Chase Swaringen

2/27/18 — The day John Groce finally lost his shit.

John Groce, head coach of the Akron Zips men’s basketball team, has been mad plenty of times before. A few angry faces once or twice a game and maybe an animated conversation with the ref on occasion. But yesterday night, Groce went nuts. The man was so fired up, he walked across the court Lou Piniella style and pointed the referee down. But what happened to the “he’s one heck of a guy” guy that John Groce used to be?

Groce, at one point, was a coach who was looked at as somewhat of a rising star in the NCAA. He took over the head coaching position at Ohio in 2008, immediately went on to win the MAC conference tournament, and then surprised the nation with a first round upset over third seeded Georgetown. In 2012, Groce and the Bobcats, led by one of the best guards in the country, D.J. Cooper, won their conference tournament and then made a run to the sweet sixteen before finally losing to North Carolina in an overtime thriller.

In 2013, Groce became the head coach at the University of Illinois. In his first season, the Illini finished 23-13 and made a trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Hopes were high for the Illini faithful (including my 13 year old self) but Groce’s career took a turn for the worse and turned into what most would call a dumpster fire. He consistently lost out on key Chicago recruits (see Cliff Alexander) and was said to be too much of a “nice guy” to be anything more than a mid-major head coach. Personally, I like John Groce. I even met him a few times at some basketball camps when I was younger. He’s a very likable dude. But maybe after seeing the money of power five basketball, getting torn to shreds by Chicago media for five years, and then being demoted to the mid-major basketball at prestigious basketball program, Akron, John Groce finally lost his shit.

Also, John Groce looks weird with glasses.