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Illinois Basketball: Final top 5 coaches to replace John Groce

By Rees Woodcock

Jan 23, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce in the second half against the Minnesota Gophers at Williams Arena. The Illinois Fighting Illini beat the Minnesota Gophers 76-71. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 23, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce in the second half against the Minnesota Gophers at Williams Arena. The Illinois Fighting Illini beat the Minnesota Gophers 76-71. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
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No. 4 Tim Jankovich

Another head coach that has been in the state of Illinois for some time before moving down to Texas is SMU’s, Tim Jankovich.

The Good

Jankovich has 11 years of college basketball coaching expertise and this has helped him gain experience. He spent four years at North Texas and then five years at Illinois State. SMU then called and he went down there to be a head coach in waiting under Larry Brown.

In four out of the five seasons Jankovich was the head coach of the Redbirds he hit the 21 win mark with the program. That is impressive and it shows he can win.

Jankovich did all he could with recruiting but still managed to win with average to below average recruits. He was clearly a good coach without the tools.

Jankovich is now the head coach at SMU and has the team ranked No. 12 in the nation. He also has recruited well while taking over the reins.

The Bad

Jankovich couldn’t get bigger recruits into Illinois State when he was there. His best player was a three-star and that was it. Muller has been more successful on the recruiting trail than Jankovich.

The only worry with Jankovich is if he can pull in state of Illinois kids or will outside coaches still be able to snag them away from the state.

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