JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
Another in our series of items devoted to aspects of Iowa’s ongoing coaching search…
This time of year is having an interesting effect on some people as it relates to names that have been discussed during the last few days in connection to Iowa’s search. I want to repeat this and probably will again; many of the names you see here and elsewhere are names that people are hearing a little chatter on, at best. Otherwise, you’d see people making definitive, putting a portion of their reputation on the line statements. I haven’t seen any of those just yet.
Certain names have more of a likihood to be a part of Gary Barta’s realistic pool he’ll have to digest than others do. I think the best part of what the Iowa media is doing now is educational. Identifying some names that fit a certain criteria and shedding light on those names after performing a little due diligence.
Such as yesterday; I would suspect that the majority of college basketball fans probably don’t know too much about Tony Barbee. Now, you do. The same might be said of Steve Forbes, although Iowa fans might have remembered him due to his Lone Tree connections.
As the names are listed, discussions are taking place. It has been fun to take part in and follow these discussions.
However, the first day of the NCAA tournament brought out an interesting brand of discussion…the outright over reactions based on one basketball game.
Villanova head coach Jay Wright has been a name that has been mentioned with regards to the Iowa job, although I think he is an extreme longshot. That being said, today, some folks basically wrote Wright off as being a legitimate candidate not because he likely would have no interest in the job, but because they wouldn’t want a guy that was going to lose to Robert Morris in the tournament. That Wright’s Nova team came back to win is irrelevant as far as I am concerned; losses happen in this tournament, and one game in an NCAA tournament does not define you..or rather, it should not.
Tony Barbee’s UTEP team blew an early lead to Butler and wound up getting beaten soundly. So in the minds of some, that disqualifies him for legitimate contention for the Iowa job.
Hall of fame coaches have had a bad game in the tournament at some point in time in their careers. It happens.
However, what about when a coach has a really good game, or set of games in the tournament? Do fans and athletic directors overreact to that?
Yes.
How about the name of Steve Alford? He beat Wisconsin and Texas and made it to the Sweet 16 back in the 1999 tournament. A few weeks later, he was Iowa’s head coach. He was ill prepared for the challenge and spent many years learning on the job on Iowa’s dime.
Remember Stan Healh? In his first year as a head coach at Kent State, he took his team to the Elite Eight. Following that run, Arkansas hired him. The Razorbacks were a strong program at the time, and were making a change from Nolan Richardson. In his first three years, the Razorbacks didn’t make the tournament. They did qualify the next two years, but lost first round games and Heath was fired. He is now a coach at South Florida.
Todd Lickliter might fit in this category with regards to cashing in on a Sweet 16 run and National Coach of the Year honor, but he had been a coach for much longer than Alford or Heath when they got their calls to power conferences. I could probably come up with three or four more examples in just five or ten minutes if I gave it more thought.
You could also find some examples of where this paid dividends, too, but it seems to be human nature to remember the guys that didn’t work out, especially when Iowa’s last two hires are a part of that theme.
Now, having said all of that, somebody made a pretty good impression on Thursday night, someone that has probably been overlooked n the last few days, and that name screams in bright neon right now after what took place on Thursday night: Ohio coach John Groce. The Bobcats knocked off Georgetown 97-83.
That’s impressive on its face, but Georgetown is a team that has made its bones controlling and dictating tempo. They run a slow down Princeton offensive attack and they play pretty tough defense, too. It helped that Ohio went 13-23 from three.
He was someone that was being bandied about three years ago when Gary Barta was looking to replace Steve Alford. His Ohio team averaged nearly 75 points per game this year. They did finish 9th in the MAC in this second year under Groce, but they gained entry into the Big Dance after winning the MAC Tournament. They lost their first four conference games but won their last five, including three in their league tournament. Make that six in a row now, after their impressive win against #3 seed Georgetown.
Groce accepted the Ohio position in the summer of 2008, so he had less than five months before the early signing period that year, so he’s really been able to put together one legitimate class at Ohio. He had five players average in double figures this year. He spent quite a bit of time with Thad Matta through the years; he was a part of Matta’s Ohio State staff between 2004-2008 and was there when they landed Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr and others. The Ohio State classes under Matta have been excellent and Groce was a key part of that. He was with Matta at Xavier as well as Butler, too.
Here’s something that is of interest, and could create an issue if Barta identifies him as someone he wants to interview for the job…guess who Groce’s high school coach was at Danville, Indiana?
Todd Lickliter.
I have no idea if he is someone Barta is interested in or not. However, given his body of work during his career and the exclamation point on Thursday night, he’s going to be on someone’s list this week.
Here are some nuggets from his bio page at Ohio:
He has reached the postseason 13 times in his 15 years on the collegiate sidelines, helping guide teams to a Final Four, two Elite Eights, a National Invitation Tournament championship and numerous conference titles. Touted as an “offensive genius†by former protege Greg Oden…known as one of the premier recruiters in the college game…Since his first day on the job, Groce, a former teacher, has also placed great importance on the academic success of the Ohio program. Each of Groce’s first three quarters on the job saw the Bobcats post team grade-point averages that rank among the five-best in the 15 academic quarters since the beginning of the 2004-05 school year. Under his tutelage, seven Ohio players have earned an individual GPA of 3.00 or better for a quarter a combined 13 times.
Groce was also heavily involved in recruiting at Ohio State and played a vital role in bringing future first-round NBA draft-picks Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Jr., and Daequan Cook to Columbus, earning him the title of Rivals.com Recruiter of the Year in 2006. His 2007 class at OSU, which featured a five-star prospect and two four-star recruits, was also ranked sixth in the nation.
Groce’s talent didn’t go unnoticed at the national level during his time at Ohio State, as Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com recognized him as one of the top-10 high-major assistant coaches in the country in May of 2008. The previous summer also saw Groce receive praise from the national basketball media, as Bob McClellan of Rivals.com anointed him the assistant coach from across the country most ready to lead his own program.
The Danville, Ind., native began his coaching career in 1993 as an assistant at his alma mater, Taylor University, in Upland, Ind. During that time, Taylor posted a 71-28 record and earned a pair of trips to the NAIA national tournament. He helped the Trojans to a 29-5 record and a No. 1 national ranking in 1994.
Groce broke into Division I basketball as a member of Herb Sendek’s staff at NC State in 1996, ultimately serving as an assistant with the Wolfpack from 1996-00. NCSU earned postseason bids in each of his four years on the sidelines, including a trip to the 2000 NIT semifinals.
This time of year is having an interesting effect on some people as it relates to names that have been discussed during the last few days in connection to Iowa’s search. I want to repeat this and probably will again; many of the names you see here and elsewhere are names that people are hearing a little chatter on, at best. Otherwise, you’d see people making definitive, putting a portion of their reputation on the line statements. I haven’t seen any of those just yet.
Certain names have more of a likihood to be a part of Gary Barta’s realistic pool he’ll have to digest than others do. I think the best part of what the Iowa media is doing now is educational. Identifying some names that fit a certain criteria and shedding light on those names after performing a little due diligence.
Such as yesterday; I would suspect that the majority of college basketball fans probably don’t know too much about Tony Barbee. Now, you do. The same might be said of Steve Forbes, although Iowa fans might have remembered him due to his Lone Tree connections.
As the names are listed, discussions are taking place. It has been fun to take part in and follow these discussions.
However, the first day of the NCAA tournament brought out an interesting brand of discussion…the outright over reactions based on one basketball game.
Villanova head coach Jay Wright has been a name that has been mentioned with regards to the Iowa job, although I think he is an extreme longshot. That being said, today, some folks basically wrote Wright off as being a legitimate candidate not because he likely would have no interest in the job, but because they wouldn’t want a guy that was going to lose to Robert Morris in the tournament. That Wright’s Nova team came back to win is irrelevant as far as I am concerned; losses happen in this tournament, and one game in an NCAA tournament does not define you..or rather, it should not.
Tony Barbee’s UTEP team blew an early lead to Butler and wound up getting beaten soundly. So in the minds of some, that disqualifies him for legitimate contention for the Iowa job.
Hall of fame coaches have had a bad game in the tournament at some point in time in their careers. It happens.
However, what about when a coach has a really good game, or set of games in the tournament? Do fans and athletic directors overreact to that?
Yes.
How about the name of Steve Alford? He beat Wisconsin and Texas and made it to the Sweet 16 back in the 1999 tournament. A few weeks later, he was Iowa’s head coach. He was ill prepared for the challenge and spent many years learning on the job on Iowa’s dime.
Remember Stan Healh? In his first year as a head coach at Kent State, he took his team to the Elite Eight. Following that run, Arkansas hired him. The Razorbacks were a strong program at the time, and were making a change from Nolan Richardson. In his first three years, the Razorbacks didn’t make the tournament. They did qualify the next two years, but lost first round games and Heath was fired. He is now a coach at South Florida.
Todd Lickliter might fit in this category with regards to cashing in on a Sweet 16 run and National Coach of the Year honor, but he had been a coach for much longer than Alford or Heath when they got their calls to power conferences. I could probably come up with three or four more examples in just five or ten minutes if I gave it more thought.
You could also find some examples of where this paid dividends, too, but it seems to be human nature to remember the guys that didn’t work out, especially when Iowa’s last two hires are a part of that theme.
Now, having said all of that, somebody made a pretty good impression on Thursday night, someone that has probably been overlooked n the last few days, and that name screams in bright neon right now after what took place on Thursday night: Ohio coach John Groce. The Bobcats knocked off Georgetown 97-83.
That’s impressive on its face, but Georgetown is a team that has made its bones controlling and dictating tempo. They run a slow down Princeton offensive attack and they play pretty tough defense, too. It helped that Ohio went 13-23 from three.
He was someone that was being bandied about three years ago when Gary Barta was looking to replace Steve Alford. His Ohio team averaged nearly 75 points per game this year. They did finish 9th in the MAC in this second year under Groce, but they gained entry into the Big Dance after winning the MAC Tournament. They lost their first four conference games but won their last five, including three in their league tournament. Make that six in a row now, after their impressive win against #3 seed Georgetown.
Groce accepted the Ohio position in the summer of 2008, so he had less than five months before the early signing period that year, so he’s really been able to put together one legitimate class at Ohio. He had five players average in double figures this year. He spent quite a bit of time with Thad Matta through the years; he was a part of Matta’s Ohio State staff between 2004-2008 and was there when they landed Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr and others. The Ohio State classes under Matta have been excellent and Groce was a key part of that. He was with Matta at Xavier as well as Butler, too.
Here’s something that is of interest, and could create an issue if Barta identifies him as someone he wants to interview for the job…guess who Groce’s high school coach was at Danville, Indiana?
Todd Lickliter.
I have no idea if he is someone Barta is interested in or not. However, given his body of work during his career and the exclamation point on Thursday night, he’s going to be on someone’s list this week.
Here are some nuggets from his bio page at Ohio:
He has reached the postseason 13 times in his 15 years on the collegiate sidelines, helping guide teams to a Final Four, two Elite Eights, a National Invitation Tournament championship and numerous conference titles. Touted as an “offensive genius†by former protege Greg Oden…known as one of the premier recruiters in the college game…Since his first day on the job, Groce, a former teacher, has also placed great importance on the academic success of the Ohio program. Each of Groce’s first three quarters on the job saw the Bobcats post team grade-point averages that rank among the five-best in the 15 academic quarters since the beginning of the 2004-05 school year. Under his tutelage, seven Ohio players have earned an individual GPA of 3.00 or better for a quarter a combined 13 times.
Groce was also heavily involved in recruiting at Ohio State and played a vital role in bringing future first-round NBA draft-picks Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Jr., and Daequan Cook to Columbus, earning him the title of Rivals.com Recruiter of the Year in 2006. His 2007 class at OSU, which featured a five-star prospect and two four-star recruits, was also ranked sixth in the nation.
Groce’s talent didn’t go unnoticed at the national level during his time at Ohio State, as Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com recognized him as one of the top-10 high-major assistant coaches in the country in May of 2008. The previous summer also saw Groce receive praise from the national basketball media, as Bob McClellan of Rivals.com anointed him the assistant coach from across the country most ready to lead his own program.
The Danville, Ind., native began his coaching career in 1993 as an assistant at his alma mater, Taylor University, in Upland, Ind. During that time, Taylor posted a 71-28 record and earned a pair of trips to the NAIA national tournament. He helped the Trojans to a 29-5 record and a No. 1 national ranking in 1994.
Groce broke into Division I basketball as a member of Herb Sendek’s staff at NC State in 1996, ultimately serving as an assistant with the Wolfpack from 1996-00. NCSU earned postseason bids in each of his four years on the sidelines, including a trip to the 2000 NIT semifinals.
