Groce - Former Illinois & Ohio head coach Jack Perri - LIU-Brooklyn former head coach ============================================ Jeff Boals - StonyBrook current head coach Brian Jones - North Dakota current head coach John Becker - Vermont current head coach Nick McDevitt - UNC-Asheville current head coach Russell Turner - UC-Irvine current head coach Jim Less - UC-Davis current head coach Pat Skerry - Towson current head coach Greg Kampe - Oakland current head coach John Brennan - Northern Kentucky current head coach King Rice - Monmouth current head coach Tim Cluess - Iona current head coach Jamion Christian - Mount St. Mary's current head coach Rick Byrd - Belmont current head coach Ray Harper - Jacksonville State current head coach Brett Reed - Lehigh current head coach Mike Slessinger - New Orleans current head coach Rod Barnes - Cal State-Bakersfield current head coach ================================================= Lamont Paris - Wisconsin current associate head coach, NOW HIRED AS CHATTANOOGA HEAD COACH Travis Steele - Xavier current associate head coach Larry Davis - Cincinnati current associate head coach Kenny Johnson - Louisville current associate head coach Larry Harrison - West Virginia current associate head coach Dwayne Stephens - Michigan State current associate head coach Matt Figger - South Carolina current associate head coach, NOW HIRED AS AUSTIN PEAY HEAD COACH Rod Balanis - Notre Dame current associate head coach ================================================== Brian James - Northwestern assistant coach Steve Lutz - Creighton assistant coach Jerrance Howard - Kansas assistant coach Chris Jent - Ohio State current assistant coach Billy Donlon - Michigan current assistant coach, former Wright St head coach Terry Johnson - Butler current assistant coach