WindyCitySource

  I only know about "school pay" but Crean makes $3.16M a year base salary via his contract extension. Surely he has endorsements, as well. He would be 9th on that list in terms of base pay, barely behind Matta.    For comparison, Stevens has a 6 year/$22 million contract with Boston. That puts him at $3.67M per year base. I'm sure he has better incentives than Crean, but it's clear that IU can throw a little more money at Stevens to give him a raise. It wouldn't be much different than where they are at now (though that doesn't account for the huge buyout they will owe Crean). 

  Maybe so, but it's not only about keeping Yogi. That could be enough to piss off a bunch of players.    And the fanbase actively campaigning against and boycotting a coach is a giant red flag to future coaches, whether they are confident in their ability or not. I know you only need 1 guy to take the leap, but at this point this list of people worth firing Crean for is incredibly short. 

  What kind of message does that send to current players, future players and future coaches? You want Yogi and them to stick around, but the students boycott the last game of the season because of the coach. Boo them when they walk off the court. Yeah right.  Also, what coach wants to step into a situation like that?

That said, I'm still not sold on Glass firing Crean.. unless he knows he can get the money and can get Stevens. I know the money is there, but I think many people overlook the perception of an Athletic Director paying $11 million so that an employee LEAVES the university. And even though the Hoosiers aren't winning, they are still bringing in revenue. I'd be terrified to pull that trigger if I was Glass.    But if he could guarantee Stevens, I'm sure some boosters would foot most/all of the bill and he could cut down on the negative perception that comes with buying someone out for eight figures. 

I do think that IU will be in a much better position this time around when they do decide to make a change. Not many coaches wanted to step into the situation in 2008, despite how badly they might want to be the IU head coach. I don't blame any of them for passing on it. Crean didn't even realize how awful it was going to be until he got into it.    But now, the Hoosiers have a legitimate roster, legitimate recruits, rebuilt bridges with Indiana recruiting, and a large portion of the fanbase/alums/boosters wanting a change. IU can pull guys now that they had no chance at 7 years ago. 

  Yes... drops to $7.5M on July 1st. Obviously would save the school a ton of money but at that point the (college) coaching carousel has come to a halt. Indiana could do it, though... big enough program to make a big time hire regardless of the time of year.    Stevens won't be available (theoretically) until April 16th at the earliest, the day after the Celts regular season ends. As bad as they have been this year, they still could actually make the playoffs in the horrid Eastern Conference. Just  2 games back of the 8-seed right now despite being 23-35. Yeesh the East bad. 

Archie Miller is going to get a better job this off-season so it's probably now or never in that regard. 

Obligatory...  

Indiana up to #58 in the Lunardi's Daily RPI

  Love the hair!

They might not announce until after the season, especially if it's a medical hardship they are going for. Not sure about the rules regarding whether or not you can get a medical hardship w/o having used your redshirt year already. 

  Possibly, but that one is already scheduled for 2p ET. I don't know if they would change the time of the game after it's already been set.   ESPN has the IU/OSU game listed now as ESPN/ESPNU. So I guess the TBD could also be because they don't know which channel they will air it on yet and therefore can't hammer down a time. 

As of right now, CBS has Kentucky/Texas A&M that day (1/10). CBS has Indiana games on 1/25 (at OSU) and 2/8 (v Mich).    The IU/OSU game is on ESPN. The time TBD is due ESPN having several options that day and choosing game times based on audience appeal. Obviously, the better games get the better time-slots. IU/OSU is a decent national draw, but will be even better if both teams are ranked. I'm not sure what the other games are that day, but ESPN will give the best game the best slot. 

2 6'8" recruits have already signed Letters of Intent... at least he's working to fix the problem with guys that aren't projects. Plenty of recruiting left to be done, as well. 

The boosters won't pony up that kind of money unless they know they can get "their guy." If their guy is Brad Stevens, he's going to need to become available. If it's some other high- or mid-major head coach, they are going to need to be pretty sure they can land him before pulling the trigger on the buyout.    It's a TON of money and if they can't get the guy they want, what's the point? We're better off with Crean than missing on Stevens, et al. 

  Maybe snap wasn't the right word. But in the heat of the moment, people have strong opinions. All I'm saying is that I'm trying to let the moment dictate how I feel about Crean's future. 

I'm trying not to take a side on Crean right now, early in the season with everyone make snap judgements after a bad loss.   But from a realistic standpoint, the only way Crean is not the coach next year are:   1) He quits. 2) More off the court issues w/ the team allow IU to bypass the buy-out by firing him "with cause." 3) He finishes dead-last in the B1G and fails to win 10 games overall. Even then, it's a HUGE buyout.    Otherwise, better get used to cheering for this team and staff because it's not going to change. 

  $40M for vast improvements on Assembly Hall and getting your name on the stadium is A LOT different than throwing 8 figures at a guy to just go away.   I'm not saying it won't happen. I'm just saying I really don't see it happening. Fred Glass has never done anything to make me thing he would fire Crean after this season, unless he doesn't win a game the rest of the year or something. 

  Buyout $$$$$. That's how. 

Honestly, I'm pretty sure Tom Crean will be the coach next year. 

Northwestern, Penn State and Rutgers will 100% finish below Indiana. Beyond that... I'm not sure.   The shooters on this team are good enough to upset anyone on any night. Unfortunately, they are just as likely (if not more so) to get upset like they did tonight.   Long season, indeed.