Old Friend

Tom Crean has access to 20+ very capable D1 players every year within a 3 hour drive from Bloomington. He has no reason to spend $600,000 flying all over the place recruiting kids who have no clue how or when to cut (his words) because they all need the ball and all have the same skill set. The situations don't have to be different. He's made them that way. Look at Wisconsin's roster. Now, and year in, year out. They haven't finished below 4th in the Big Ten in at least 16 years; and they are pretty much the bar in the Big Ten along with Michigan State. You recruit your area. Kids who know your school. Look at IU's rosters when they've been really good. 1993 for example, not one kid Knight had to fly to. Wisconsin now has just 2 kids on THEIR roster (except the kid from Belgium) anyone would have to fly to. They recruit with a laser. Crean recruits with a shotgun. That's the relevance. You recruit the kind of kids who can excel in your system. It's not that difficult. I see all the time how we're NOT Duke, We're NOT Kentucky. And, we're not. So why do we recruit with a national shotgun to get kids who have no idea how to play without the ball; who have no idea what it means to play at Indiana, and who clearly don't care about playing defense or making anyone else better? We're not getting talent the way Kentucky does, but we're recruiting the same way they do. We're getting 3* kids. They get 5* kids. We need a change in philosophy, and Crean has fractured lots of local relationships. Why does Crean feel the need to go to New Jersey or Maryland to get kids? To Colorado? When he misses on the Bluiett's, Wilkes's, and McIntosh's, etc of the world.

The fact that Crean has missed on literally dozens of kids from Indiana in favor of players like Stanford Robinson, Tim Priller, Guy-Marc Michel, etc.... should tell anyone all they need to know. His focus has been shotgun, and it's cost him. Indiana spent > $600,000 on recruiting in 2015. Wisconsin spent about $60,000. Tom Crean can get enough kids to say yes, but he has no idea the kind of kids he needs to build a team that fits his style; and he has not recruited the kind of kids Indiana fans can get behind. Same as Mike Davis. People feel the same about James Blackmon as they did Bracey Wright. It eventually cost Davis his job, and it'll cost Crean his job. He never called Bluiett when he decommitted from UCLA; and he didn't recruit McIntosh. He just doesn't seem to really know what he's doing. We have a full roster; but a very poor team.

Because he's not coming.

Marshall is very much a system coach, based on a full court press. He's run his 2-2-1 press to success, but that doesn't work in the Big Ten. Ask Tom Davis.

5-10 in the Big 10, 23 turnovers (with turnovers having been a problem for 9 years), and some don't see fit to blame the coach. This guy is made of Teflon. Sickening.

Billy Donovan is an obvious answer. Doesn't make him "the" answer. I think he's an obvious, but pretty short-sighted answer. What makes anyone think he'd leave the Thunder to come to Indiana? He's no more likely to leave than Brad Stevens is. He's got 3 years left on a $30 million contract. What makes anyone think he'd drop that to come to Indiana? He's a name. We all know who he is. Does not make him the right guy to go after. He's just the next guy after Stevens since we know Stevens isn't coming. Anyone who says "then there is no answer" sells the coaching community way short. You guys think we need a big name? Like Crean? Or Sampson? Those were big names, too. Billy Donovan is not coming to Indiana. Oh, and I could not care LESS how many NIT's a guy's won. Laugh all you want. You're not doing anything but name dropping. What happens when Donovan's name goes the way of Stevens'? Will the next guy be "the right guy" in your eyes because we've all heard of him and he has credentials you can name? Billy Donovan has credentials. That is completely irrelevant to whether or not he is the right answer at Indiana. So go on and "lol." He's not coming, so he's not the answer.

Billy Donovan is not the answer, folks.

Because he's the only guy I can think of who would fit the criteria I mentioned above and also unite the fans. Other "name" guys won't do that. A home run hire won't be known for a few years unless it's Stevens. He is the only known "home run" I know of. Like I said, not my job to know who others are, but it's not someone like Marshall, etc. Crean was a "name" because he went to a Final Four with Marquette. We've seen what getting a "name" can look like. Sampson was similar. The only swing for the fences guy I know of who would fit in my opinion is Stevens.

I disagree with the "swing for the fences" mentality. The only guy who fits that description is Brad Stevens. He's not coming. I wish he were....I would outfit my entire house in cream and crimson if he were. But he's not. Getting the hire right, if one is to be made, has nothing to do with a coach we've all heard of or someone we know. Indiana University has proven it does not want a big name in that position. Rick Pitino wanted the job both times it was open. After Davis and after Sampson. He called IU (or his reps did) independently and on their own, making the IU administration aware he wanted the job. That's fact. That happened. IU said no, that they did not want a guy bigger than the University or with a large personality in the chair. I have no idea if perspective has changed or if that's true now or not. But the truth is, our men's basketball program is the world's window into Indiana University. It's our university's most marketable and visible commodity and asset. The administration has made mistake after mistake since firing Knight, and this hire? It needs to get perfect....if indeed a hire is to be made. That does not mean Billy Donovan. It does not mean Mark Few. It does not mean Gregg Marshall. It means we go find the best basketball coach we can find, and he might be the current coach at Fairmont State. It might be some assistant at Creighton. It might be Dane Fife. I have no idea who it is, and it's not my job to know. What we don't need is a retread. Nobody we've heard of on a "swing for the fences" scale is available unless there's baggage. We need a guy who can recruit locally, who understands absolutely what expectations are at Indiana, makes sure his PLAYERS know and holds them accountable; someone who can calmly work the sidelines and adjust to his opponent when necessary, dictate when necessary, and game plan differently when necessary. A guy who understands turnovers are not okay, shot selection matters, defensive effort is an expectation, and a 6'10" kid from Richland, Texas who has no skills has no business on Indiana's roster. He needs to be an x and o guy whose offense moves and whose players understand the game and how to make team mates better. He has to say things when he's interviewed and mean them. He has to avoid platitudes and coach speak. Who is that guy? I don't know. But I have no interest in just getting the "next hot coach" or a name guy just for the sake of a name. There's a proper fit at Indiana, and it's Stevens. Beyond him? That's for somebody else to say.

Bob Knight was "unproven." We do NOT need to go get a guy who's "proven." We need a basketball coach; and there are great ones even at the D3 level. We need a guy who first and foremost can recruit the state of Indiana. Crean has burned a lot of bridges. We need a guy who can coach his team to play different ways against different teams. We need a guy who holds players accountable, sets high expectations, and doesn't make excuses if they are not met. We need a better x and o guy, and someone who can make quality adjustments. Don't care who it is. Edit to this : I don't want "the next hot coach," either. I want the best basketball coach we can find.

Our lack of fundamentals is staggering. Morgan's missed box out cost us the game, and I wasn't even surprised. He didn't even TRY to get a body on anyone. Of course, we had more TO's than assists. Again. Same result. When will this brain dead buffoon learn?

Well, they sure don't play very hard for him. I can't say whether or not they like or dislike him; but I can say for sure he's lost some of them.

Correct. And I've said that for a couple of years. When Bob Knight was let go, people said the game had passed him by. Time to go. Blah, blah. With his worst teams. When he had truly quit caring about recruiting. From 1994 until he was fired in 2000, he STILL finished higher than 4th four times. Crean's done it twice in his career; and we're supposed to think that's okay?? I got into it a couple of years ago with one of the holier than thou folks on the Scout site about Bo Ryan and Wisconsin. His argument was we don't want to be Wisconsin, they never win titles. I said then and I'll say NOW that if Indiana is in the conversation every year, our fans will be happy, and we'll do just fine compared to Wisconsin because we'll always (with the right coach) be able to attract better talent. Bo Ryan never finished BELOW 4th in the Big Ten. Crean is 4-18 vs. Wisconsin. Are we Indiana or...not? Fred? Mr. McRobbie?

Questions : Does OG's injury have anything to do with our offense standing and dribbling for 20+ seconds? (Or getting to the FT line just 14 times in a home game?) Does it have anything to do with teams figuring out that all you have to do is take away Indiana's transition? (Think 0 three's in the first half is a coincidence?) Does it have anything to do with 15 turnovers? I am so sick of the injuries excuse. Jesus, Indiana lost a future All American and 4 year starter in 1993, and still went on to win the Big Ten and make the Elite 8. They lost an All American in 1975 and went to the final game. They had a rash of injuries in 1983 and still won the Big Ten. I don't want to hear about injuries. That's why you have a bench. We have Tim Priller. Whose fault is that?????

Sometimes, facts are all anyone needs to see. I dare anyone in the administration to tell me this is good enough at Indiana.

Always remember, the opposite of love is not hate. It's apathy. Fans are becoming apathetic. The reasons are several-fold, but they are. That;'s not good.

Our offense is atrocious. I don't really care about missed calls or FT differential. We took so many awful shots and over-dribbled so often, we didn't deserve to win. That offense is so stagnant and motionless, it's pathetic.

I had the good fortune tonight to sit at a dinner table with a kid who plays for a team Indiana played earlier this season. Obviously don't want to share who; but you've heard of him and his team. Anyway, we got into a conversation about basketball, and I asked him how difficult Indiana was to game plan against. He was cautious with his answer, not knowing at first why I asked; but eventually opened up to tell me difficult because Indiana is so talented at every spot; but simple because their team knew if they took away the first 8-10 seconds of a possession, Indiana would struggle. And....they did. And....Indiana lost. He said film shows Indiana doesn't run much in the way of different sets. They don't do anything to surprise you, and they're not fundamentally sound. I asked "so you're telling me they're not a tough team to beat?" "No sir. We knew we'd win the game if we just executed our stuff and didn't let them run." There you go. Straight from an opponent's mouth. We're paying a guy $3.1 million to be easy to prepare against and who can't do much but out-talent bad teams and occasionally out-shoot good ones. Is it too much to ask for Indiana....INDIANA to have a sound basketball guy coaching the team?

I was with the guy for an hour or more. Expand a little....this is the Cliff's Notes version. I know one guy doesn't get it. You're smarter than that. If you want the verbatim, PM me and I'll do what I can. Let's just say this kid thought Indiana was a pretty simple team to game plan for and to beat. He was worried about IU's talent, but had no worries at all about what they would do or how they would play. That's the point....not some snapshot of what I posted.

This kid used that exact wording. "They don't play fundamentally sound basketball." It was a neat conversation, but interesting you used the same wording he did in the same context.

A swing....and a whiff. He completely misses the point and takes the wrong direction for the purpose of.......what, exactly? To defend Crean? To be critical of me? Taking a different point than intended only to then argue against it is very "Scout site circa 2010." I thought we were done with childish BS. Everyone else seems to get it. I wonder why you chose this response. Oh wait....no I don't. Just block me. Please, for the love of God and all things holy, just block me.

Of course I do. I remember who was decent, and who the good guys were. (the ones who just wanted to talk IU sports and didn't have an agenda) And I remember the self-righteous jackasses, too. A couple in particular, and not much has changed.

And you were one of my few allies there. I still love you for it. His offense hasn't changed. We're just watching different guys dribble. Verdell Jones was a turnover machine, then Yogi was for a couple of seasons, now Newkirk is. Groundhog day's in 2 days, but we've lived it for almost a decade. We're absolutely in basketball purgatory.....and I'm not sure the powers that be want to get out. PM me sometime.

There are a ton of very good coaches out there. We don't know all of their names, but they're out there. I would love someone who simply understands people. Who knows how to teach the game, use the bench as a tool, who can recruit local kids, developing a pipeline to IU, and someone who understands where he is and lives by those expectations with no excuses.