Groce Has Illinois Recruiting Heading in the Right Direction

Quentin Snider

Football season is in full swing but the excitement of college basketball recruiting has many looking forward to the winter. With the recruiting talk comes the discussion and anticipation of seeing where the top two recruits decide to commit. Jahlil Okafor of Whitney Young High School and Cliff Alexander of Curie High School are the hype for the 2014 class and rightfully so.

Both big men possess a feather-soft touch around the rim and a dominance in the paint that darn near nobody possesses at the high school level. Combine the inside dominance with the quick feet and fundamental post game and these two young men are showing flashes of NBA talent. Both have cut their lists of schools down yet neither has declared a timetable for their final decision.

Perhaps the biggest shock throughout the recruiting process for the top two recruits is the fact that University of Illinois head coach John Groce seems to have a legitimate shot at landing the two big men. It seems too good to be true: Illinois being able to recruit the Chicago area? The inability to do just this is part of the reason Bruce Weber was shown the door at the end of the 2011-2012 season. Yet here is John Groce, in the same battle as coaching greats such as Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo for five-star recruits.

Illinos fans have many reasons to be excited about where the basketball program is headed. Since Groce's arrival in Champaign he has managed to reel in two Chicago kids both of whom are from Simeon Career Academy, the best basketball school in the state of Illinois. Point guard Jaylon Tate and shooting guard Kendrick Nunn are sure to be the beginning of a great process at Illinois.

Yet Chicago is not what is going to make or break Illinois' program. Is it a big part of the recruiting process? Yes, by all means. After all Chicago has provided the best talent in the land the past few years with recruits such as Derrick Rose, Anthony Davis, and Jabari Parker coming out of the Windy City.

However, John Groce has already snagged two top 50 recruits for the 2014 class with the commitments of Quentin Snider and Leron Black. With the help of these two future Illini, John Groce's 2014 recruiting class is currently fifth in the nation. A top five recruiting class with the top to recruits still considering the University of Illinois proves John Groce is doing big things. Should things continue to move in the right direction, Illinois will be doing big things too.

6 Things to Watch in College Basketball

Russ Smith of Louisville

Last night I was sitting on my couch and engaged in a conversation with a roommate about college basketball and the upcoming season. In my excitement for the season to begin I rushed to the store and bought the newest college basketball preview magazine. What entailed was four hours of poring over endless material for what is sure to be a dynamite season all around.

Change is abound in college hoops and the landscape of the game was drastically altered on July 1 when conference realignment was officially implemented. Say hello to a new Big East and welcome in the American Athletic Conference. Say goodbye to some of the game's best rivalries such as Syracuse-Georgetown and bid adieu to Conference USA as a "power conference" (sorry Middle Tennessee and Old Dominion).

Yes, change is the theme of this year in college basketball, but there's no sense in complaining anymore. This is the way it is. So rather than getting your panties in a bunch about the breakup of the Big East, focus on the new great rivalries that realignment has given us. Notre Dame, Syracuse and Pittsburgh joining the ACC creates some enticing matchups as does Butler, Xavier and Creighton joining the Big East.

Don't feel bad if your head is spinning from all these changes. It's hard to keep up anymore, but here are six things to watch for this upcoming season.

1. Can Louisville repeat as national champions?
No team since Florida in 2006 and 2007 has repeated as national champions, but the ingredients are there for Rick Pitino's Cardinals. Nearly every major piece returns and the big one is Russ Smith. The 6-foot dynamo flirted with the NBA, but opted to return. That means Louisville has it's leading scorer (18.7 ppg) back to go with a great frontcourt. Luke Hancock was the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player and Wayne Blackshear started 34 games last season. Chane Behanan and Montrezl Harrell are two physical presences as well. Kevin Ware, barring any setbacks in his rehabilitation process, should be available by October.

2. Kentucky's freshmen class for the ages
We have grown accustomed to watching John Calipari win with a host of freshmen on his Kentucky roster, but last year his young crop of talent didn't possess the brains or the heart to get the job done. This year, six McDonald's All-Americans enter Lexington in hopes of bringing the national championship back across the state. Some media outlets have pegged Andrew Harrison and Julius Randle as All-Americans and Calipari has mentioned his aspirations of going undefeated. Stay tuned.

3. Can Tom Izzo win another title?
I hate to give Tom Izzo grief for only having one national championship to his name, especially because he has been to six Final Fours. However, his 2000 team is the only one that has hoisted the trophy and that's surprising with how much talent has gone through East Lansing. Like Louisville, Michigan State has several key pieces returning, most notably Gary Harris. Harris is versatile on the offensive end and gets after it on defense. Keith Appling is back to run the point and Adreian Payne will anchor the frontline. There's no reason these Spartans shouldn't be in Dallas.

4. How will Creighton, Xavier and Butler do in the Big East?
All three teams have had plenty of success in recent years, but let's not forget that just two years ago Butler was competing against the likes of Cleveland State. Sure, the Bulldogs had great tournament runs, but can they have success throughout the season playing teams like Marquette and Georgetown? Don't expect much from Butler this season, but Doug McDermott and Creighton could contend for the title. Xavier will most likely be middle of the pack.

5. The inaugural season of the American Athletic Conference
The funny thing about the inaugural season for the AAC is that it's going to look different next season. Louisville and Rutgers are members for this year only and then they will depart for the ACC and Big Ten respectively. Tulsa, East Carolina and Tulane will fill the void and the conference will rely on Cincinnati, Memphis and UConn for national exposure. For this year, the renewal of an old rivalry between Louisville and Memphis should be fun to watch, but again, it won't be here for long.

6. Freshmen sensations Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins
Much has been made about these two players. Parker will suit up for Coach K and Duke after leading Simeon (IL) to four straight state titles. He is smart player who is versatile at the forward position. Wiggins is enrolled at Kansas and was regarded as the nation's top player. Many believe that he will be the number one pick in next year's NBA Draft, but he has the ability to take KU deep into March despite being a freshman.

Yes, college football just started, but it's never too early to prepare for March Madness. There are plenty of storylines as the season commences. Kentucky will be number one in most polls, but there is plenty of experience on the Michigan State and Louisville rosters. Coach K will have Duke primed for a title run and Arizona has a nice mix of new recruits and old veterans.

It may only be September, but it's never too early to let the Madness begin.

Notre Dame and Michigan Prepare for One Last Showdown

Historically in the Midwest there is no greater college football than at Notre Dame and Michigan. Forty times the two teams have met and their storied histories and gaudy team records make their rivalry one to circle on the calendar. On Saturday the two will meet again, as has become the norm early in each season, but this time will be different. Because this time will be the last one for a while.

It's a complaint that has been filed too many times to count by college sports fans, but it's inescapable. Conference realignment stinks. Period. Kansas and Missouri no longer play basketball, Nebraska and Oklahoma won't see each other on the gridiron any time soon and Syracuse and Georgetown have played their last conference basketball game. Now, because of Notre Dame's new agreement with the ACC, the Irish won't play Michigan through at least 2017.

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly made a silly remark earlier this week that the ND-Michigan rivalry wasn't "one of those historic, traditional Notre Dame rivalries." Earlier today he backtracked and said that the game was "a great and historical rivalry." Kelly was wise to change his tune because he was dead wrong with his first remarks.

Back in 1887 Michigan won the first meeting ever between the two teams and they proceeded to rack up eight straight victories against the Irish. Since those eight games, Notre Dame has a slight edge in the series, going 16-15-1. The rivalry is evenly matched and pits two of the top teams in college football against each other.

The two schools are numbers one and two in winning percentage all-time and numbers one and three in all-time wins. On top of that, they both own 11 championships. Every game since 2009 has been decided by seven points or less and in 2011 Denard Robinson left us with an instant classic as he led the Wolverines back from a 24-7 deficit and scored the game-winning touchdown with two seconds left in the first night game ever at The Big House.

With Notre Dame joining the ACC, Michigan was left out of the Irish's schedule. Wolverines head coach Brady Hoke insists that Notre Dame "chickened out" but the reality is that the conference alignment will always have the final say. Notre Dame has agreed to play five games against ACC competition which is absolutely ridiculous because everyone really wants to see the Irish play a team like Wake Forest instead of Michigan. Wrong.

So this is it for awhile. Notre Dame and Michigan on a September Saturday. Enjoy this one because in an ever-changing world of college sports it may not be back again. However, this game is historic and it's traditional and that is why it's one of the best rivalries in college football.