Riding the NCAA bubble is a precarious basketball life.
That’s where John Groce finds himself in Year 4, with some anxious Illini fans bent on making serious judgments based on outcomes in the renovated State Farm Center.
Others within our midst, perhaps in despair about recent personnel losses, fear another mediocre Big Ten run may be inevitable — second division in the top-heavy 14-team conference — and consider recruiting strikes as the only salvation.
For the latter group, this weekend’s sales efforts with visiting blue-chippers Xavier Simpson (Lima, Ohio, guard) and Xavier Sneed (St. Louis forward) carry virtually the same weight as December showdowns against Notre Dame and Missouri.