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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. 1 Gregg Marshall

The No. 1 candidate on my top five coaches to replace John Groce is Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall.

The Good

Marshall is arguably the best coach in the game of college basketball. He has an impressive coaching resume that is difficult to top. He is easily the best mid-major coach in the game today.

The head coaching career of Marshall started with Winthrop back in 1998. He took the Eagles to the NCAA tournament in year one and followed that up with three straight tournament appearances.

In the nine seasons that Marshall was the head coach of Winthrop, the team went to seven NCAA tournaments. That is incredible and he parlayed that job into the job at Wichita State.

It took Marshall a few seasons to really get the Shockers on track with his winning ways. Once that program started to win they haven’t stopped since. This is Marshall’s tenth year with Wichita State and he has made the NCAA tournament in his last six seasons.

This run includes an Elite 8 appearance and two Sweet 16 runs as well. He has proved that he can coach players and get teams to the promise land.

Marshall has been able to recruit as well, and some of the top players he has snagged came from the state of Illinois. The most notable is Fred Van Vleet. He was a four-star ranked No. 99 in the nation from Rockford, Illinois.

Next: Mark Smith would help make up for lost production

This was a great snag by Marshall and I hope the Illini can snag him. He is my No. 1 coaching candidate for the Illinois basketball team.

The Bad

None

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