by Kent Sterling
You can love him or not, but Tom Crean is coming to work tomorrow morning with intent.
Tom Crean played sparingly on his high school’s team, and did not play in college. Yet, he earns $3.16 million per year in one of the plum jobs of basketball coaching in the world at Indiana University.
Assembly Hall is no longer home to the kind of elite basketball program that it was from 1973-1993 when the Hoosiers won three NCAA titles, advanced to eight Elite Eights, five Final Fours, and had 16 teams ranked among the nation’s top five at some point during their seasons, but it still pays really well. There aren’t many coaches at any level that wouldn’t be thrilled with the job to which Crean lays claim.
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The career path Crean has taken requires several traits – positive self-image driven by a defensive response to insecurity, unbridled ambition, and a work ethic that borders upon mania. Most men would wither under the pressure. Almost 18,000 pairs of eyes trained on every gesture, substitution, and strategic decision would be daunting for most who enjoy working in near anonymity.
There is a piece on IndyStar.com that describes Crean’s mood as confident less than one month after his Hoosiers crapped out on a season that held promise. Indiana’s 17-15 record was not up to the standard of fans or the committee that decides on NIT bids. Failing to please either, Crean took his team back to Bloomington to re-tool.
Of course, he is. That confidence might be misplaced. The Hoosiers might not be better next year than they were this year, but Crean will never admit to anyone – including himself – any psychological weakness or concede failure before exhausting all resources. If he did, his wife, the former Joani Harbaugh – yes, of the family of football coaches Jack, Jim, and John – would take measures to correct that behavior herself as she has seen how coaches succeed for a lifetime.
Weak men cannot win because they cannot lead. Insecure men can’t communicate vision, and whether Crean’s vision is valid or not, time will tell, but he is not going to sink his own mission by allowing a milligram of doubt to enter his mind and corrupt his attitude.
Time will tell whether Crean’s plan will work often enough to please the fans and continue to attract a reasonable level of recruits, but if it fails, it won’t be because Crean torpedoes it with a case of the attitudinal jitters.
Size will be a problem next year – as will be youth. Indiana will be without a single senior next year unless a senior transfer, like Evan Gordon last season, decides to spend a year in Bloomington, and that means that if Crean utilizes the remaining three scholarships left to his discretion, there will be no room at the inn for anyone to join the party in 2015.
According to ESPN, there are 19 players in the 2015 class mulling over offers from Indiana, including Cody Zeller-esque big man Stephen Zimmerman and former Cathedral Irish stud Jalen Coleman. Both would look great in candy-striped britches, but without a scholarship they will land elsewhere.
Fans look to Assembly Hall, and see the Hoosiers roster bereft of meaningful size. Crean sees the roster, plus incoming freshmen James Blackmon Jr., Robert Johnson, and Max Hoetzel, and sees the shooting that was missing last season, and with it the spacing on the offensive end that is required for players like Yogi Ferrell and Stanford Robinson to drive to the basket.
If Indiana Basketball is in trouble, you won’t see any sign of it in Crean’s words or demeanor. He wakes up in the morning eager to attack challenges – even those he may have created himself – and his relentless self-assurances are not only needed to succeed, they are a necessary part of the tool box required for keeping this very difficult job.
You can admire Tom Crean, find his quirks too much to bear, or believe the Indiana basketball program is heading up, down, or sideways, but Crean will be at work tomorrow with a list of challenges to overcome.
Crean has very little in common with former coach Bob Knight, but one trait they share is the ability to fascinate and compel conversation.
When you make over three million a year you have alot to be happy about. The program is in trouble and we all know it.
A rational person looks at the Big Ten next year, sees Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin returning loaded, Ohio State, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska ready to contend, and IU on year 4 of waiting on the next freshman or transfer to contribute. Sound the alarms, this is not a healthy script to be following.
If Crean saw it that way, he would be hiding under his desk. Next year will be very interesting.
So funny that Inside the Hall keeps posting potential “big men” that might play at Indiana next year, like they are going to be any better than Noah Vonleh who Crean had no idea how to use. It’s pathetic, as I watched the Kentucky/Wisconsin game I wondered if we would ever see an Indiana team play like Wisconsin did, albeit losing, but the team ball and movement was a thing of beauty. It’s really sad to be honest and so freaking obvious what needs to be done that it is beyond frustrating. Leave it to Pt Barnum (Fred Glass) and Harold Hill (Tom Crean) to lead us back into the abyss.
First – the Harold Hill reference was very nice. If you want to bring music to a town, having unbridled passion for it is essential. If Robert Preston hadn’t passed away in 1987, he would be a perfect choice to play Tom Crean. I don’t see Fred Glass as a PT Barnum. Indiana athletics has never been stronger – top to bottom.
The proof will be in the pudding next season, and they will not resemble Wisconsin, who only loses Ben Brust.
He’s a Music Man? He’s a what, he’s a what? Ever hear a story bout a man named Crean? Crean? crean! Crean? Crean! You can talk, you can talk, you can bicker you can talk. And when the man dances, certinely boys, what else? The Hoosiers pay him! Yes sir, yes sir. But he doesn’t know the territory!
Couldn’t resist, that was the 2nd music man reference.
76 rebounds led the Hoosier parade,
With 110 big points close at hand,
They were followed by rows and rows of hoosier loving fans,
the Cream and Crimson with the world’s best pep band.
Horrible. How in the hell old are we? They isn’t a 30 year old in American who knows who Robert preston was.
(To the tune of Wells Fargo Wagon)
Ohhhh, the early signin’ periods comin’, down the street, oh please let there be something for Crean!
Ohhh, the early signin’ periods comin’ , down the street, I wish I wish I wish I knew who it would be?
We had a lottery pick in Noah Vonleh,
But in March Tom Crean was sitting, at home,
More likely Coach Wilson plays a bowl game, in Tampa,
Than the Hoosiers in the Final Four at the Lucas Oil Dome!
Pauly Balst is the Stephen Sondheim of Indiana Basketball.
We have seen that play at IU. Remember RMK? Doubt we’ll ever see it under this coach though!
Kind of similar to the way RMK teams moved the ball?
One more thing, to all you Indiana fans that need to bash Calipari to feel good about the Indiana program give it up. Yes I despise Kentucky, but I must say their players seem like really good kids with really good parents and let’s face the facts Calipari can coach and until Indiana gets off their ass and hires Brad Stevens we will not come close to competing with them.
How can any of us judge the parents of kids without knowing them even a little bit? The only parent I’ve seen at all is Julius Randle’s mom. She seemed nice, but can anyone vouch for her character – or anyone’s character – based on an interview? No. Haven’t seen anyone criticize the character of the kids either. Calipari is a different story, but I don’t sense that IU fans engage in that for any reason other than he refuses to come back to Bloomington.
The Harrison twins parents have been shown at games and seem very respectable. Calipari refuses to come to bloomington and Crean refuses to play at a neutral site, it’s a he said she said thing, you cannot deny that Kentucky will play tough non-conference games, however while Crean’s has remained rather pathetic.
Kentucky definitely plays good teams in New York and other non-campus sites.
We should have made the move to Brad Stevens a long time ago. Somebody call Mark Cuban and ask him to intervene! Oh wait, he’s still pissed at the treatment Bobby received at the end of his tenure at IU. He’ll probably withhold the money.
Times have changed boys. We are in a much different era than what it was in the 70’s & 80’s. I saw all three of Bobby’s championship teams play in person and was part of the celebrations in ’81 & ’87 there. Back then it wasn’t a big deal to have half or more players from the home state. Just take a look at last year’s team…looks even more Hoosier than ever. Now take a look at the KY boys playing on the court tonight. Not one is from KY!I call it the “Semi-Pro” KY team. You don’t have to like it but that’s the way it is. Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting…
If Indiana was able to grab the best three players from each high school class – or for that matter if Purdue, Notre Dame, or Butler could – that team would have likely won four national championships since 2006.
You guys are complaing about a guy who had back to back sweet sixteens.. Something not seen at Indiana since Knight. Get over it. It was one bad year with almost nothing but freshmen. This article and the people bashing Crean are the dumbest things I’ve read since the Kelvin Sampson hire.
And the last time they went to a final four was when? I went to several games last year and the kids are singing pointing to banners that are 30+ YEARS OLD! It’s really sad. If you are under 40, you don’t know any better because you can’t miss something you’ve never had.
The last Final Four was 2002. Seems like much longer ago.
Then cut the “IU is back crap”! When we are consistently in the mix for a Big Ten Championship, then I’ll quit complaining. I do not expect to win one every year, but we should be competitive and in the upper tier. If not, then we are not the “elite program” we once were. I must say, I was not pleased with how the Perea situation was handled. How he is allowed to dress again after what he pulled is beyond me. Don’t even get me started on cutting down the nets after a loss. I’m just not sure what kind of image Crean is trying to portray for Indiana basketball. I think that is the main problem…I don’t think the potential recruits do either.
Right on the money Sarge. We are not elite at this point by any means. What happened 30 years ago doesn’t count. Very sad!
Exactly! If one looks at things objectively one has to give Crean some credit here. He has made some positive contributions and took over a program that was in a downward spiral. He’s not a bad guy, he just isn’t the caliber of coach we need to be elite again. Say what you like about the General, but he got us there. I’m afraid he might of spoiled us in the process.
Right on JP. We need a different coah to build on what Crean put together. Unfortunately, the contract Glass gave CTC is going to make it hard to get that right coach, Brad Stevens, anytime soon.
And Keith keep telling yourself that the next NC is right around the corner. It will be if we fire nitwit and hire Brad Stevens from Boston. With the current leadership I predict we will not hang banner #6. So if you’re goal is 7 to 9 loss seasons, early outs in the B1G tourney, and 2nd and 3rd round losses in the NCAA, if we get there at all, then I’m happy for you. Look at his career at Marquette and now IU for 6 years and explain to us your confidence in his ability to win it all? Barely 50% of the years during his career has he even made the tournament. I’m sorry but I just don’t see it happening.
Do the IU assistant coaches do anything…or give ANY advice to Crean at all? I say no…they do do shit. Any assistant coach with half a desire to eventually move up the ranks to a head coach would speak up and make himself heard on the bench. They just sit there and let Crean do WHATEVER pops in his head (or fail to do things he doesn’t think of). Examples…erratic substitutions. Forgetting that Vonleh was on the bench with 3 fouls and the clock ticking down to under 5 min left. I could name a long list. I also would give my input to cutting the nets down after a loss if I were an assistant coach. That is flat out embarassing for the players and fans. I don’t get it…and therefore, if I were an assistant coach I would speak up and tell Crean how dumb of an idea it is and that we should pass on cutting down nets that evening.
If they are worried about speaking up and getting fired???….may as well take that chance…because sitting there following suit will only make them a laughable candidate for any position in the future due to association with Crean’s embarassing decisions…which lead to them being buried on the bench as an associate coach at IU until Crean is fired and the new coach laughs them out of town as well.
I don’t know the assistant coaches or what their relationship with Tom Crean is, but I have worked for a living, and had a variety of bosses. There is not a boss in the world who would not fire a subordinate who did what you suggest with the lack of tact you call for.
People, especially those with kids, become very adept at doing what is necessary to keep a roof over their heads.
That’s not to suggest that the IU staff does not communicate openly with their boss, or that the mistakes you outline were actually mistakes.
Did the seniors deserve a moment to celebrate their worst to first trek in their four years? That’s debatable, but the result was a win at Michigan to wrap up sole possession of the Big Ten crown. Would I have done it? No. I believe the most meaningful celebration for winning occurs outside the public eye as you look at teammates who shared the same journey, but that doesn’t make it wrong.
I thought about substitutions last night when Calipari shuffled Randle out 2 1/2 minutes into the game. Indiana fans would have lost their minds. Calipari has been to three Final Fours in five years under Calipari.
Dude, did you see that jelly donut they call Randle? I’m surprised he made it 2 1/2 minutes!
Indiana will play a bunch jv teams early next year. they will go into big ten play with a winning record. then what? a middle of the road big ten finish. that’s whats going to happen. then what? now that question deserves an answer. calipari took 7 freshmen and 2 sophs to a title game. crean had a soph point guard who started every game the year before a seasoned experienced senior that was the conference 6th man of the year. he brought in a top 5 recruiting class. 2 mcdonalds all americans on the starting 5. crean finishes 17 and 15. one player is arrested and spends the night in jail. midrange talent transfers and walkons leave. walkons are people whose life dream is to play basketball at Indiana university. they are rudys and they are leaving the team. now what?
The comparison to the success Calipari has achieved is not germane to a discussion of Tom Crean’s future, but there are some salient points in your comment other wise.
There are so many variables with next season that any predictions are just impossible. I can’t believe the team’s roster is set, and until it is, projecting success or failure is impossible.
The non-conference schedule will be more competitive next year, although it would be nearly impossible for it not to be.
Brad Stevens come on down please!