Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas finally got his man.
Just a day after naming a new coach for the women’s program, Thomas announced Ohio’s John Groce as the next head coach of the men’s basketball team.
In his four seasons with the Bobcats, Groce’s teams went a combined 85-56, with a 34-30 record in the Mid-American Conference. His best season came this past year when the Bobcats went 29-8, including winning the MAC Tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 after victories over Michigan and South Florida.
Groce led Ohio to one other appearance in the NCAA tournament in the 2009-10 season after winning the MAC Tournament the first time. His team pulled off another upset when No. 14-seeded Ohio topped No. 3-seeded Georgetown in the first round 97-83.
Though his teams have fared well in the postseason, the regular season has been more of a challenge for Groce. His best conference finish is third, which came this past season. He finished fifth in 2010-11 and ninth the previous two seasons.
Before becoming the head coach at Ohio, Groce served as an assistant under Thad Matta at Ohio State. He was the lead recruiter and instrumental in bringing in Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook, all of whom played on the same AAU team.
In the one season with the three standout freshmen, the Buckeyes were national runner-up. Oden went on to become the No. 1 overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers, while Conley was selected No. 4 by the Memphis Grizzlies and Cook was picked No. 21 by the Miami Heat.
Groce also coached Evan Turner – a native of Chicago – for one season with the Buckeyes. That year, Ohio State would go on to win the National Invitational Tournament. Turner swept National Player of the Year awards two years later and was selected No. 2 overall in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Illinois’ head coaching position opened when Thomas fired Bruce Weber on March 9 with three years and $3.9 million left on his contract. Weber went 210-101 in his nine seasons at Illinois with an 89-65 mark in Big Ten play.
Illinois originally pursued Virginia Commonwealth’s Shaka Smart, but Smart declined what was believed to be an eight-year deal at more than $2.5 million annually. The 34-year-old elected to return to the Rams for his fourth season.
Thomas also reportedly sought out Butler’s Brad Stevens to fill the vacancy, but Stevens announced Sunday he will remain at Butler.
Groce is from Danville, Ind., and played basketball and studied Mathematics at Taylor University. He’s also spent time as an assistant coach at Taylor, North Carolina State, Butler and Xavier. He and his wife, Allison, have two sons.