John Groce Officially Hired

[NWAkron]

11 hours ago, LoyalZIP said:

 

Zips to the Final Four confirmed. Who is our Sister Jean equivalent? Gerry Faust?

I think "Clark Griswold" will be our Sister Jean.  This is such good news. for the program and the university.  He's a popular coach.  I fear that COVID set him and the program back a few years and this gives him the opportunity to "reboot" and keep moving forward.   I've read that Marshall and Edwards are leaving, but I haven't seen anything on Currie.

[clarkwgriswold]

57 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

I think "Clark Griswold" will be our Sister Jean.  This is such good news. for the program and the university.  He's a popular coach.  I fear that COVID set him and the program back a few years and this gives him the opportunity to "reboot" and keep moving forward.   I've read that Marshall and Edwards are leaving, but I haven't seen anything on Currie.

I have my wheelchair, rosary and lap blanket ready to go.

 

Currie announced his departure on Twitter.  To his credit, he did not ask us to "respect his decision."

 

 

[Blue & Gold]

1 hour ago, NWAkron said:

I think "Clark Griswold" will be our Sister Jean.  This is such good news. for the program and the university.  He's a popular coach.  I fear that COVID set him and the program back a few years and this gives him the opportunity to "reboot" and keep moving forward.   I've read that Marshall and Edwards are leaving, but I haven't seen anything on Currie.

I haven't heard anything on Edwards.

[NWAkron]

33 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I have my wheelchair, rosary and lap blanket ready to go.

 

Currie announced his departure on Twitter.  To his credit, he did not ask us to "respect his decision."

 

 

Currie wasn't the Great...Hope you all expected.

[kreed5120]

I'd honestly be surprised to see Groce here in 5 years and that's not necessarily a bad thing. If he keeps doing what he's been doing, he's going to get noticed

[RowdyZip]

 

15 hours ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

I saw this thread get bumped and thought it was going to be a departure post. Incredibly good news. 5 more seasons means 2-3 trips minimum to the Big Dance, and probably 3-4 NCAA Tourney wins in there. I have no doubts. 

 

Happy we have Groce under contract and simultaneously protect the U's finances should he leave, but can we pump the brakes and get back to a MAC Championship first?

[clarkwgriswold]

Yep, the contract is nice in that it rewards his efforts and is a nice thing to point to with recruits, but he'll not fulfill it if he lives up to expectations. 

[NWAkron]

What's the penalty if he leaves early?

[Zipmeister]

9 hours ago, NWAkron said:

I think "Clark Griswold" will be our Sister Jean.  This is such good news. for the program and the university.  He's a popular coach.  I fear that COVID set him and the program back a few years and this gives him the opportunity to "reboot" and keep moving forward.   I've read that Marshall and Edwards are leaving, but I haven't seen anything on Currie.

 

Talk about strange twists of fate.... Clark used to date Sister Jean before she became a nun. In fact she said that experience is what drove her to become a nun.

[Sergeant Zip]

On 3/31/2021 at 4:16 PM, NWAkron said:

What's the penalty if he leaves early?

 

According to Crains, "if Groce leaves for another job, Akron would be due buyouts that range from $400,000 (in 2021-22) to $250,000 (during the 2022-23, '23-24 and '24-25 seasons). The exception is 2025-26. If Groce leaves at that point, there is no buyout, since his contract would be expiring."

[Let'sGoZips94]

I didn't know where to post this, but this is somewhat of a "where do I expect Akron to be" thread...

 

Caris LaVert just got traded to the Cavaliers. The 6'6" Columbus, OH, product will be a home-team player in Ohio for what was almost the 3rd time in his career. I say almost, because he signed his NLI to play for Groce's OU team before decommitting when Groce left for Illinois. 

 

Groce, at OU, had 3 NCAA tournament wins in 4 seasons. Following the 3rd win (which resulted in a trip to the Sweet Sixteen), Groce was hired by Illinois. That Sweet Sixteen team returned in 2012-13, and was poised to add Mr. LaVert to that already-successful squad. 

 

When he was hired away, I told my dad, "Thank goodness. Groce was about to build a dynasty at OU."

 

COVID killed the quick momentum Groce had rebuilt at Akron. We were poised to make a run in the 2020 NCAA tournament (assuming we would've won the MAC tourney) with that incredible squad led by LCJ, Cheese, Banks, and X1.0. We had the guard last season in LCJ, but lost the supporting pieces (I'm assuming COVID put a damper on the recruiting process as well). Now we have some nice pieces, but are young and lack that killer guard. I think this upcoming recruiting class fixes that issue, and we'll have this same team for a couple years because of the COVID eligibility rules. 

 

Given this information and what we're seeing this season, "progress" to me looks like getting back to what we were building with the 2019-2020 team, which was similar to what Groce had built with his DJ Cooper-led squad at OU. That squad was able to land a commitment from a player of Caris LaVert's caliber. I want to see that here (plus the NCAA Tourney wins).

[NWAkron]

I didn't know where to post this, but this is somewhat of a "progress" post.

 

Caris LaVert just got traded to the Cavaliers. The 6'6" Columbus, OH, product will be a home-team player in Ohio for what was almost the 3rd time in his career. I say almost, because he signed his NLI to play for Groce's OU team before decommitting when Groce left for Illinois. 

 

Groce, at OU, had 3 NCAA tournament wins in 4 seasons. Following the 3rd win (which resulted in a trip to the Sweet Sixteen), Groce was hired by Illinois. That Sweet Sixteen team returned in 2012-13, and was poised to add Mr. LaVert to that already-successful squad. 

 

When he was hired away, I told my dad, "Thank goodness. Groce was about to build a dynasty at OU."

 

COVID killed the quick momentum Groce had rebuilt at Akron. We were poised to make a run in the 2020 NCAA tournament (assuming we would've won the MAC tourney) with that incredible squad led by LCJ, Cheese, Banks, and X1.0. We had the guard last season in LCJ, but lost the supporting pieces (I'm assuming COVID put a damper on the recruiting process as well). Now we have some nice pieces, but are young and lack that killer guard. I think this upcoming recruiting class fixes that issue, and we'll have this same team for a couple years because of the COVID eligibility rules. 

 

Given this information and what we're seeing this season, "progress" to me looks like getting back to what we were building with the 2019-2020 team, which was similar to what Groce had built with his DJ Cooper-led squad at OU. That squad was able to land a commitment from a player of Caris LaVert's caliber. I want to see that here (plus the NCAA Tourney wins).

 

Excellent summary.    There was an academy award winning cast for the 2020 team until DeWine wiped out the tournament because of 4 cases in Cleveland.    But we know there are no guarantees at Rocket Mortgage.  I was dreading that first round game against OU.    I think eliminating the bottom 4 adds fairness to the tournament.  As I posted elsewhere, if an 11 or 12 seed won that basically gave the 3rd or 4th seed a ticket to the semis meanwhile the #1 seed was stuck playing a feisty 7 or 8 seed.

 

As for this year, I absolutely want the Zips to win every single game but if they keep going as they are with maybe another loss or two along the way they will be well-positioned in Cleveland.  So many years the Zips were #1 or #2 and there was all this talk about at large bids and those early brackets and tons of over-confidence.  I'm fine not having that extra pressure and maybe it keeps the team humbler (but what do I know).  I do know if you want to throw up in your mouth a little got over to Kitten Attack and look at the most insufferable fans in the MAC (except for the nice guy who posted on her after the OU game) "blanking" all over their keyboards and brimming with bravado.

[LoyalZIP]

Great post @Let'sGoZips94. Groce was a fairly obvious hire and though that first team he had in 2017-2018 was downright hard to watch most of the time, they showed some tremendous flashes that made me very excited for the future, especially knowing that short little guard sitting out is supposed to be pretty good.

 

Fast forward to 2018-2019, Cheese and LCJ lead the back court along with Ivey, nearly beating a ranked Clemson team in an early season tournament. Unfortunately, that team couldn't win a close game to save its life. But high-level defense and loads of back court potential led to a blowout win against Kent and a home MAC tournament game before a destruction against Buffalo. Believe it or not, this team was rated #2 in the MAC in KenPom at something like 108.

 

Then Team 119. What a special team. My favorite Akron team ever, quite possibly. Sure, they could have blown the QF game in Cleveland, but the fact that they didn't even get the chance to compete while programs like Buffalo skated losing to the 12-seed in the first round makes it all more painful. That team was nearly perfectly put together. 

 

Then COVID nukes nonconference play and the preseason and despite that, Akron started MAC play 12-3 before a bit of a collapse and then coming within a bucket of playing in the MAC title. And coming into this year, they should've beat Ohio State and outside of two clunkers that could've in hindsight been the result of a broken locker room caused by Whitford's Saboteur KJ Walton (I'm joking...or am I?), they've played some really nice basketball even with a big interruption after they began to play their best basketball. 

 

Yes, I am biased. Yes, I am a homer. No, I am not making excuses for the shortcomings. But there's been a lot of adversity thrown at the program over 5 years, and Groce & Co. have pretty much stayed the course and trusted the process all the way. I admire him a great deal, and I'm very happy to have him leading the program.

 

What I like the most about Groce is the type of culture he has instilled. The teamism stuff can be annoying and seem silly, but we saw what true teamism is in that championship team. It was next man up, hard-nosed defense, high effort, good attitude in every game, they were so easy to love. Also, the general emphasis on conditioning and defense is something I love and has been important in getting the edge on teams late in games and competing with the big boys like Louisville, WVU, Ohio State when we do play them. It's almost like the obnoxious Heat Culture in the NBA. You love it when you have it, and hate it when you compete against it.

 

I have said it before, Akron fans are very lucky and very spoiled. There will come a time where the program doesn't have these kinds of expectations that we've had for nearly 20 years now, at a traditionally lousy Mid-Major program. I'd love to have Groce here for the long-run, at least a couple more years maybe. I'm sure his thoughts on the "Akron job" have changed since he took it. He probably thought of it as a three-year rental until the next pay day, but maybe, just maybe, he's gotten comfortable at Akron and has pulled a Moorhead, realizing that it's a bit more fun to coach when the bright lights aren't on you and you don't have to compete with the best programs in the country every year. 

 

At the end of the day, Dambrot has proven you can build a winning program at Akron. John Groce has proven you can build a winning program at Akron. That's a great selling point on the job as a whole for when it comes time to bring in a new leader again. But until then, in Groce We Trust! Go Zips!

 

 

[LZIp]

Well said everyone. This team could still pull something off we don't expect, as we were a miracle buzzer beater away from beating OSU at their place (though we had a bit of a miracle ourselves the play before). While I hope we can exceed expectations as we wrap up the season, I also believe we are one piece away from having one of those DJ Cooper/LCJ magical teams. Unfortunately its a pretty big piece. Lets hope we can retain who we want heading into next season and one of these 4 young guards can turn into the next LCJ or Cooper.

 

I also am kind of disappointed that COVID has somewhat took away from the John Groce experience - not just for us, but for him. The JAR was so much fun with those Zeke, Big Dog, Tree, etc teams. And I believe the atmosphere was finally starting to get back where it should be at that Kent St game to close out the regular season in 2020, then boom, COVID.

Edited February 8, 2022 by LZIp

[zippy5]

I think Walton was basically our LCJ replacement. And not that we could ever just replace him, but he was the one to make up a bulk of what we could replace there. So you go all offseason prepping for one guy to be your leader and he goes kaput. I'm not saying it's a lost season, but anything we end up accomplishing is really gravy to me this year. That's a big loss to overcome, even though he only played a couple games for us.

[LoyalZIP]

1 hour ago, zippy5 said:

I think Walton was basically our LCJ replacement. And not that we could ever just replace him, but he was the one to make up a bulk of what we could replace there. So you go all offseason prepping for one guy to be your leader and he goes kaput. I'm not saying it's a lost season, but anything we end up accomplishing is really gravy to me this year. That's a big loss to overcome, even though he only played a couple games for us.

He was definitely going to fill the huge void of a true slasher/scorer type like Tyler Cheese gave us, minus Cheese’s perimeter shooting. On paper, this was an easy team to get excited for, especially considering they had Ohio State on the ropes. This has been a strange roller coaster of a season for sure. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

1 hour ago, LZIp said:

And I believe the atmosphere was finally starting to get back where it should be at that Kent St game to close out the regular season in 2020, then boom, COVID.

 

 

 

The free throw shooting from that team... They were destined... They were the Chosen Ones... 😭

[kreed5120]

I really don't think we had the perimeter scorers for KJ to be a real solution. Think about it anytime you had Walton, Tribble, and Freeman in the lineup that's 3/5 players on the court that are no threat from beyond the arc. That just allows the opponents to pack the paint, which makes it easy to double Freeman in the low and it allows defenses to cut off Walton and Tribble drives to the hoop.

 

It's a big reason why I felt we played so bad in Florida. Teams were leaving us unguarded behind the 3 point arc just daring us to shoot and we just kept missing.

[NWAkron]

On 2/7/2022 at 3:26 PM, Let'sGoZips94 said:

I didn't know where to post this, but this is somewhat of a "where do I expect Akron to be" thread...

 

Caris LaVert just got traded to the Cavaliers. The 6'6" Columbus, OH, product will be a home-team player in Ohio for what was almost the 3rd time in his career. I say almost, because he signed his NLI to play for Groce's OU team before decommitting when Groce left for Illinois. 

 

Groce, at OU, had 3 NCAA tournament wins in 4 seasons. Following the 3rd win (which resulted in a trip to the Sweet Sixteen), Groce was hired by Illinois. That Sweet Sixteen team returned in 2012-13, and was poised to add Mr. LaVert to that already-successful squad. 

 

When he was hired away, I told my dad, "Thank goodness. Groce was about to build a dynasty at OU."

 

I like to peruse Kitten Spot after their losses and found this:

 

Groce’s Bobcats beat Michigan, he leaves for Illinois. Because of that, LeVert goes to Michigan cause Groce had no open spots. LeVert & Beilein slay Groce. LeVert to NBA. Groce gets fired, goes to Akron. Beilein goes to Cleveland, gets fired. LeVert to Cleveland.

But also, before Michigan Beilein was at WVU (because Dan Dakich is a certified idiot). After Beilein went to Michigan, Huggins came to WVU. Huggins got his start at Akron. Who came with Huggins to WVU from Kansas State? Former Ohio Head Coach Billy Hahn.

[LZIp]

37 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

I like to peruse Kitten Spot after their losses and found this:

 

Groce’s Bobcats beat Michigan, he leaves for Illinois. Because of that, LeVert goes to Michigan cause Groce had no open spots. LeVert & Beilein slay Groce. LeVert to NBA. Groce gets fired, goes to Akron. Beilein goes to Cleveland, gets fired. LeVert to Cleveland.

But also, before Michigan Beilein was at WVU (because Dan Dakich is a certified idiot). After Beilein went to Michigan, Huggins came to WVU. Huggins got his start at Akron. Who came with Huggins to WVU from Kansas State? Former Ohio Head Coach Billy Hahn.

[NWAkron]

Looking back on this season, I was struck by what happened with KJ Walton.  I remember an interview Groce gave and he talked about sitting Walton down and lecturing him about how things were going to be on the team.  A few weeks later he left.  This is total conjecture on my part but Groce seems to have these expectations that aren't going to be met by this group of players.  I hesitate to compare men's to women's basketball but watch Melissa Jackson and she has such a good attitude during the game and the players seem to respond to her.  Groce and Ford seem angry all the time.  They certainly have reason to be but not sure anyone other than Freeman responds to them.  I see this basketball program going the route of Bowling Green.  Groce is highest or second highest paid coach in the MAC and is now is dropping into the middle of the conference.  This team isn't winning a game in Cleveland.  This is painful basketball to watch even when they win.

[Let'sGoZips94]

The sky is not falling with the program. This season blows. Groce has the solutions coming in. 

 

I'm glad he has high standards. His brand of basketball is fun to watch. He just needs a normal recruiting cycle to get the talent in here to execute it.

[NWAkron]

2 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

The sky is not falling with the program. This season blows. Groce has the solutions coming in. 

 

I'm glad he has high standards. His brand of basketball is fun to watch. He just needs a normal recruiting cycle to get the talent in here to execute it.

Do you still want Ali, Xavier, and Trimble to hit the transfer portal?

[LoyalZIP]

Groce has been coaching his ass off this year. The team has largely overachieved all year, especially with the departure of Walton. My biggest knock on Groce is him missing on Maishe Dailey and Walton these last two years. Two experienced senior leader wings/guards from the portal have contributed absolutely nothing (outside of Dailey GW vs. Toledo). That has made a world’s difference and it’s something that cannot happen again. If you add a true slasher wing to this lineup like Walton right now, Akron is a 3-loss MAC team MAX at the moment. If doesn’t count, though, and perhaps a 7th year Mizzou flameout-turned-best player on Ball State was doomed from the start. Players come to Akron knowing the expectations of the staff and knowing what they are going to go through, how Walton slipped through the cracks, I have no idea. But Groce gets these kinds of players because they like playing for a coach that will get after them and coach them. During games, if you sit close you can hear and see that his animation and in-game coaching is very little anger. There are moments, like Tuesday, where he does get visibly upset. But he does that no more than any other coach in the league. 
 

This group would benefit greatly from KD’s buddy Dr. Joseph Carr, sports psychologist that we would see hang around the team come this time every year. Trimble is further in his head than he is behind the 3pt line. X is broken, he was a 90% foul shooter and is now lucky to split. Ali briefly pulled his head out of his ass tonight only to shove it in twice as far with ANOTHER technical foul, he may have the most of any Zip in a season I can remember. It’s got to be 4-5 now, at least. Groce has a group of tough, good basketball players. Unfortunately, outside of a couple of games and moments, none of them (Freeman excluded) are great, championship-level leaders. 
 

If this slide continues, it will be interesting to see what kind of house-cleaning is done in addition to the assumption that Wynn leaves as well. I’m not looking at the scholarship chart at the moment, but once Nate Johnson and Mitchell play, plus Tavari Johnson comes in as a freshman, there will be an awful lot of cooks in the kitchen. I’m hugely disappointed in what this season has developed into, but I can’t say I’m surprised. And I’m not concerned about the structural integrity of the organization as a whole, either. The program has faced a lot of adversity and BS the last few years and has rarely gotten to a point of breaking-not-bending. But right now, the Zips are flat out broken. There is no disputing that. 

[Let'sGoZips94]

9 hours ago, NWAkron said:

Do you still want Ali, Xavier, and Trimble to hit the transfer portal?

 

Yes - more so X and Trimble, but Ali's attitude and lack of "teamism" has pissed me off as of late. Add Wynn to that, because he clearly isn't meeting Groce's expectations. 

Edited February 18, 2022 by Let'sGoZips94