Last Saturday Akron beat Toledo 79-76 in the MAC tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to this week’s NCAA tournament. The Zips did not make a single NCAA tourney from 2014-2021 but are now heading back there for the 4th time in the past 5 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Akron coach John Groce about his awesome offense and making the NCAA tourney.
You were an assistant to Thad Matta at Butler/Xavier/Ohio State: what was your reaction to his retirement yesterday? I congratulate him and his family because I think the world of them and they have meant a lot to me and my family. It is well-earned after making a lifetime impact on all of us. As good a coach as he is, he is an even better person.
At Columbus you 2 were NCAA tourney runner-up in 2007 and NIT champ in 2008: what is the key to winning games in March? The NCAA tourney is no different than a conference tourney: you are just 1 of 68, all of whom are good teams. It is about matchups, being prepared, and being a little fortunate.
As head coach at Ohio you had an upset of #3-seed Georgetown in 2010 and an upset of #4-seed Michigan in 2012: what is the secret to becoming a Cinderella? Having good players, a good team, and playing well that day. A lot of people like to compare previous teams, but they have nothing to do with how well we do this Friday. We need to control our preparation: we are talented enough with experienced high-character guys. Experience can be a great teacher if you want it to be, but it comes down to execution.
In the MAC tourney title game last Sunday Shammah Scott made a 3-PT shot with 6 seconds left to clinch a 3-PT win over Toledo (www.reddit.com/r/CollegeBasketball/comments/1ru1wsp/shammah_scott_sends_akron_to_the_ncaa_tournament): did you think the shot was going in, and where does it rank among the biggest shots in school history? I think he is capable of making any shot he takes: he is our version of Payton Pritchard, who makes big-time shots at the end of quarters for the Celtics. There is a reason we put him in that position and he delivered. I do not know all of the great shots at Akron…but that has to be up there.
You are heading back to the NCAA tourney for the 4th time in 5 years: do you learn something new each March that you can make use of next March, or do they each stand on their own as individual matchups? Probably a little bit of both. I expect my players/staff to get better from year to year, and I also expect that of myself. We all work hard to improve in different areas, so going through those experiences were helpful.
Your 1st road game this year featured your toughest opponent: what makes Purdue such a great team? It starts with their coach: Matt Painter is a great person and unbelievable coach who has built a great culture. He has really good players who play well together, and they made an unbelievable run to win the Big 10 tourney, which is not easy to do.
Tavari Johnson averaged just 4 PPG as a sophomore, but as a senior he led the MAC with 20.1 PPG/87 FT%: how has he been able to improve so much over the past 2 years? Part of it is his discipline and the way that he has embraced the details: weight room/recovery/etc. I call him a “pro’s pro”: he has always been talented, but has changed his body and is 1 of the best guards not just in our league but in the entire country. He was on pace for a 50-40-90 season earlier this year and is extremely efficient.
Your team is top-10 in the nation with 88.4 PPG/50.3 FG%/10.9 3PM/18.4 APG: what makes your offense so effective? The pace that we play at: we play very fast and it is impossible for us to play too fast. Our shot selection is high, we are very unselfish, and this is by far the best passing team that I have coached here. Our half-court execution has continued to grow, and our offensive rebounding numbers are good as well.
Your brother Travis Steele also made the NCAA tourney as head coach at Miami OH (who you lost to by 3 PTS last January): how do you put his team’s 31-game winning streak into context, and how do you like his chances against SMU tomorrow? I cannot even remember the last team to win 31 in a row: it is very special. I was excited to see their name called on Selection Sunday: the only person more excited was my mother! He has had a great season and I wish him the best of luck this week.
How do you feel about being a #12 seed, and what do you know about Texas Tech? I thought that we could maybe be a #11 seed because we are #1 in the MAC in offense/defense and had a good SOS. 4 of our 5 losses were to teams who won conference titles and/or tourney titles, and the other 1 (Murray State) is in the NIT. I am really impressed by the way Texas Tech responded after JT Toppin’s injury and you can tell their team is very connected. Coach Grant McCasland’s team is tough on defense and their 3-PT shooting numbers are as impressive as (if not better than) ours. They have great personnel starting with Christian Anderson: some of his passes remind me of Mike Conley Jr./DJ Cooper. They have good depth and I like watching LeJuan Watts play due to his physicality/motor.
