Published: July 02, 2008 03:59 pm            

Danville native lands D-I gig

When it comes to college basketball, the transition from assistant to head coach isn’t always an easy one. New Ohio University men’s basketball coach John Groce — a Danville native — knows this well.

“There’s a gap there, especially because I’ve been an assistant for 15 years,” Groce said. “I’m in charge of the program now and I have to be willing to delegate and look at things from a completely different viewpoint even though I’m only moving 18 inches from my old seat to the next.”

Though aware of the challenge, Groce feels well prepared — and for good reason. Over the past eight years he has been an assistant under Ohio State head coach Thad Matta, who led the Buckeyes to the NCAA National Championship game in 2007. As Ohio State’s associate head coach the past two seasons, he was known as Matta’s right-hand man.

“John Groce deserves to be a Division I head coach,” Matta said in a story published at NCAA.com. “We’re sad to see him leave our program. He’s ready, and he’s going to do a great job at Ohio University.”

Though not actively looking to leave Columbus, Groce was intrigued when the Ohio job opened and Matta supported his decision to pursue it. Following his departure, Groce said he will take many lessons learned from Matta with him to Ohio.

“First and foremost (I learned from) the way he treats people,” Groce said. “He’s one of those guys that really values people and the relationships he has with them. That’s every bit if not more important than Xs and Os or defensive and offensive philosophy.”

Aside from his stint at Ohio State, Groce was an assistant at Xavier, Butler, North Carolina State, and Taylor — where he also played college basketball.

Before working with Todd Lickliter at Butler, Groce played under the current Iowa head coach at Danville High School.

“It’s not so much the five places where I was an assistant, but more importantly the quality of the people I’ve worked with,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate to take bits and pieces from each of them and form my own philosophy.”

With the Buckeyes, Groce played a big role in recruiting Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and Daequan Cook — who all later became first-round NBA picks. He was named Rivals.com Recruiter of the Year in 2006. Groce believes his prior success on the recruiting trail in the Midwest will help him at Ohio.

“I think it helps a lot, it’s one of the reasons I took the job — I know the area well,” he said.

Ohio has won 19 or more games in each of its last four seasons. The Bobcats won the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship game in 2005 and earned a birth in the NCAA Tournament that season, where as a No. 13 seed they fell to Florida, 67-62.

“One of the main reasons I took the job is I have a very good appreciation of their past,” Groce said. “It’s a place where we can contend and compete for championships.”

        

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