Big Ten Basketball Coach Rankings
Illinois head coach John Groce is the No. 10 coach on this list. He is a high spirited guy who many recruits and players enjoy being around.
Groce started his tenure off with the Illini making the NCAA Tournament and advancing to the second round.
But, since that first year, it hasn’t gone so well for Groce in Champaign.
The following two seasons Illinois accumulated 20 wins and 19 wins in back-to-back seasons. Both years they missed the postseason.
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Last year was the biggest struggle of them all. Illinois fell short of expectations and ended the season with a 15-19 record.
This record is unacceptable to an Illinois fan, but there are reasons for this bad season.
Illinois lost many starters last year and the fact that they won 15 games was nothing short of a miracle. I expect to see more production out of this season’s team.
Groce has also been a solid recruiter in his time with the Illini.
Despite the fact that Groce has missed out on some big time recruits, the Illini has averaged a class ranking of 28th in recruiting the last three years.
If it wasn’t for the recent losing that Illinois has gone through, partially due to injuries, then Groce would probably be ranked higher.
Groce has the 2016-17 season to prove why he deserves to be higher on this list and if he can’t pull it off, the hot seat will continue to get hotter.
Next: No. 9