The Bernstein Brief: Illinois Press Conference An Empty Show
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) "Everything's fine here. All good. Great things are going on in the Illinois basketball program, we take all these serious allegations against our players seriously with great seriousness. John Groce is the coach, and he's doing a fine job, even with a third of his roster under arrest and a dwindling number of wins each year."
Thursday's public appearance by Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman alongside Groce was a failed attempt to shore up confidence in recruiting targets reluctant to commit to the Illini because they think that there could soon be a coaching change. That's what Groce is hearing from them directly, and he told that to Whitman.
And the problem with all of it is that the recruits were correct to think that and still are, despite the effort to send a message of stability.
An increasing number of influential boosters and trustees want Groce gone, sources tell 670 The Score, as they're fed up with the combination of bad basketball and embarrassing headlines. Whitman has quietly been pursuing alternatives but won't fire Groce without a replacement committed and secured beforehand.
That explains the temporary damage control, trying to shore up what he can for one recruiting class.
It's doomed to fail, because insiders understand that Groce is actually in the same precarious position now that he was before the two met the media. You can bet that rivals on the trail have already made sure that any players Groce is wooing are as aware of that as the rest of us.
If they choose to attend Illinois, the best bet is that they will have a different coach soon enough.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. You can follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.
