It's unclear what's going on with Illinois' head coaching search at the moment. It was reported earlier today that Groce was Illinois' man and there was a press conference to be held Tuesday afternoon. As the day went, Illinois said there would be no press conference. While it still certainly appears that John Groce will be the head head coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini, the whole situation is sort of stuck in limbo right night.
With the situation becoming more and more drawn out, several Illinois players voiced their support for Jerrance Howard. Howard is known as an ace recruiter and was an assistant under Bruce Weber. Howard was reportedly told at the beginning of the process he would not be considered for the head gig. Still, that hasn't stopped a group of Illini players from lobbying for Howard.
Here's what incoming sophomores Mike Shaw and Tracy Abrams had to say:
Might as well!!! RT @1Abrams3: Let J. Howard run the show
— Mike Shaw (@MikeShaw15) March 27, 2012
Fellow sophomore Myke Henry added:
I think they might as well just let jerrence become the head coach it's taking to long to figure out!!
— Myke Henry (@MykeHenry20) March 27, 2012
Big man Nnanna Egwu said:
Last two workouts have been great with coach Howard. He would make a great head coach. They might as well make him our new head coach
— Nnanna Egwu (@egwu_32) March 27, 2012
Again: all signs point to Groce being the next head coach at Illinois. But this entire process has been weird, so it's fitting it will (apparently) come to an end under less-than-ideal conditions.
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