CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Fresh out of Taylor University in Indiana, John Groce once taught math at a small-town high school while helping coach four basketball teams.

That hectic pace might be easy compared to the work that awaits him at Illinois.

Groce was introduced Thursday as the Illini’s new coach, just days removed from leading Ohio University to the Sweet 16, the Bobcats’ deepest NCAA tournament run in nearly 50 years. He will be taking over a team that has missed the tournament three of the last five years.

The 40-year-old Groce said he sees nothing but potential at Illinois

“I thought to myself, `Illinois, why not? Why can’t we become the standard for excellence among those Big Ten teams?,” he said.