PointBlank

Agreed, at times Knight was great to listen to, and other times it appeared his telecast partner had to wake him up. Like the way he delivers the message.

  Going back to the op, if the players are leaving either on their own accord or being shown the door by Crean, you can not say IU today is a destination, I can't think of one program which could be claimed as a destination as described by the op.    Crean has had some success in developing some players, but has failed miserably with others, and it isn't merely limited to Capobianco and Muniru. Several of his recruits have decided to leave and demonstrated very little if any improvement while under Crean's tutelage.

  It was tough to watch the game, poor overall team play which is to be expected. 

  Archie Miller has successful experience in recruiting five star players while coaching at a place called Arizona. The assistant coaches from the elite programs do not throw out their connections once they become a head coach at a lesser program. They have to be realistic and pursue the players they feel they can deliver to their current program since they do not have the resources the larger programs have at their disposal. Archie would be a force on the recruiting trail for a larger program. Also, almost every five star player desires to play for the larger programs, it's a cred thing. As Sean Miller and Thad Matta have proven, coaches from the smaller programs who accept a head coaching gig with a premiere program can recruit successfully with the other larger programs.

  If IU has become a destination for the players, why have so many transferred out to other destinations?

As hypertension is to ADHD

  I recall an interview Bob Huggins was giving on television after a game during his UC days, the reporter asked Huggins why some highly regarded offensive player didn't see the floor as much as another less efficient offensive player. Huggins told the reporter the key to basketball is to score more points than your opponent and when the highly rated offensive player learned and developed a desire to play defense he would see a lot more playing time.    Blackmon could learn from the above, the entire team needs to increase their desire to play solid defense. Of course, you need a head coach who is going to mandate everyone is going to play defense and not allow players to take plays off. As much as everyone likes to jump on UK and Cal, Cal has made playing defense a priority and the players have obviously bought into his plan.

  Two years in a row the tournament selection committee has given OSU an undeserved gift at the expense of more deserving teams. They even overseeded the cowboys. Even when they deserved to be in the tournament in 2013, they were one and done. Although Ford and his team made the tournament for the past three years, I believe in the eyes of many they only deserved and earned one.

The same mid major coach who just beat a Big Ten team coached by Tom Crean?

  i wouldn't want IU to ever fall to that low level. Glass has hitched his wagon to the team of Wilson and Crean, and he is praying to the football god of Bear Bryant and  the basketball god of John Wooden that both teams show dramatic improvement this coming year. No matter how well all the other sports perform, Glass will judged by how football and basketball perform next year. If football does not make a bowl game and if basketball does not improve, Fred is likely terminated. IU could see a trifecta of change if improvement isn't made.

  I think Crean does share fault for not having capable big men. He should know the pulse of his team at all times, he should anticipate the early departures and recruit accordingly. Everyone on the planet knew the players were headed to the draft, I would assume Crean knew as well. No one is faulting Crean for assisting those players in leaving early for the NBA, but his plans to alleviate the pain in regards to these players leaving have been unacceptable.

Zona would not trade for Crean even if IU tossed in AH, Franklin Hall plus cash. I am a believer in Miller but he coached similar to Crean in the closing seconds during last night's game. Like Crean he appeared to become distracted during crunch time.

I guess we should remove Watford, Hulls and Victor as well? To Crean's credit he assembled a very good team of players and the team just couldn't accomplish getting past the sweet 16. Maybe the true outlier is the entire team?

Such an outlier should have worn a cape and at least have gotten the team to the final four. 

Marshall might be in a position to ask these schools which armored truck company do they use. Might no happen, but I have to believe Texas, Bama and Tennessee will throw some big money at an individual in order to land their coach. I read where the fans of the Vols were crowd funding in order to bring Pearl back.

He at least made the tournament six years in a row. Back when it was much tougher to qualify for the tournament. Knight's was definitely on the backside of a tremendous career and was trending downward. 

I go with Sean Miller and Zona, he is still in his 40s. He is on a roll with recruiting, he has to put up with a demanding fan base and the shadow of Lute. Having said this he will probably go down in flames tonight.

You are called to Crean's office and on the way you see Fred Glass in the hallway, and Glass jumps in the maintenance closet.    At one time there was a player who allegedly threw a vase during a conversation with Crean. I do not condone such nonsense, but after the years have pass, I can understand the twisted emotions some IU players undergo. 

I agree Snider would not have transferred or perhaps forced to transfer. It is about building a team, and providing a culture of winning. It is about taking the players you recruited and have so much faith in, and making them better players who will contribute to the team cause. It is also about fulfilling your initial recruiting promises to the parents and players.

  Crean has used this philosophy from day one. He reminds me of the guy who takes a hot looking brunette to a dance, sees a good looking blonde and wants to leave the dance with her and dumps the brunette. As a coach you have to build a lot of trust with your players, however; if I were on of the scholarship players who does not see a lot of PT, not sure how much trust I would have with Crean and the IU administration. These players are always looking over their shoulders.

  Some coaches know how to prepare backups and rework the game plan going forward in order to succeed. Louisville is not as good of a team without Jones but you have to credit Pitino for adapting and giving his team the best opportunity to win. Crean/Glass use these type of incidents as back pocket excuses as to why the team has not met expectations. There are other coaches who lose good players during the season and still succeed, and there are coaches out there who will look to use the unfortunate situation as an excuse.  

It's the weed them out course.

Bama, Tenn, ASU and Washington all have openings. In order to land their target, I think Bama will overpay for their next coach. ASU might have to overpay as well if they ever want to keep Zona in their sights. Tenn is in terrible shape, deleting of emails, who does that guy think he is Hillary?

  It just isn't high school many of the college fan bases are out of bounds with their comments as well. It becomes a sordid game of one upmanship in an attempt to distract the opposing team and fan base. A few years ago Xavier had a serious issue and has somewhat corrected that issue. Many times it is the mob mentality where some cowards feel safe in numbers.  I am convinced those punks would not have said what they did to any of the Creans faces. 

  It would be great, however; I am not sure if IU football and basketball players are allowed to mention the word defense.