John Groce Officially Hired

[clarkwgriswold]

2 hours ago, zips4life20 said:

aging well

 

???

[clarkwgriswold]

I wonder if this team's run will result in the return of some of the fair weather blue seaters who departed when KD left.

[NWAkron]

58 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I wonder if this team's run will result in the return of some of the fair weather blue seaters who departed when KD left.

the seats were filled at the end of the 2020 season.  COVID was a bigger culprit.  Having that proven winning team will bring them back.

[zips4life20]

On 3/14/2022 at 9:27 AM, clarkwgriswold said:

 

???

this is what i said..

 

Very Typical of John Groce teams. 5 or 6 MAC loses then run the tourney. never finished higher than 3rd in the east at OU but didnt have issues winning the tourney or getting post season wins. He reminds me a lot of Tom Izzo. Realizes the regular season is practice for the postseason

[LZIp]

Well to his credit, Groce did win the MAC regular season in 2020 and 3rd in the conference (would have been 2nd in East) in 2021.

[Let'sGoZips94]

25 minutes ago, LZIp said:

Well to his credit, Groce did win the MAC regular season in 2020 and 3rd in the conference (would have been 2nd in East) in 2021.

 

I didn't think it was a slam on Groce. The regular season is largely meaningless and truly is practice for the postseason. 

[LZIp]

11 minutes ago, Let'sGoZips94 said:

 

I didn't think it was a slam on Groce. The regular season is largely meaningless and truly is practice for the postseason. 

I didn't necessarily think so either, more so just pointing it out.

[kreed5120]

I wouldn't necessarily say the regular season is meaningless. It still matters for seeding (both in Cleveland and in the tourney) and also can secure a NIT bid bid as a consolation prize, which is vastly better than CBI bid. The tournament definitely carries more weight. No doubt about that.

[Blue & Gold]

1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

I wouldn't necessarily say the regular season is meaningless. It still matters for seeding (both in Cleveland and in the tourney) and also can secure a NIT bid bid as a consolation prize, which is vastly better than CBI bid. The tournament definitely carries more weight. No doubt about that.

I definitely want to be in the top 3 next year.  The 4-5 MAC Tourney quarterfinal round is a tough road.  Though it did make it fun running the Buffalo-Toledo-KSUcks gauntlet.

Edited March 15, 2022 by Blue & Gold

[Blue & Gold]

...

Edited March 15, 2022 by Blue & Gold

[zipsrule]

35 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

I definitely want to be in the top 3 next year.  The 4-5 MAC Tourney quarterfinal round is a tough road.  Though it did make it fun running the Buffalo-Toledo-KSUcks gauntlet.

Completely agree.  While it makes a nice run if you win, it's not a path you want every year.

[NWAkron]

28 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

I definitely want to be in the top 3 next year.  The 4-5 MAC Tourney quarterfinal round is a tough road.  Though it did make it fun running the Buffalo-Toledo-KSUcks gauntlet.

Agree.  This regular season doesn't count schtick is a risky maneuver.  That 4/5 game was inches or a bank shot away from ending all this on Thursday.  I think this year Groce and Ford needed to adapt on the fly.  Next year probably wont need to do that.  Between 2010 and 2012, was 2011 and DJ Cooper and friends were a 5 seed and lost in the quarters to Ball State a 4 seed in OT. I would love to see a replay of that game.

[LoyalZIP]

4 hours ago, NWAkron said:

Agree.  This regular season doesn't count schtick is a risky maneuver.  That 4/5 game was inches or a bank shot away from ending all this on Thursday.  I think this year Groce and Ford needed to adapt on the fly.  Next year probably wont need to do that.  Between 2010 and 2012, was 2011 and DJ Cooper and friends were a 5 seed and lost in the quarters to Ball State a 4 seed in OT. I would love to see a replay of that game.

 

I vaguely remember this game. It was a very late game when that side of the bracket used to play in the evening. There was a handful of Ball State fans that had a box of pom poms that were red and white. My buddy and I went up to them and asked if we could have some and they were gracious enough to give us some. We cheered our butts off against OU that night!

[dirtyolcrowe]

Xavier job opened up today.  That’s the only job that scares me about reaching out to Groce.  

[clarkwgriswold]

On 3/15/2022 at 10:48 AM, zips4life20 said:

this is what i said..

 

Very Typical of John Groce teams. 5 or 6 MAC loses then run the tourney. never finished higher than 3rd in the east at OU but didnt have issues winning the tourney or getting post season wins. He reminds me a lot of Tom Izzo. Realizes the regular season is practice for the postseason

Gotcha.  I didn't get the reference to the Ball State post I made.  

[zipsrule]

9 minutes ago, dirtyolcrowe said:

Xavier job opened up today.  That’s the only job that scares me about reaching out to Groce.  

With the current team plus next year's incoming class, I'm hoping Groce would be here at least a few more years.

[kreed5120]

22 minutes ago, dirtyolcrowe said:

Xavier job opened up today.  That’s the only job that scares me about reaching out to Groce.  

They just beat CSU yesterday to advance in the NIT. Seems like odd timing to fire your head coach while you're in the middle of a post-season tournament

[Hilltopper]

47 minutes ago, dirtyolcrowe said:

Xavier job opened up today.  That’s the only job that scares me about reaching out to Groce.  

"There's always a chance, too, that an established coach with a pretty good gig sees Xavier as an opportunity for a reset. (A la Shaka Smart leaving Texas for Marquette last offseason.) Who that would be is anyone's guess. Beyond that, you get to the standard list of successful mid-major coaches, some of whom are relatively local: Cleveland State's Dennis Gates, Wright State's Scott Nagy, Toledo's Tod Kowalczyk."

 

From The Athletic 

[Let'sGoZips94]

10 minutes ago, Hilltopper said:

"There's always a chance, too, that an established coach with a pretty good gig sees Xavier as an opportunity for a reset. (A la Shaka Smart leaving Texas for Marquette last offseason.) Who that would be is anyone's guess. Beyond that, you get to the standard list of successful mid-major coaches, some of whom are relatively local: Cleveland State's Dennis Gates, Wright State's Scott Nagy, Toledo's Tod Kowalczyk."

 

From The Athletic 

 

Imagine Toledo losing Tod K after choking their best opportunity to win the MAC in 40 years.

[NWAkron]

37 minutes ago, kreed5120 said:

They just beat CSU yesterday to advance in the NIT. Seems like odd timing to fire your head coach while you're in the middle of a post-season tournament

Barely beat CSU, who had a player shorter than Big Dog but twice as wide.  And that firing is a reminder that those power conference schools see their coaches as expendable.

[Let'sGoZips94]

3 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Barely beat CSU, who had a player shorter than Big Dog but twice as wide.  And that firing is a reminder that those power conference schools see their coaches as expendable.

 

Which is a huge reason for Groce to stay at Akron. He can build something special here. 

[kreed5120]

19 minutes ago, NWAkron said:

Barely beat CSU, who had a player shorter than Big Dog but twice as wide.  And that firing is a reminder that those power conference schools see their coaches as expendable.

Yes, I'm not surprised he was fired. Just that they didn't wait to until after the NIT to do it. 

[72 Roo]

My opinion is that Groce will leave for a better position right before his kids go to high school because once in HS he may not want to pull them out. Knowing the family man he is I think he cares about their experiences and does not want to disrupt those years by moving. His son is 12 BTW. There are big reasons for him to stay for the time being. Such as:

• He loves his players and he has great teams coming for the next 2-3 years
• He wants to build a legacy here before he goes
• He likes the area and the passion of the fans
• He likes working for Guthrie and Miller. They are all aligned
• Guthrie will refurbish the JAR, bringing more seats and students to the lower bowl, taking out the plexiglass barrier, redoing the floor, bringing collapsable seats out over the track on all sides. Guthrie will do that within 2 years
• Groce has lobbied for a separate practice facility which he will get this summer

I believe all these things will keep him here for a while, but in the end he still wants to coach at a school that will allow him to win a national championship. That's why I believe he will leave one day.

 

 

 

[LoyalZIP]

The Butler job has opened up. Might Groce be interested?

[ZippyRulz]

46 minutes ago, LoyalZIP said:

The Butler job has opened up. Might Groce be interested?

 

Naw, they play in a dingy old barn..