TrueHoosier62

As long as there are those of us still living who remember the Knight coached teams, everything that Crean throws out on the floor will be measured against them; fair or not. IU fans are some of the best, if not THE best in the country. We know good, well coached basketball when we see it. Win or lose, the Knight coached teams always gave us a feeling that no matter the opponent, we had a fighting chance to win the game. That doesn't mean we would, or did, but we all felt that even on a down year, we could beat a DUKE or UK. It might be because everyone played out of their asses that day, or coach Knight came up with another brilliant game plan, or any number of other intangibles, but we'd go in to games knowing we could win it.    Conversely, Crean's teams remind me of those put together by Lou Henson, Gene Keady, or Dr. Tom Davis at Iowa. Henson and his side kick, Jimmy Collins, could get some of the best talent out of Chicago; nationally recognized talent, and make them a fundamentally sound, competitive team. They'd be tough to beat, until they got in to the tournament. Same for Keady and Davis. Their teams just didn't seem to ever develop to a level that one might seriously expect them to compete for a title, despite all the talent that went through their programs. It's entirely possible that Crean may be in this mold.   The team this year, young and inexperienced though they may be, is fundamentally flawed. They don't handle the ball well, they don't shoot the ball well, they don't play defense that scares anyone, and for some reason, they don't appear to go "all out". They don't have an identity that separates them from anyone else. They do have talent. Like Henson, Keady, and Davis, Crean has put together an amalgam of talented players, that aren't getting appreciably better as the season progresses.   I like coach Crean, and I think, to a point, he's a good coach. But, as he said one time, "It's IU". As such, that puts us above 95% of the basketball programs in the Country, with or without him. In short, I don't think he should be fired yet, but neither do I think Glass should drag his feet if it appears things are not progressing long term. 

I think each year there are several dissillusioned NFL position coaches or even DC's that would be worth considering. In many cases, they'd be high profile personalities, and they'd be better suited for evaluating talent at the collegiate level. My guess is that you could look at various teams who're out of contention for the play-offs, and who because the head coach may soon be gone, might yield some good candidates. Minnesota, St. Louis, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, numerous others. For instance, if Mike Singletary isn't retained as part of the imminent blood letting in Minnesota, he might be a good one to approach as DC. He has head coaching experience, asst. head coaching experience, is tough as nails, is a recognizable name, and would instantly bring credibility to the program. Recruiting would also get a boost. I'm not saying IU would ever, or could ever afford him. I'm not saying he'd ever consider IU. I'm only using him as an example of what one might consider as an alternative to Mallory. Then again, we could also hire a high school janitor, and have a similar upgrade at the position.

The thing I'm most concerned about is the lack of improvement. Not just from one year to the next, but within a single season. There should be some measureable improvement in fundamentals or execution regardless of whom you start. Our defense just hasn't shown it. People like to say that our offense scores so fast that the defense spends a lot of time on the field. Ok, I'll give you that. But one would think that just by being of the field of play that much, and through sheer repetition, we'd have seen them get better at something over the course of the season. One can say that Mallory was coerced in to using more freshman than usual in an effort to field more talent, fair enough. But did that talent improve at all? Can we say this defense is any better today than they were when camp opened last summer? I don't see it, I don't sense it, and I don't believe it has. The offense, while productive as hell, isn't unstoppable. Clearly, when our competition has been subpar, we've flown up and own the field. But Wisconsin didn't have an issue stopping us. We didn't score at Ohio State until the fourth quarter when arguably, down 35-0, they put their scrubs in against our first team offense. We were steady, but hardly overwhelming against Michigan State. Do we really think we'd be able to put up big numbers against an Alabama, Auburn, or LSU? What about Florida State or Oklahoma? Point being that our offense is top shelf only against mid level talent. It gets more positive reviews simply because it can put up some big numbers in those situations. Our running game is average at best, and benefits greatly from the passing game. But lets not kid ourselves. We would have to have a GREAT defense just to be competitive in a game against any of those teams mentioned above, because our offense would be shut down. I really wonder if Coach Wilson is the answer? There's a reason he was a coordinator for years, and not a HC, and I think we're beginning to see why.

 Actually, a "lapse" would be if we were to have a good year now and then. lol

Coach Wilson: "Doug, I don't know Defense from Dumplings, but I think part of our problem is gap integrity".   Coach Mallory: "Well it's not my fault, Coach, i made sure our boys left gaps all along the defensive line"   Coach Wilson: "You're an idiot Doug. Pack your bags and get the hell out. We've got the rotted corpse of Woody Hayes coming in, and he still can't be as brain dead as you are".

  ROFLMAO!

  I remember quite well, that game. Seems like it was only yesterday. Woody Hayes, like Al Davis in the NFL, lost it towards the end, and were never quite right. Still, he knew football in his hey day, and his teams knew something about defense.

If Mallory is out recruiting wtih Wilson, we have no hope; neither in improving our dismal defense, nor in landing anything more than marginal talent. He simply hasn't gotten the job done and it's time for change.

As bad as our defense played this year, they could tell recruits they're planning on digging up the rotted corpse of Woody Hayes, and most kids would consider that an upgrade over Mallory. Hell, we might even land an extra good linebacker from the state of Ohio!