Exclusive: Mike DeCourcy on the Marquette coaching search
Written by: NY Warrior
(http://bp3.blogger.com/_wLC1BvCK-88/R_U1WnzOFKI/AAAAAAAAAKA/mNwPi9_A6Jw/s320/decourcy.gif)
(http://bp3.blogger.com/_wLC1BvCK-88/R_U1WnzOFKI/AAAAAAAAAKA/mNwPi9_A6Jw/s1600-h/decourcy.gif)It is our pleasure to welcome The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy (http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/mike-decourcy/index.html), one of the nation's top college basketball writers, to Cracked Sidewalks.
Mike was gracious enough to offer his perspectives on the Marquette program and the current search for a new head basketball coach in this Q & A, which he completed exclusively for Cracked Sidewalks.
Which names do you expect to hear in connection with the job?
(MD) There are few things I hate worse than "lists" and "names being mentioned." Whose list? Mentioned by whom? Too many in the media just throw out as many people as it seems might be peripherally connected with a job without any consideration to whether that person might actually be interested, or whether that person might be qualified, or whether that person would be of interest to the people doing the hiring.
What do you think are the most important criteria Marquette will need to consider when narrowing down candidates for the next coach?
(MD) Getting the best person for the job. That's all. He'd better be an excellent recruiter, because even though Marquette is a wonderful university with a passionate following, it is a Big East school in Big Ten country -- and that makes it, by definition, a difficult sell. Tom Crean recruits as well as any head coach, and it was tough for him to get all the people he wanted.
The next coach also better be good with Xs and Os, because he almost certainly is going to be going against teams with better players -- there aren't going to be many years in which the Golden Eagles' talent is not bested by some combination of Connecticut, Georgetown, Syracuse and one or two others.
In your opinion, which coach would be the best fit for the job?
(MD) I don't think Marquette should fear hiring an assistant. It worked out beautifully last time. One person I would tell you is very gifted and ready to make this kind of move is John Groce, the associate head coach at Ohio State. He helped build the roster that went to last year's NCAA title game, had a large hand in recruiting Stanley Burrell for Xavier, which made this year's Elite Eight and was a big part of Butler's success early in this decade. He does much of the gameplanning and play-calling for the Buckeyes now. He would excel in this position.
Marquette has a lot going for it in terms of the Big East, great facilities, commitment to pay large dollars, but coaching searches are always less fruitful than fans want. To what extent will MU be able to attract a top candidate?
(MD) When Marquette hired Tom Crean, how many fans really knew who he was? Maybe those who were really in tune. Not to be disrespectful, but fans too often get caught up in whether a coach is famous and not whether he's truly gifted. Getting a "name" coach generally is the least important consideration.
Will having a new athletic director hinder Marquette's ability to land one of its prime targets?
(MD) I would think not, so long as that AD consults the right people and makes wise decisions. Hey, Indiana's AD was on a long losing streak and pulled out Tom Crean. So I wouldn't put it past anyone to hire a good coach.
Buzz Williams is a hot name on the message boards because the feeling is he could stop the bleeding. Hiring from within paid dividends for Pitt with Jamie Dixon, do you see any parallels here?
(MD) It's a different deal, but that doesn't mean Buzz couldn't do a great job. Jamie helped Ben Howland build up the program. He helped write the blueprint. Buzz was a relatively recent addition to Tom's staff. However, Buzz has more head coaching experience than Jamie had and is an extremely accomplished recruiter. His connections to Texas offer Marquette an avenue to talent that could be very useful. I thought Buzz was a great hire by Tom. Keeping him could work out very well.
One of the best aspects of the Big East is that the BE Champion should be considered a strong candidate to also be the national champion. However, it's clear that one motivator for Crean to move to IU was the ability to attract better recruits and contend for that same NCAA championship. To what extent do you think Marquette will be able to contend for the Big East and NCAA Championship?
(MD) I'd say the two are more mutually exclusive than you suggest. Pitt has proven that. Pitt has won Big East titles -- regular-season and tournament -- with teams that had virtually no chance of winning the NCAAs. You need much more talent to win six NCAA Tournament games than to win even the best league over the course of 18 games. It's a different challenge and values physical toughness and stamina much more than individual playmaking ability.
Mike, thanks for taking the time to offer your perspectives during a busy Final Four week.
Folks, please be sure to bookmark Mike's landing page over at The Sporting News and check back often for the latest news and perspectives on college hoops (http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/mike-decourcy/index.html).
http://www.crackedsidewalks.com/2008/04/exclusive-mike-decourcy-on-marquette.html
First off, an exclusive with DeCourcy is a very nice "get". Congrats NY and the whole CS staff.
I won't claim to know a lot about Groce, but I do know I've liked Thad Matta's recruiting and coaching, and if he's the guy behind it, he's definitely worth a look.
Great job Cracked Sidewalks!! I hadn't heard that Groce name either, but it's intriguing.
hey, thanks.......Groce, new name to me as well.
Also, its good to see that Mike does not get into the rumor-mongering business that so many of his peers enjoy
I've seen his name mentioned before and he fits the mold of Crean which, like him or hate him, was successful. He has recruited for a big time university, helped coached a final four and should be very successful. I really think this is the play and that a deal gets done before the end of the weekend with a press conference on Tuesday. Ohio St. plays its last game tonight.
Props then to MU Helix Air who mentioned Groce earlier in the long thread about coaching short lists.
http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=7885.msg65982#msg65982
Quote from: Pakuni on April 03, 2008, 03:26:00 PM
Props then to MU Helix Air who mentioned Groce earlier in the long thread about coaching short lists.
http://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=7885.msg65982#msg65982
Here is the link to his bio:
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87806&SPID=10421&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1057552&Q_SEASON=2007
props on the interview guys!! great work as usual!
Let me echo the congrats on the get. Not only is MD a national writer but he has had intimate knowledge of Crean and the Marquette situation over the last few years.
As for OSU AC Groce, is he the sandy haired guy who holds the whiteboard up signalling the play call?
Still think we'd be better off with some HC experience (Grant, Miller, Brownell) but Groce could be the right call.
Quote from: Coobeys Oil Depot on April 03, 2008, 03:41:13 PM
Let me echo the congrats on the get. Not only is MD a national writer but he has had intimate knowledge of Crean and the Marquette situation over the last few years.
As for OSU AC Groce, is he the sandy haired guy who holds the whiteboard up signalling the play call?
Still think we'd be better off with some HC experience (Grant, Miller, Brownell) but Groce could be the right call.
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John Groce is in his fourth year at Ohio State, second as the associate head coach of the Buckeyes and his eighth working with head coach Thad Matta.
In three seasons at Ohio State, Groce has helped the Buckeyes to 81 victories, two NCAA tournament appearances, a school-record 35 wins in 2006-07, a pair of outright Big Ten regular-season titles, a league tournament title and an appearance in the 2007 NCAA National Championship game.
Groce spent the 2000-01 season as an assistant under Matta at Butler, helping the Bulldogs capture the Midwestern Collegiate Conference regular season championship, MCC tournament championship and a spot in the second round of the NCAA tournament. As a collegiate coach, Groce has helped his teams reach postseason play 13 times in 14 years.
A 35-year-old Danville, Ind., native, Groce is in his 14th season as an assistant or associate head coach at the collegiate level. He began his collegiate coaching career in 1993 as an assistant under Paul Patterson at his alma mater, Taylor University in Upland, Ind. During that time, Taylor compiled a 71-28 record and earned a pair of trips to the NAIA national tournament. He helped Taylor to a 29-5 record and a No. 1 national ranking in 1994.
Groce earned his first shot at NCAA Division I basketball in 1996 with Herb Sendek's staff at North Carolina State. The Wolfpack made postseason appearances in all four years (1996-2000) while Groce was at N.C. State, including the 2000 NIT Semifinals.
From 2001-04, Groce worked with Matta at Xavier prior to the move to Ohio State. The Musketeers were 78-23 overall during that span with three trips to NCAA tournament play, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2004.
Groce played basketball for three seasons at Taylor, helping the Trojans to a composite 86-18 record and three trips to the NAIA National Tournament. In 1991, Taylor advanced to the NAIA Final Four and finished with a 34-4 record. Groce earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Taylor in 1994.
Groce, who was born Sept. 7, 1971, in Muncie, Ind., and his wife, Allison, have been married for five years. The couple has a young son, Connor.
Quote from: ChicosBailBonds on April 03, 2008, 03:46:03 PM
Groce, who was born Sept. 7, 1971, in Muncie, Ind.
No want. :'(
You have a problem with people born in September? ..or is it that he will eventually be hired away to IU once the honeymoon is over with Crean? ;)
Quote from: PuertoRicanNightmare on April 03, 2008, 03:10:22 PM
Great job Cracked Sidewalks!! I hadn't heard that Groce name either, but it's intriguing.
Hiring another assistant cements MU's rep as a pit stop to a better job. I really think we will never break the cycle if we keep hiring this way. The only asst worth considering would be Buzz, assuming he can keep the team together.
All coaching jobs are pit stops!
Off the top of my head, the following schools have had to deal with coaching searches in the last few years:
Florida (don't forget that Donovan was gone)
Kentucky
Indiana (x3)
Ohio State
Michigan
DePaul
Purdue
Iowa
UCLA
Pittsburgh
West Virginia
Cincinnati
St. Louis
Down the road a little, you can add Illinois, North Carolina, Kansas, Georgetown and Wisconsin.
And I'd take the track record of almost any one of the coaches that got hired at those schools over Crean.
The difference is that most of those schools did not lose a coach to another school. They fired coaches.
Also, I believe Illinois, Pitt, Kansas, UNC, and UCLA were all looking for coaches in the spring of 03. Looking back, wow. Forgot how huge that was.
Quote from: Coobeys Oil Depot on April 03, 2008, 03:41:13 PM
Still think we'd be better off with some HC experience (Grant, Miller, Brownell) but Groce could be the right call.
Look at our track record. Dukiet and Deane had previous experience at smaller schools. O'Neil and Crean were top assistants at major programs.
Which worked out better?
The only person who cares about your reputation is your mother. I don't care where we get him from, I want a coach who can keep us moving up, up, up.
Quote from: Ruby on April 03, 2008, 06:22:32 PM
The only person who cares about your reputation is your mother. I don't care where we get him from, I want a coach who can keep us moving up, up, up.
+1
Groce looks like the 'Shermanator' from the American Pie movies.