A ‘CREAN’ SLATE FOR INDIANA
(everyone else had a lame headline so I followed suit)
I’d be lying to you if I told you when my phone rang at 5:10 on Tuesday afternoon that I was expecting to hear that Indiana had hired Tom Crean as their next men’s basketball coach. I’d also be lying to you if I said I was particularly thrilled with the news. Remember when The Shots went in-depth with analysis on all the “serious” IU coaching candidates a little over a month ago? Here’s paragraph one of that piece:
“With Kelvin Sampson officially out at Indiana, there is an opening in Bloomington once again. This time around the list of potential candidates contains far more quality than the list in 2006 (Tom Crean, seriously?).”
I still think Crean underachieved with a lot of those talented Marquette squads, except for the 2003 team that went to the Final Four. That being said, once Tony Bennett pulled his name out of the hat, IU’s whole perspective changed. Once a coach from a second-tier program in Pullman, Washington said no, Indiana had to change their approach to the coaching search. Suddenly, Anthony Grant’s name came up, and Brad Brownell was talked about as a much more serious candidate. Before hiring an unproven, up-and-comer that non-college basketball fans had never heard of, Indiana had one last shot – and they took it on Crean.
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Tom Crean certainly has his share of look-a-likes...
I was surprised to see how many media members were labeling this hire as a “home run” or even a “grand slam.” But, after giving the news 24 hours to digest and sleeping on it, I’ve weighed the pros and cons of Tom Crean as the next head basketball coach at Indiana.
PRO: Despite having nine seasons of head coaching experience at a major program like Marquette, Crean is just 42 years old.
In fact, Crean just turned 42 on March 25th (the same birthday as Danica Patrick and Lisa Turtle from Saved by the Bell…I spend way too much time on wikipedia). His age is surprising considering that he’s been at Marquette since 1999 and has been an assistant at three other programs (Western Kentucky, Pittsburgh, Michigan State) since the age of 24. Almost every candidate that Indiana seriously considered fell somewhere in the late 30’s to early 40’s range. At just 42, Crean could conceivably be with the IU program for the next 30 years, if he succeeds and wants to stay. You couldn’t say the same about Mike Montgomery (61 years old), or even Rick Pitino (55).
CON: Due to the fact that we have already seen what Crean can do in nine seasons, his potential isn’t as high as some of the other candidates.
In nine seasons at Marquette, Crean has only five NCAA Tournament wins and four of those came during the 2003 run to the Final Four. In that time, he was only able to win a top-heavy Conference USA once, and never even cracked the top three in the Big East. Someone like Anthony Grant is far less experienced having only spent two years at Virginia Commonwealth, but there may have been more potential for Grant to be an elite head coach conasidering the fact that we haven’t yet seen what he can do.
PRO: Crean is a consistent winner and in almost a decade at Marquette, he never even came close to any sort of NCAA violation.
The man appears to be as clean as a whistle. You have to figure that hiring a coach with a clean track-record had to be priority #1 for the Indiana “Blue Ribbon” Committee this time around. More importantly while running a clean program, Crean has consistently produced results, winning at least 19 games per season in his final seven years in Milwaukee, and winning at least 24 games four times. Perhaps the biggest testament to Crean’s coaching acumen is that his Marquette team jumped right in to the meat-grinder Big East and immediately became one of the top-tier teams. His Marquette teams won 10, 10, and 11 games in three seasons since joining the Big East, with at least a 5th place finish each season in the 16-team super conference.
Unlike the sleazy Sampson, Crean is as clean as a Christian rock album
CON: Take 2003 out of it and Crean has not had much postseason success.
Yes, Dwayne Wade had a major impact on the 2003 team that went to the Final Four. But, don’t forget that team also included Travis Diener, who is currently with the Indiana Pacers, and freshman Steve Novak, currently with the Houston Rockets. In fact, just for argument’s sake, let’s keep 2003 in play. Even with that run to the Final Four, Crean is just 5-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Those five trips include three first round exits to lower seeded teams:
2002: As a 5-seed lost to 12-seed Tulsa, 71-69
2006: As a 7-seed, lost to 10-seed Alabama, 90-85
2007: As a 8-seed, lost to 9-seed Michigan State, 61-49
His 2007-08 team with Dominic James, Wes Matthews, and Jerel McNeal was perhaps Crean’s most talented since the ’03 Final Four team. But, even this year’s team couldn’t get out of the first weekend of the tournament as they were beaten in overtime by Stanford. Crean has three NIT appearances (1999, 2004, 2005) but only once (’05) did the Golden Eagles get out of the first round.
PRO: Crean is a tireless recruiter – and we mean “tireless” in a good way, not “tireless” like I’m going to call you a bunch of times illegally until you finally give-in and come play basketball for me.
It’s not easy to be a Big East program in the middle of Big Ten country. Not only did Crean have to go head-to-head with the UConns, Syracuses, and Georgetowns of the world, he also had to beat out in-state rival Wisconsin and many of the Big Ten powers like Indiana, Illinois, and MichiganState for recruits. Like Rick Pitino in Louisville, Crean was able to get a bit of a foothold in the New York City recruiting sphere (specifically New Jersey). As an assistant under Tom Izzo and lead recruiter at Michigan State, Crean laid the foundation of a team that went to back-to-back-to-back Final Fours (1999-2001) including a National Championship in 2000. He lured players like Mateen Cleaves, Morris Peterson and Charlie Bell to East Lansing.
Crean put together a Championship nucleus in East Lansing
CON: While Crean is a “tireless” recruiter, he was never able to attract elite talent to Marquette and seemed to be one player away from contending for a National Championship.
Let me preface this by saying that Crean often turned mid-level prospects (Steve Novak, and even Dwayne Wade) into star players. While his recruits often progressed while under his tutelage, Crean rarely landed the blue chip, make-you-a-Final-Four-contender-once-he-steps-on-campus prospect.
Here is the breakdown of Crean’s recruit rankings since 2002 at Marquette (according to Rivals.com)
5-star prospects: zero
4-star prospects: 6 (4-star = ranked top 100 nationally in class)
3-star prospects: 14
2-star prospects: 1
The only prospect ranked in the top 50 nationally was Dameon Mason in the 2003 class.
A common misconception about Crean is that he can routinely landed Indiana talent. While he nabbed a commitment from Richmond phenom Dominic James in 2005, he didn’t have one other player from the Hoosier State in any of his past eight classes at Marquette. In fact, in his last four recruiting cycles, only three other Indiana players were even offered scholarships by Crean: Armon Bassett (Terre Haute South), JaJuan Johnson (Franklin Central), and Luka Mirkovic (La Lumiere in La Porte). Does Crean need to land five-star recruits every season at Indiana? No, but he does need to take advantage of this hotbed of prep talent and make sure that at least some of the top players in Indiana continue their careers in Bloomington.
Looking at this situation as an Indiana graduate and an Indiana fan, I decided a few weeks ago that as long as they didn’t hire Isiah Thomas (or Bob Huggins), I would support whoever was the next head basketball coach at Indiana. That’s what Indiana fans need to do now. Tom Crean is going to have to rebuild this basketball program brick by brick. It is going to take a few years to bring this storied basketball program to respectability and clean up the mess caused by Kelvin Sampson. After that, it is going to take a few more years to possibly get Indiana back to their place among college basketball’s elite. What Crean brings to the table is experience, coaching ability, an unparalleled work-ethic, and because he’s 42 years old, staying power. What Indiana fans need to bring to the table is patience.
Brick by brick.
SHOOTING THE REST OF THE SPORTS WORLD:
Swish: New York Knicks
Celebrate good times, come on! It’s been almost one calendar year since The Shots began and this is the first time that the Knicks have not been mentioned in the “Air Ball” category! The team introduced former Pacers’ President Donnie Walsh as their new head of basketball operations, replacing the incompetent Isiah Thomas at that post. Walsh is widely considered one of the NBA’s finest executives, having guided the Pacers from nothing in the early 80’s to one of the great prolonged playoff runs in NBA history. From 1987-2006, only three times did the Pacers miss the playoffs. In that time, the Blue and Gold reached six Eastern Conference Championship games, and if they hadn’t run into the Bulls dynasty and the powerhouse that was my 90’s Knicks, could’ve reached more than just one NBA Finals (2000). Walsh was the Bill Polian in this town before Bill Polian had ever even left Buffalo. He will have a tall task in front of him trying to regain respectability for one of the NBA’s flagship franchises that has become a laughingstock in recent seasons. With an owner (James Dolan) that cares more about profits than winning, and a roster filled with chronic underachievers, I wish him luck. At least for the Knicks, hiring Walsh is a step in the right direction.
Isiah's days in New York appear to be numbered, but not if Jimmy Dolan can help it
Brick: The NCAA Tournament
After a spell-binding first two rounds, the Tournament officially took a nosedive with one of the worst Regional Semifinals and Finals in recent memory. Outside of the Xavier/West Virginia overtime game and the finish of Kansas/Davidson, all of the games were decided by double-digit margins. And please, spare me on the whole “Wow, all four one seeds is totally awesome!” garbage. There’s nothing that could be worse for college basketball. UCLA/Memphis will be a rematch of the 2006 West Regional Final. That game, a 50-45 win for UCLA, was one of the ugliest, most poorly played games that I’ve seen in the last decade…and that was between two top ten teams! Davidson was a 10-seed and they were one play away from making the Final Four. I bet you anything they could give North Carolina just as good of a game as Kansas can. As a side note, if you had all four one seeds (like Rakestraw did in our pool) then you are officially disallowed from bragging. What do you want me to say? Hey, good job dude, way to go out on a limb and pick all four ones! I know it’s never happened before, but what’s the fun in picking chalk? It’s like rooting for the Patriots…or the USSR back in the day.
Air Ball: The NFL’s proposed haircut rule
Earlier this week, the NFL proposed a possible ban on hair flowing out of helmets. The NFL’s competition committee said that they don’t want players’ hair to block the name on the back of their jersey. I was a big supporter of the NBA for their implementation of a league-wide dress code a few years ago. When the dress code was first proposed, there was a major outcry of racism. Pardon me if I’m wrong here, but isn’t the hair-length rule is more racist than making players dress up in suits? Think about the players that have long hair in the NFL: Troy Polamalu, Bob Sanders, Rashaen Mathis, Al Harris, Marshawn Lynch, Domata Peko, Steven Jackson. All of those players are either African-American or Samoan. Personally, I think the hair is awesome. It’s almost like having your own bad-ass calling card (except for Harris who was totally pwned by Plaxico Burress in the NFC Championship). Let the players grow their hair as long as they want.
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Get near this man with a pair of scissors, I DARE you
The Shots Fantasy Update:
Isiah Groped Me def. by Club Rio, 5-4
After a 5th place regular season finish, Isiah Grope Me fell in teh opening round of the fantasy playoffs. Usually I would be disappointed with a 5th place finish, but seeing all the things that this team overcame this season, I'm mildly pleased. My first two picks were Gilbert Arenas and Yao Ming. Combined, those two missed 86 games. My team was also injury riddled with Caron Butler and Grant Hill missing significant time as well. Top performers on this year’s team included Jason Richardson (18th overall) and Jose Calderon (25th).
Fantasy NASCAR, 8th place out of 14 teams
The last time I updated this, I was sitting in 13th, so I've made up some ground. Last week was a weak fantasy race overall. Jeff Gordon scored 103 points but the rest of the common starts from the B and C groups struggled. I have taken a new approach this year since my colossal collapse in 2007, rotating starts in my A group and saving Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., until later in the season when they get hot.
Robinson Cano & Co. II - Opening week in Fantasy Baseball
This is the first time I’ve had a draft that I’ve been overwhelmingly pleased with in a long time. I guess it helps when you get the top pick, which I used on Alex Rodriguez (someone I’ve never owned). My lineup is littered with players with speed and multiple-position eligibility included BJ Upton, Carlos Guillen, and Chone Figgins. Because I am playing a head-to-head league instead of roto, I decided to stack in certain categories.
I've always wanted to own this guy
Chuckie Three Stick-Up – Fantasy Golf
Since I finally learned how to edit my lineup, I guess I’ll start updating you on my progress. Obviously after missing the first three tournaments, I have a lot of work to do and am still in last place. But lately, I have been climbing back in it. Last week, I got 38 points for Daniel Chopra who finished with a four-round 284, good for 4-under. At the Shell Open this week, I went with Adam Scott, Stuart Appleby, Bubba Watson and Trevor Immelman.
The Shots What to Watch this week:
Arizona at Colorado, Friday-Sunday
The NL West should be the best race this season with everyone except San Francisco having a legitimate chance at a division title. Two of the top dogs are the Diamondbacks and Rockies, two playoff teams from 2007. Both teams have exciting young lineups and solid rotations (perfect for the NL). Don’t miss Saturday’s matchup between Jeff Francis and Brandon Webb…it should be a treat.
NCAA National Championship, Monday
I think both Final Four games will be snoozers. North Carolina looks like an unstoppable freight train and should have little trouble with Kansas while UCLA will be able to slow down Memphis (which means get ready for a Kansas/Memphis Final!). If things work out the way I want them to, North Carolina and UCLA should be a great battle between two of college basketball’s super-powers. I picked UCLA to win in originally in my bracket, but if I was allowed to re-pick, it’d be tough to go against Carolina. Rather than embarrass myself again, I’m just gonna leave this one alone…
Utah at New Orleans, Thursday
You’ve heard about the Lakers, Spurs and Suns as being Western contenders, but what about the Jazz and Hornets? Easily the two most overlooked teams in the West get together on Tuesday night. As of Wednesday night, the Hornets were owners of the best record in the West while the Jazz were on top of the Northwest Division standings. Besides LeBron vs. Kobe, is there a better one-on-one duel than Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams?
CP3 and Deron will have many battles for years to come
The Shots YouTube Clips this week:
Regardless of Division, this is the greatest finish in NCAA Championship history. Why haven’t we heard any Anthony Atkinson “Chuck Norris” lists? This loss ended a 50-game winning streak for Winona State, who claimed the Division II National Championship once again last week.
12 years ago today, this song was #1. This is one of handful of songs I could listen to every second for the rest of my life and I wouldn’t get sick of it.
The Shots Chick Pick this week: Ashley Alexandra Dupre (Elliot Spitzer’s girl)
The guy might be a sleaze-bag, but at least he has good taste. Proceed with caution when hooking up with chicks from New Jersey...
See you next week.
Listen to Derek as he hosts the Xtra Large Lunch, every weekday from noon to 1 PM on XL 950!
