The Illinois Fighting Illini appear to have finally closed the book on the trifling head coaching search. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Illini have reached a deal with Ohio Bobcats head coach John Groce to be the team's next head coach.
The team has a press conference scheduled for 3 p.m. CDT and is expected to announce the hiring then. Groce has spent the last four seasons with the Ohio Bobcats, leading them to an 85-56 record in that span. In the 2011-12 season, the Bobcats earned their second NCAA Tournament bid under Groce wiht a 29-8 record, losing the Midwest Regional Semifinals.
The reported hiring brings a close to a hiring saga that included several embarrassing rebuffs from mid-major coaches, such as Shaka Smart, who elected to remain with their current teams.
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