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Illinois Basketball: Five things John Groce has done well

By Rees Woodcock

Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce speaks with the media during Big Ten media day at the Marriott Washington Wardman Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce speaks with the media during Big Ten media day at the Marriott Washington Wardman Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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Recruiting has been solid

The state of Illinois recruiting is the base for any recruiting class the Illini will bring in. It is documented that Groce has done a solid job getting state of Illinois players.

Groce has also done a decent job at getting good recruiting classes in general.

The class of 2013 had five players in it and two of them were ranked nationally. Nunn and Hill were the two ranked nationally at No. 52 and No. 72, respectively. They were both four-star players. Then you also had three-stars Austin Colbert, Jaylon Tate and Maverick Morgan. This class even ranked as the No. 20 class in the nation. That is solid.

In the class of 2014, the Illini took a bit of a dip. They weren’t in the top 25 in recruiting but they still snagged a solid three-star in Finke and Groce went out and got No. 49 ranked, four-star, Leron Black.

On paper Black is one of the best gets in Groce’s time with the Illini. He was a top 50 player from the state of Tennessee and Groce convinced him to come play at Illinois.

Groce continued to build the team with good recruiting classes in 2015. He snagged Jalen Coleman-Lands, Williams and Jordan. All three players were four-star recruits.

Williams and Coleman-Lands were both ranked in the top 100 at No. 47 and No. 42, respectively. Illinois ended up with the No. 19 class in the nation that year.

Illinois needed a point guard and Groce went out and got four-star Te’Jon Lucas in the class of 2016. He was a great get out of Wisconsin. Illinois only snagged one player in 2016 but he was a good one.

And now Groce has the No. 9 class in the nation coming in for 2017. This class includes five-star Tilmon, who ranks No. 18 in the nation. It also has the No. 77 player in the nation, four-star Trent Frazier.

Illinois will be bringing in four-star Williams and three-star Pickett as well. This is an impressive class.

Next: Big Ten Tournament bracket predictions from the WI staff

No matter the record, Groce has proved he can get players to come to Champaign. He has missed on a few in his day, but he still has pulled in some decent talent.

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