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Tom Crean to Indiana


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solid hire, and a very good one considering the circumstances.

 

also happy to see another more up-tempo coach joining the conference. we can do with less grindage in this league.

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He was rumored to be in the running when Sampson was hired, wasn't he?

 

It will be interesting now because IU has almost nothing left of their team...

 

DJ White, gone

Gordon, gone

The two idiots who got suspended today, gone.

 

Who's left?

 

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QUOTE(kapkomet @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 07:49 PM)
He was rumored to be in the running when Sampson was hired, wasn't he?

 

It will be interesting now because IU has almost nothing left of their team...

 

DJ White, gone

Gordon, gone

The two idiots who got suspended today, gone.

 

Who's left?

 

Crawford, McGee, Taber, Thomas, and Fink are expected returners from this year's team. Matt Roth and Tom Pritchard intended on coming to IU next year, regardless of the situation.

 

AB and Ellis aren't 100% gone from next year's team. However, if they are, IU is without all five of their primary starters from this season (Lance Stemler was a senior as well).

 

I'm happy to see that Crean's known to be a strong disciplinarian since IU's tried to become Pacers-lite off the court this season.

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Lateral move for Crean at best. He's stepping into a program that's in shambles.

 

And a nice big serving of humble pie for the Cream and Crimson idiots. Way to make a splash.

 

Fine coach. Nothing to write home about. So much for having the most coveted vacancy in all of sports, huh?

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QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 06:52 PM)
Crawford, McGee, Taber, Thomas, and Fink are expected returners from this year's team. Matt Roth and Tom Pritchard intended on coming to IU next year, regardless of the situation.

 

AB and Ellis aren't 100% gone from next year's team. However, if they are, IU is without all five of their primary starters from this season (Lance Stemler was a senior as well).

 

I'm happy to see that Crean's known to be a strong disciplinarian since IU's tried to become Pacers-lite off the court this season.

I know... it really saddens me to see the trash that the Pacers are now. I know people on this board hate Reggie Miller, but I think his moral character kept that team much better then people give him credit for. That organization really hit bottom.

 

I would like to see IU's credibility get back to what it once was as well.

 

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QUOTE(Hat Eater @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 07:58 PM)
Lateral move for Crean at best. He's stepping into a program that's in shambles.

 

And a nice big serving of humble pie for the Cream and Crimson idiots. Way to make a splash.

 

Fine coach. Nothing to write home about. So much for having the most coveted vacancy in all of sports, huh?

 

I don't recall anyone saying it was "the most coveted vacancy in all of sports" but you just now.

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QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 07:09 PM)
Just like IlliniBoard represents everything Illini fans stand for, right? Please...

 

Go eat a hat.

 

I mean, it's a better hire than Indiana's previous two, eh? Then again, I suppose that would be by default.

 

Not a bad hire for the state that invented the game...

 

I'm more interested in what Marquette is going to do. Justin, any worry your guy from SIU gets a phone call? He has a great thing going in Salukiville, but, a jump to the Big East is an undeniable promotion. I know he recently signed an extension and may or may not have turned down the Michigan gig, but, you can never trust the contract extensions in college sports. For what it's worth, I think Lowry (Chris Lowry, that right?) would be an excellent hire for the Golden Eagles.

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Greasy, I'll give a more detailed 'scouting report' about Crean in the coming days -- if you care for one. It's a good hire for Indiana, probably not the best but still a quality hire. More than anything -- and you can correct me if I'm wrong -- I think Indiana needs a guy who can clean up Indiana a bit (while at the stay time try to raise Indiana to the level it was once at), and Crean will do that. I believe there was a study released a few weeks ago that ranked Marquette in the top ten for graduating its players (or something about grades -- GPA or something of its ilk, someone else may know better about what I'm talking about).

 

Yeah... this sucks and I'm bummed. Not, mad, per se -- the only Marquette fans who will be mad at Crean are those who have no idea about where Marquette ranks relative to Indiana in the bigger spectrum of things -- but this is tough to take. I hope the recruits Crean was bringing in don't follow suit, as I love what I'm hearing about Nick Williams and Tyshawn Taylor.

 

Oh what the hell, I'll do a small Crean breakdown for anyone who cares:

 

Recruiting wise, it's tough to judge. He hasn't pulled in a five-star recruit and he didn't get a whole lot of four-stars, but he's been (seemingly) getting better and better in that category, as Marquette was extremely close to getting Shumpert. I say that "it's tough to judge" because for one, Marquette isn't one of the elite programs in the country and two, he's recruiting guys to Milwaukee -- generally a crappy city -- as much as he's recruiting them to play at Marquette.

 

Coaching wise... again, not the best in-game coach but not terrible, either. I think he's a little too stubborn at times, but his teams for the past couple years have been above-average-to-great on the defensive end, so that will fit right into the Big 10. The interesting thing is that -- and SoxBadger can probably determine whether I'm correct here based on Pomeroy's stats -- it seemed like Crean liked to play a very up-tempo type game which seems (I'm using "seems" a lot because I'm not 100% certain on several assertions here) different from much of the Big 10.

 

Yikes... this one's tough to take. Enjoy him, Indiana -- can't say I'll be rooting for the Hoosiers but I'll certainly be keeping more of a watchful eye on the IU program now.

 

And wow -- I agree with just about everything Addison has to say in this thread (outside of the IU/UofI squabbling). SIU's coach was the first person that popped into my mind as well...

Edited by CWSGuy406
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QUOTE(CWSGuy406 @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 07:18 PM)
And wow -- I agree with just about everything Addison has to say in this thread (outside of the IU/UofI squabbling). SIU's coach was the first person that popped into my mind as well...

 

Keith, if I'm not mistaken, Lowery spent at least three seasons under Weber while at SIU and you would be hard-pressed to find any intelligible collegiate basketball fan tell you Weber isn't one of the top Xs-and-Os coaches in the game. When handed the reigns, Lowery hasn't done anything to make me think he couldn't handle a bigger and better program. Granted, he's not exactly playing with Rhodes scholars down at SIU and the caliber of students he has been targeting may find it difficult to qualify at MU; but, the good coaches know who to recruit and how and with his already strong Illinois in-road, I think he would be an excellent hire...not to mention he's young and relate-able for your budding Milwaukee athletes--something I have underestimated until the hiring of UI assistant coach Jerrance Howard.

 

As for Crean, he comes from the Izzo (one of the best in the game) coaching tree--although I guess you could say they were compatriots for at least awhile--and is about as clean as one could get in the college coaching ranks. IU could have done much worse. But, it is satisfying to see these IU maniacs come to the realization that their program doesn't carry the prestige it once had--not by a long shot. As soon as they get electricity in the greater part of the state, they will really have things rolling.

 

This is, of course, unless Crean holds a slobbery, tear-filled press conference to announce he is staying at Marquette and has no interest in leaving.

Edited by AddisonStSox
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Thanks for the report Keith. The more I'm reading, the more and more I'm liking the hire.

 

It's nice to know that Crean will definitely be able to take the reins on things, which IU desperately needs after everything that happened this season. This is almost my biggest concern at the moment, as I have mentioned earlier. I don't want IU to become what the Pacers are now.

 

I think he'll be able to work his way in fine into the state recruiting scene, as he clearly has made some recruiting splashes in the state at both Marquette and at Michigan State in his assistant role.

 

Looks like the press conference is set for 11 AM tomorrow; unfortunately, it doesn't look like this one is going to be public like the one held for Sampson two years ago.

 

----

 

Also, good to see that the recruits are behind the hire.

 

Another interesting note is that Terrell Holloway, IU commit until Sampson left, had Marquette as his leader. Maybe this hire will have him back in Bloomington next season.

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the only criticism i'd have of crean is his tournament performance. no doubt he had a great run with dwyane wade in 03, but outside of that his teams have been meh at best when it comes to tournament play. now, there could be reasons for that i'm not aware of because i don't follow closely, but outside of 03 there's nothing really distinguished about his team's tournament performances.

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QUOTE(thedoctor @ Apr 1, 2008 -> 05:59 PM)
the only criticism i'd have of crean is his tournament performance. no doubt he had a great run with dwyane wade in 03, but outside of that his teams have been meh at best when it comes to tournament play. now, there could be reasons for that i'm not aware of because i don't follow closely, but outside of 03 there's nothing really distinguished about his team's tournament performances.

From this alum's perspective...after the embarrassment that has been this season, I'll take a guy who doesn't have a bunch of championships under his belt as long as he's a solid guy who can help rebuild that program. I just don't want another story coming out that makes me shake my head.

Edited by Balta1701
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