New Illinois Fighting Illini head basketball coach John Groce filled out his coaching staff for the 2012-2013 season by hiring Missouri Tigers assistant coach Isaac Chew on Wednesday, according to CBS Chicago. Chew spent one season coaching with Missouri after spending the previous four works working with Murray State.
In Chew, Groce lands a Chicago native with a history of ties to the city. That should be huge for recruiting purposes after Groce decided to not to retain Jerrance Howard, a former Illinois assistant under Bruce Weber. Chew is a highly regarded coach around the nation, particularly as a recruiter, so there are clearly some reasons to believe this is a good fit.
On the new Illinois coaching staff, Chew will be joining Dustin Ford and Jamall Walker, two assistants that worked with Groce at Ohio University before they were all hired away to take over the program at Illinois.
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