Groce named Ohio coach

Jun 27, 2008 - 5:26 PM ATHENS, Ohio (Ticker) -- John Groce, who spent the past four seasons as an assistant at Ohio State, was named head coach at Ohio on Friday.

The 36-year-old Groce fills the lone remaining coaching vacancy in Division I and replaces Tim O'Shea, who resigned last week to take the job at Division II Bryant in Rhode Island.

A native of Massachusetts, O'Shea signed an eight-year contract at Bryant because he wanted to return to New England.

Regarded as one of the top young assistants in the country, Groce was on Thad Motta's staff at Xavier, then followed Matta to Ohio State in 2004. Groce also served as an assistant under Herb Sendek at North Carolina State.

"We look forward to the transition and we are very excited about the opportunity we have to positively impact the basketball program, the university and the Athens community at large," Groce said.

Groce was heavily involved in recruiting at Ohio State and helped bring Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook to Columbus. Two years ago, the Buckeyes reached the national championship game, losing to Florida.

"Jim Groce deserves to be a Division I head coach," Matta said. "We're sad to see him leave our program. He's ready and he's going to do a terrific job at Ohio University."

Groce comes to Ohio with 14 years of experience as an assistant or associate head coach at the college level. He was Ohio State's associate head coach for the past two seasons.

"It will be an easy transition for the Bobcat Nation to rally around his experience, vision and energy," Ohio director of athletics Jim Schaus said. "He has been renowned for both his recruiting successes and his offensive expertise."

Last season, the Bobcats finished 20-13 under O'Shea, garnering a berth in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.