Kevin Leibrock
CNHI
—
In March, the Ohio University men’s basketball team got its first NCAA Tournament win since 1983, pulling off a stunning upset of No. 3 seed Georgetown in the first round.
At the center of it all was one of Danville’s own — Ohiohead coach John Groce.
The Danville native — now entering his third year as Bobcats coach — said the shocking victory brought plenty of attention to the Mid-American Conference school in Athens, Ohio.
“When you wake up the next day, you’re trying to keep your team of 18 to 22-year-olds grounded,” Groce said. “Your senior captain is on the front page of USA Today. They’re shooting a video from back home in Athens with the entire Court Street area shut down. It kind of puts it in perspective not only what it meant to our program, but also to our university and the Athens community.”
Ohioused deadly 3-point accuracy to sink the Hoyas. The Bobcats went 13-of-23 (57 percent) from long range. His team’s 3-point proficiency came as no surprise to Groce.
“We’ve had a good shooting team,” Groce said. “It’s one of the things we’ve done well during the two years I’ve been here.”
Ohiobowed out in the second round with an 83-68 loss to No. 6 Tennessee. With March Madness now in the rear view mirror, Groce has spent the summer months hard at work on the recruiting trail searching for the next crop of Bobcats.
Unlike some college coaches, he doesn’t reach out to a large number of high school prospects. Groce said his recruiting process is “more of a rifle than a shotgun,” meaning he spends more time with a select few players rather than expanding his search far and wide.
“We’ve tried to recruit based on fit,” Groce said. “We try to find players who fit our style of play and the university. But obviously recruiting is never an exact science and is always a challenge.”
Groce has landed some big names throughout his career.
While an assistant at Ohio State, he helped bring in Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and Daequan Cook. All three eventually became NBA first-round selections. At Ohio, Groce helped recruit another player with NBA aspirations — former Indiana Hoosier Armon Bassett.
Bassett scored 32 points in the tournament win over Georgetown. He is currently on the New Orleans Hornets’ summer league roster.
“Hopefully he can make the best of the opportunity,” Groce said of Bassett. “Obviously we’d like to see him hang on with an NBA team. I’m certain he’s talented enough.”
The possibility of playing in the NBA isn’t the only part of Groce’s sales pitch to recruits. He said Ohio holds the fourth-highest graduation rate in the country among Division I schools, adding that the school has a 93 percent retention rate, a beautiful campus, 13,000-seat arena, and the No. 1 sports administration program in the nation.
“We’ve got a lot of selling points,” Groce said. “There’s a tremendous tradition here.”
Another indicator of Ohio’s upward direction is it’s beefed up schedule. Highlighted by a Nov. 26 match-up with Kansasin a Las Vegas Invitational, the Bobcats face off against seven opponents who qualified for postseason play last year. Ohio’s non-conference opponents for next year combined to post a .582 winning percentage in 2009-10.
Groce said next year’s young squad should consist of 10 freshmen and sophomores, one junior, and two seniors.
“I’m excited that we continue to focus on making sure we have a good balance of home games while playing a quality schedule that prepares us for the conference,” Groce said. “Our administration deserves a lot of credit. It will be challenging and we’re going to learn a lot.”
