The fascinating weirdness of Tom Crean
Spencer Hall posted a pretty funny piece on Tom Crean over at SBNation. In it, Hall writes, "He's too successful to be dismissed outright as a long-term solution for Indiana, and too flawed not to worry over."
I thought it was a good article, but I couldn't help but wonder why people think Crean is such a good coach. In fact, I feel fairly confident in saying he's gotta be one of the most overrated coaches in the country.
In 6 1/2 seasons with the Hoosiers, he's got 2 NCAA appearances. Both times Indiana lost in the Sweet 16. The '12-'13 S16 loss occurred despite the fact that IU had the #2 (Oladipo) and #4 (Zeller) picks in the 2013 NBA draft on his team. In terms of B1G play, he's got exactly 1 B1G regular season title and has finished 5th once, but his other finishes are 11th, 9th, 11th, and 9th.
While he did inherit a program in the midst of scandal, his job isn't without its advantages.
1) He coaches one of the most storied basketball programs in the country.
2) His school is the flagship university in a state with plenty of high-level basketball talent and is conveniently located near another large metropolitan area (Chicago) with even more talent.
3) He has had plenty of recruiting success, reeling in plenty of highly ranked and talented players.
4) His school has one of the most racuous home courts in the country providing optimal home court advantage.
Thoughts?
February 11th, 2015 at 9:08 PM ^
February 11th, 2015 at 5:50 PM ^
February 11th, 2015 at 5:52 PM ^
February 11th, 2015 at 5:53 PM ^
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February 11th, 2015 at 5:53 PM ^
Is IU known for having a raucous crowd? I don't know, I've never been to a game there. My impression is that it's not that much better or worse than most basketball arenas. I feel like they get a home court advantage because the officials are more likely to give them the benefit of the doubt because of the history and storied tradition of the place, a la Duke.
February 11th, 2015 at 6:45 PM ^
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February 11th, 2015 at 7:10 PM ^
Assembly Hall in Bloomington is insane. Made me jealous how crazy the atmosphere was and I was some 10 rows from the top.
February 11th, 2015 at 5:53 PM ^
His team frankly should've won it all 2 years ago. That team was loaded. And the fact that he didn't even make the NIT last year with an absolute monster in Noah Vonleh, plus a vastly improved Yogi Ferrell, shows just how crappy of a coach he really is.
February 11th, 2015 at 6:20 PM ^
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February 11th, 2015 at 6:50 PM ^
I thought it was the CBI they were invited to last year, but maybe I'm wrong.
February 11th, 2015 at 8:25 PM ^
IU had no idea how to attack Syracuse's zone. Zeller was a turnover nightmare in the middle.
Beilein picked that zone apart.
{to be fair(er), Beilein had coached against it more, though Crean had at Marquette}
February 11th, 2015 at 6:02 PM ^
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February 11th, 2015 at 6:12 PM ^
And he hasn't even won any Grammy's
February 11th, 2015 at 6:19 PM ^
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February 11th, 2015 at 6:23 PM ^
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February 12th, 2015 at 8:18 AM ^
he has a permanent case of the Mondays.
February 11th, 2015 at 6:12 PM ^
Crean is not too successful to be dismissed. Under his leadership IU has become a boring, mediocre program. You can't let that continue for too long. Others who should be on the list-Roy Williams from UNC for sure. Steve Alford at UCLA will get there as well before you know it. Any other nominees?
February 11th, 2015 at 6:46 PM ^
Rick Barnes at Texas could be one. He hasn't advanced past the first weekend since 2008 despite always having plenty of talent.
John Thompson III at Georgetown could be another. His Hoya teams haven't made it beyond the second round since 2007, missing the dance twice in that span.
Leonard Hamilton hasn't made world beaters out of Florida State but he seems to be trending downward of late. With the addition of Louisville and ND to the ACC, I don't see the Noles being much of a player in that conference going forward.
Kevin Stallings at Vandy has to be feeling the heat these days. Vandy is in the midst of a third straight season with no shot at the Big Dance.
How about another from the Big Ten in Matt Painter. Now, I know that Purdue has a decent chance at a bid if it can continue its strong play, but coming into this season his star was looking pretty dull after back-to-back sub-.500 finishes after a string of six straight NCAA invites.
February 11th, 2015 at 7:58 PM ^
Roy Williams? The guy with 2 national championships, 7 final fours, 15 regular season Big 8/12 or ACC championships, 6 conference tourney championships, a 79% winning percentage and a 78% winning percentage at UNC? I mean yeah, his squads have been kinda disappointing for the last 2 years, by UNC standards, finishing 3rd in the ACC and "only" making the round of 32. He's a hall of fame coach and while he's had the resources of a top shelf school, he has also been killing it for 25 years. His resume is so far above and beyond guys like Alford or Crean etc that grouping them together is ridiculous.
February 11th, 2015 at 9:29 PM ^
February 11th, 2015 at 6:13 PM ^
February 11th, 2015 at 6:48 PM ^
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February 11th, 2015 at 6:56 PM ^
He goes to the movie theater with Pee Wee herman.
February 11th, 2015 at 7:04 PM ^
February 11th, 2015 at 8:31 PM ^
He could be scrubbing toilets in Tijuana for pennies and it'd still be too good for him.
Honestly don't see why anyone thinks he's a good coach. His teams underachieve every year at IU, despite the fact that he has the ability to reel in the best talent every single year.
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February 11th, 2015 at 9:01 PM ^
February 11th, 2015 at 9:27 PM ^
February 12th, 2015 at 7:38 AM ^
February 12th, 2015 at 8:29 AM ^
I don't know how fascinating he is but definitely weird.
By now I assume he's stopped blaming all his problems on Jeff Meyer. Agreed he's a highly overrated coach. If something real good doesn't happen soon there it may get fun to watch.