Chris writes:
You know, there is so much negative energy around the program on the message boards. Seriously, this is not Indiana from 1987. Myles Brand, Herbert, and Greenspan destroyed the athletic department and let the basketball program decay. TC isn’t going to fix it in two seasons.
These guys on the floor are showing flashes, but its not always going to be an incremental improvement every time they play. There will we be lapses. We have also lost two of TC’s recruits to injury so we’re not even at a full roster.
I firmly believe the Crean is the right guy.
There is no one else out there that is going to do a better job. There is no silver bullet coach that can turn around the program in one season. For the most part our players are 18 years old and they have the pressure of living up to being 1976 Indiana. The PROBLEM with that is that they’ve been cut off from the IU legacy by Brand, Herbert, Greenspan & Sampson’s ultimate failure.
The current class of players didn’t get to learn from 4 and 5 year seniors who can teach them the Indiana way…show them the ropes. They don’t have someone to mentor them on Big Ten refs, life on the road in the B10, and how to juggle all of it. This class will be the players that have to learn the ropes on their own and then they will be expected to teach subsequent classes how to play Indiana Basketball as Crean teaches it. That is no less than a 4-5 year rebuilding job.
I think its OK to question the coaches decisions, but I’m not going to question whether we have the right guy. We hired a quality coach with a pedigree and successful track record in a major basketball conference. We hired a coach that likes to play up-tempo. We didn’t hire a motion offense guy so we shouldn’t expect to see motion offense. Crean is positioning IU Basketball to recruit up-tempo players and by extension, NBA caliber talent. This is something that many of us wanted when we used to say that today’s player doesn’t want to play in a motion offense. He will never be Bob Knight, but who can be? RMK is a one-time-in-history guy. If there were a basketball Mount Rushmore, you can debate that he’s the second face on it right after Naismith. I’d put him first, but you can argue that RMK wouldn’t be there if Naismith hadn’t invented the game. But the point is that the IU will not be RMK’s IU. No one can dominate like that in today’s game. Its just too different in terms of game rules and talent parity.
We have to trust that TC can get IU to be a Top 10 program year over year, compete and win B10 titles, and make some runs in the NCAA. I hope that he’s tough enough to endure the scrutiny that comes with this job.
Monday, January 11, 2010
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6 comments:
Great stuff, Chris, thank you.
I agree that Tom Crean is the right guy. Trust me, the last two games have frustrated me beyond belief. Against OSU, we looked like we don't belong. Against Illinois, we once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. But even with the frustration of those two games and the frustrations with the offense, I still firmly believe Tom Crean is the right man for the job. And I believe he will get this program back to being a perennial contender.
Another point that I think you are spot-on about is the 4-5 year rebuilding timeline. I was originally hopeful that year 3 (next year) would be the timeframe, but the Maurice Creek injury was a huge setback. It's an obvious setback for this year, but also a huge one for next year. Do you remember the leaps and bounds that VJIII improved last year from this point forward? Mo won't have that opportunity to improve his defense, his driving, his toughness, his passing, or his rebounding. Not only that, but who knows where his mental game and confidence will be after an injury like that.
Another thing that leads to the 4-5 year timeline is Tom Crean's approach. He is committed to doing things the RIGHT way. That means that he is recruiting top-notch kids and he is coaching them to play a certain way. I think this approach will pay great dividends in the long-term, but it is a slow process.
Again, great stuff, and feel free to send me more posts whenever you don't feel like working.
Love the passion. In today's world, we want everything right now. We forget how to be patient. We are all used to sitting at home on Selection Sunday and debating whether we deserved a 4 or a 5 seed. The last few years we have had to become accustomed to filling out our brackets without IU in them.
After Sampson destroyed the program, I didn't think we would get anyone with half the resume of Crean to come to IU. The guy has taken a huge risk by taking a program and having to start from scratch. Outside of the IU tradition, there were not a whole lot of building blocks. IU will most likely go another BT season without being favored to win one BT game. Having said that, we know that they will squeak out a few. Think about that though. When some of you were freshman (1992), IU went undefeated in the Big Ten. It may take Crean five years to win that many games in the BT.
I am still supporting Crean. To tell you the truth, I have not seen a whole lot of backlash against him. Then again, this is really the only blog I read. The talent will come over the next few years and we will see a much different result.
Keep the faith.
sadly, it is just a matter of when can we land a 5 star guy to go with these buidling blocks. selby would speed this process up. looks like teague is looking less likely.
Chris Writes:
Good posts gentlemen.
I didnt even think about Mo losing a year of experience. That is true. He won't have the benefit of honing his game against the rest of the big ten. That is where these guys really learn who they are. Knee injuries are tough. Hopefully he can build his body and STUDY the game this year. If Crean is smart, he'll have Mo really concentrate on film study to look for other players tendancies. That is something you don't need a kneecap for.
Tom Earth had to go an use Mathematics. It will be 3-4 seasons before the match the B10 win total of 1992.
I feel like I'm in basketball hell.
This kills my ego. Kills it.
Crean seems like he's taking the a page from Painter's book. Get a couple classes full of 3 and 4 star talent and watch them gel. The difference between us and them is that IU WILL attract a 5 star recruit. When that happens, this program turns the corner.
Let's face it, the Big Ten needs IU as its flagship basketball franchise. No one give a shit about Wisconsin Hoops or Illinois or Michigan State for that matter. People want to see Indiana in that 1, 2, 3 seed in the bracket and they want to see them run into Duke, UNC, UK, UCLA and have a classic duel. All the commentators are dying to tell the story of a resurgent IU and the B10 network needs that story.
Yes, Crean does need to land an NBA player and he needs to tap into some skilled Bigs 6-11 and taller. Gonzaga has two. If they can get two then we can get one or two. Does he need more recruiters? Why doesnt he start a website where kids who think they have the skills send him a video?
Jeez, they have me wishing for the return of Todd Lindeman, yeah he had a long neck, but he was 7 feet tall and grabbed boards and bothered a lot of shots.
You mention that commentators are dying to tell the story of a resurgent IU, but I am writing a book about it.
The title of the book is "The Return to Glory: The story of how Tom Crean Returned the Glory to Old IU....after that fuckstick Kelvin Sampson left it in a ball of flames".
Ok, maybe I'll remove the Kelvin Sampson part once its ready to go to print.
I'm working on another IU-related book as well, but I'll preview that in a post at a later date.
Does that book have a chapter titled "How I drank 36 Gin and Tonics at Yogis one night?"
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