Perspective

Chris forwarded me a pretty good article from Bob Kravitz of the Indy Star today.

Of course, Chris had some of his own comments.  And of course, I had some of my own.  Followed by more from Chris.  That exchange is below.

Chris:
Hey, Kravitz wrote a sensible article in the IndyStar. Pretty much looks like he’s reading your blog.

I don’t know why I read the comments. So many idiots are in love with Painter and Purdue. Its not a fair comparison on any level.

I can’t wait until Crean gets it turned around. There is a reason that he asked for, and got a 10 year contract. Its monumentally messed up.

If he doesn’t have it back by 2012 then maybe you start to question if he’s the guy for the job.

At any rate, we can only get better from here.

You know what I mean?

I just keep thinking that the program must have been more damaged that I even thought. I knew it was bad from Sampson’s sanctions, but when you really think about it (which I do a lot), it must have been decaying from the inside out for much longer that we realized. There’s your book Jeff.

What are the components/ingredients of a successful program? Recruiting pipeline (in-state/out-of-state). Recruiting system/sources (strategy, assistants, high school, AAU, Elite Teams, Foreign).Coach’s name recognition. Offensive/Defensive System. System Continuity Fresh-Soph-Jun-Sr.-redshirt, JUCO, one&dones. Locker Room. TV/Radio/Internet exposure. Facilities. Academics. Athletic Administration. University Administration. NCAA compliance.

You could investigate all of this issues and compare them to best in class, such as UNC/Duke/Kansas to understand the true scope.

Keep in mind, Knight ran the Basketball program autonomously from the Athletic department for 20 or more years. The AD had no skill in running the bball program. There was not succession planning or brain trust in place for post-Knight. Don’t be fooled, RMK wanted it that way. He wanted to be all powerful. I think his secret plan was to hand it off to Pat.

Its all history now, but its certainly a cautionary tale for how to f@ck up an athletic organization.

Jeff:
At least we have our football program to model it after…..oh, wait, we have made sucking at football a tradition.

At the end of this basketball season, I wonder where we would rank among BCS schools for a combined football and basketball record this season. We would have to be last or very close to it. The last two seasons…..definitely last.

I hope Fred Glass is good. I think it is very difficult for fans to judge an Athletic Director. There’s just too many ingredients. Heck, look at all the stuff you listed just for a successful basketball program. For an AD, you now have to mix in multiple athletic programs and add in some type of budget and financial situation.

Speaking of the financial situation, that’s another hangover or black cloud that is still hanging over the IU athletic department. Obviously, we don’t know the exact financial situation, but we know it’s bad. My point with all this is that it is easy for fans to say that Glass needs to get rid of Lynch and bring in a big name coach. But exactly how is he supposed to pull that off. First, I don’t think the program has the dollars to lure a big name coach. And even if we did, why would a big name coach want to come to IU? And even if a big name coach would want to come to IU, he’s not automatically going to start getting big time recruits. It might help a little in recruiting, but it would probably take several years to turn around.

Just like Tom Crean and the basketball program, recruiting is a several year process. As you mentioned, there is a recruiting pipeline and a recruiting system and long-term recruiting relationships with coaches.

I underestimated the recruiting impact and mess when Tom Crean took over. I think most people generally say that IU lost one year of recruiting. That statement is completely inaccurate.

If you really think through it, when Tom Crean took over last year, the entire team was wiped out with the exception of a couple walk-ons (Taber and Finkelmeier). So, with that, you did not have a recruiting class of Seniors, you did not have a recruiting class of Juniors, you did not have a recruiting class of Sophomores, and the entire recruiting class of freshmen went elsewhere (Ebanks, etc.). The freshmen that were in that recruiting class were pieced together at the last minute and it looks like Verdell Jones is the only quality player. So, there’s 4 recruiting classes that were completely wiped away and Crean was lucky enough to land Verdell Jones in the final hour. Then, Crean did a good job to land a quality class with this year’s freshmen, but now that we have seen them play, that class was ranked more on quantity than it was quality. I’m not knocking that class because I still think that class is the foundation of some good teams in 2-3 years, but if Crean only had 3 open scholarships and landed say Creek, Hulls, and Muniru, that would not be a top ten recruiting class.

And I think we are still seeing the recruiting impact for the next two classes. IU has gotten in late on a couple 5-star point guards in Kyrie Irving and Josh Selby, but both have now decided to go elsewhere and it sounds like IU was never truly in the running. As for big men, there just aren’t many quality big men that are not committed for the next two years. So, I think you are looking at the class of 2012 that will be the first opportunity that Crean and staff were probably able to fully execute their recruiting strategy.

So, that is 3 recruiting classes that were completely wiped off the face of the earth, 1 recruiting class that was pieced together at the last minute after that original entire recruiting class bolted (Ebanks out, Verdell in), and 3 recruiting classes hampered by nothing in the pipeline and the current staff not able to execute their full recruiting process. Now, that’s a mess that is going to take time to re-build.

I am extremely busy right now and honestly had intentions of only responding with that first sentence, but I just can’t help myself. Like you said, I think about this stuff a lot. A LOT.


Chris:
Totally on the money, JD. When Crean says its unprecedented, he’s really saying “you can’t really understand this until you immerse yourself in it and then you still can’t believe the size of the job.”

What bothers me is all the negativity in the chat rooms and in some media outlets about Crean. If anything, this guy should be commended for stepping into a minefield. I can only believe that he wants it more than anyone because he’s the one who stepped up when he got the call. He’s taking a beating on behalf of IU fans everywhere. I think it confuses people when you see quick turnaround jobs at Kentucky, Kansas, and UNC (Calipari, Self, Williams) and we think we’re in that class. Its different in every way. Those were easy transitions and Calipari smells. I can’t believe all the IU fans who are admiring Purdue right now. I liked how Crean said “I'm not here to be close to Purdue,” IU coach Tom Crean said. “I'm here to beat them. We just didn't do it.” Doesn’t that say what we need to know about Crean?

I never admired Purdue even during the Keady days. I hated them. Felt a little sorry for them when they recently sucked. Liked that Davis and Sampson owned them. Admire? Nope.

Kravitz finally at least got part of this story out in the mainstream media. He could probably write a 5 part series about the situation.

Anyway, I can see why people look at the way the team is losing and wonder if TC’s getting the most out of them. You can wonder if another coach would get more. How much more could you really get from this group? How can anyone say he sucks at recruiting when 2 of his guys are out with injury and the rest of the team is comprised of young guys who aren’t NBA bound players?

I mean, I’m not surprised that MSU and OSU and UW, all ranked NCAA bound teams with upperclassmen and some NBA talent, are MOWING down a team that’s at the bottom of the league.

Isn’t that what we used to do with cellar dwellers? I mean, there never was any magic in the INDIANA name. It was talent, great coaching, and solid recruiting. Nothing mystical there.

None of this makes me feel any better about it, but at least I understand the gravity of it.

If Creek, Watford, and VJ3 continue to improve on their trajectory.
If Hulls and Elston gain strength, wisdom, and confidence.
If Roth, Capo, Pritchard, Rivers, and Bawa learn how to play their role confidently.
If they learn to trust each other on defense.
If you sprinkle in a couple new faces with legitimate D-1 talent.
We’ll emerge to be a team and a program once again.
We’ll never be this bad again. The guys will improve over the summer.
The league, as a whole, will cycle down over the next two seasons and we’ll be cycling up.