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Illinois Basketball: John Groce fired as Illinois head coach

By Rees Woodcock

Jan 19, 2016; Bloomington, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce calls out plays on the sideline in the first half of the game at Assembly Hall. The Indiana Hoosiers beat the Illinois Fighting Illini by the score of 103-69. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 19, 2016; Bloomington, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce calls out plays on the sideline in the first half of the game at Assembly Hall. The Indiana Hoosiers beat the Illinois Fighting Illini by the score of 103-69. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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It was announced today that Josh Whitman has released head coach John Groce from his duties with the Illinois basketball team.

This news comes after Illinois fell to the Michigan Wolverines in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday by 20 points. Illini nation has been calling for this for weeks, months and years and now it has finally happened.

Groce finished up his final season with the Illini going 18-13 overall in the regular season and 8-10 in the Big Ten. They needed a victory over the Wolverines in the second round of the conference tournament to have any chance at making the NCAA tournament but failed to do so.

The tenure of Groce with the Illini wasn’t stable. He came into the program from Ohio University where he took the Bobcats to two NCAA tournament appearances in four years, one of which included a Sweet 16 run. This, along with the help of newly hired athletic director Mike Thomas, was good enough to get him the job at Illinois.

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Year one was decent under Groce. Illinois made the NCAA tournament as a No. 7 seed despite losing three out of their last four games in the regular season. Nonetheless, the Illini were looking to be relevant again and the first year under Groce really got fans hopes up.

The second year under Groce wasn’t as successful as the first. Illinois started the year off well going 13-2, but then the team hit a rough patch losing eight in a row and this put the team on the bubble. The Illini needed a win over Michigan but fell one point short and missed the NCAA tournament.

In year three the Illini were 17-8 and looking to make the NCAA tournament no problem at all. But Illinois then hit another wall and lost four out of their final six games, and then were beat down in the Big Ten Tournament by Michigan.

The NIT game that followed was one of the ugliest games in Illini history. This was the jumping off point for me believing in Groce 100-percent. Illinois fell behind by 24 points at halftime against Alabama and never could recover.

Last season the team was woefully unprepared and injured. They couldn’t get the bat off their shoulders and managed to flounder to a 13-18 record in the regular season. With new athletic director, Josh Whitman, coming in many fans thought that Groce would be gone.

The inevitable firing didn’t happen and Groce was given one more year to right the ship. After the game on Thursday, Illinois has now missed four straight NCAA tournaments and it is time for Groce to step down.

Next: Final top 5 coaches to replace John Groce

Illinois has a great basketball program and it is time to unleash the potential. With a great recruiting class coming in next season this team needs a coach who can lead. Whitman has a chance to hire that coach and move this program in the right direction. We will win.

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