John Groce

John Groce is a greatly respected American basketball coach with a wealth of experience in the game. He is currently the head coach for the Akron Zips men’s basketball team, and prior to that was the head coach at the NCAA Division 1 teams Illinois and Ohio. In his first season with Akron, the team won the MAC East Division title and made it to the MAC tournament championship game. He also managed to of lead the Bobcats to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament in 2012, in what is perhaps his crowning achievement to date.

Groce started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Taylor University in 1993, where he had played basketball in his youth. He subsequently served as an assistant coach at North Carolina State, Butler, Xavier, and Ohio State before becoming the head coach at Ohio University in 2008. In four seasons at Ohio, Groce was 85-56 overall and 34-30 in Mid-American Conference games. In 2012, Groce moved on to the University of Illinois, where he was the head coach for five seasons. Illinois finished the 2013 season 23-13 and made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament. In 2014, Illinois’ success in November improved to 21-0 under Groce. After leaving Illinois, Groce was hired as the head coach at Akron in 2017. In the subsequent years, Akron has remained a competitive program under Groce, with a 58-30 overall record and a 35-15 record in MAC play over the last three seasons.

Groce’s experience and success as a basketball coach have made him a respected figure in the game, and he continues to lead Akron to new heights.