Chicago Tribune: If character mattered at Illinois, arrest trend would carry urgency
With a straight face Thursday at a news conference in Champaign, John Groce shared what he considers the foundation of his Illinois basketball program.
“There is nothing more important than character,” he said.
An earnest man, Groce sincerely believes that. But a coach who has had four players arrested since August preaching about character rang as hollow as Donald Trump espousing the virtues of restraint. Whatever Groce is stressing to players after four years on the job isn’t taking hold.