Maynard

I cannot stand the positionless basketball that IU plays. I would like the next coach to recruit guys role players as well as stars. It wouldn't hurt to have a Christ Reynold like defensive specialist, or glue guy who crashes the boards and works to get others open. I enjoy watching kids play their roles in order to help the team succeed.

Who is this guy? His profile says that he is a talk show host in OKC. Is he connected to the University at all? I hope this is true. Bennett is #1 for me. If I have to accept BD I suppose I wouldn't be too upset!

Prediction time. What page is this on when a major media outlet breaks that Crean is out at Indiana? And what page is it on when the replacement is announced? My guess is 50 fewer pages than 20 minutes after the news breaks. We've got a long week coming up, I am going with 785 and 855.

Bennett is still my top choice. I really like his temperament, and I feel like I am getting an education with every press conference. He has already been successful at every level and has competed as the coach of schools with little basketball tradition against some of the historically best programs in the country. Imagine what he could do at a school with Indiana's pedigree. He already recruits the state well and he develops players for the college game. BD would be my second choice. I love the confidence and bravado that he would bring to the table. Day one he could walk in, reestablish the UK rivalry on his own terms, and start rolling the Big Ten. The idea of having a coach (like a Jim Harbaugh) who has the credibility to act the part of being the man in charge would be exciting. After that, I will give pretty much anyone the benefit of the doubt. I do like Marshall over guys like Archie, Collins, Hillman, etc.

A quality coach could finish top three in the conference next year.

A couple of reasons. 1. I have watched several Miller coached games, and three teams didn't appear fundamentally sound. The defense was Tom Crean awful for stretches. 2. This sounds shallow, but I have high hopes for this hire, including IU landing a coach that I enjoy watching. I cannot stand watching Miller coach. There's just something about his persona that I find grating, and his Twitter happy wife annoys me. They are probably great people. I think Crean is probably a good person/husband/father/etc. but after 9 years of being completely annoyed by his sideline antics, celebrations of mediocrity, and irritating interviews I want a coach that I like.

Please no Archie.

I disagree with the notion that Crean is a "good" coach. Of the D1 coaches, I think that there are probably several dozen who could do a better job at Indiana than he has done. I have not run the numbers, but anyone who regularly watches IU knows just how bad his inbounds plays, and offensive sets out of TO's are. After 9 years, if he calls a timeout with 30s or less on the clock, I'd bet there is a 15% chance that his team scores. Defensively they have been good twice in this decade. They average over 14.5 turnovers a game, have had fewer turnovers than assists only three seasons, and rank 200+ in turnover ratio consistently. All but two/three of his biggest wins have come in the preseason. His team's are worse in the second half and worse at the end of the season. Good coaches generally have teams that are peaking after the first three weeks of the season. He is good at developing relationships, and he picked up a few things from Izzo, but he is not a good coach. How many teams in the big ten would be better off right now if they had Crean instead of their current coach?

Can anyone who helps to run this site add notifications for me? For instance after refreshing the page 5 times it could say, "Acknowledge wife's existence" the tenth time it could say, "Nod at her and say 'uh huh' twice" after 15 "find your toddler" after 600 "eat something" etc. The longer I keep vigil the more things I forget.

I literally just typed a scenario where Glass was questioning us all and we responded "I am the Janitor" when your popped up!

In all seriousness, all the flow of (dis)information makes me think about the lines of communication about IU basketball before the internet. I Remember hearing about Alan Henderson's knee injury before it was in the news. At the time 1. I lived in Michigan. 2. I did not know anyone who was a student at IU. 3. I was thirteen. My I got a call from someone in northern Indiana who had heard from someone else in western Ohio, and God only knows who that person heard it from. Crazy.

My sources are not saying anything, though they typically break the news about 20 minutes after a major press conference.

Yes please.

Okay all, when was it that you realized for certain that Crean was not the man for the job? I knew the first time I saw Verdell Jones fall down.

I have to be honest. I would prefer Bennett over Donovan. Donovan is exciting because of his track record and the weight that his name would bring to IU, but I have followed Bennett and his father for a long time and I am not sure that there is anyone better at coaching fundamentals of the game.

The article pretty much sums up what we all know about Crean, high level talent, mid level results. I found the comments interesting. It seems like all that is left for Crean is every excuse. Injuries, roster turnover, etc. Realistically the buck stops with him. It may be cold, but the reality is, it is his job to get wins. Most of those calling for Crean's head would be crediting him if this current team had finished in the top 3 of the conference (something it is fully capable of) despite current injuries. It isn't like fans expectations don't changed based on injury. We just don't throw all the expectations into the garbage. Even a conference title was likely out of reach when OG went down, but does that mean that fans should just accept any terrible result? I've said for years that Crean there are a few things that Crean is not capable of doing consistently 1. Winning the games where IU is not favored in the mid to late season. 2. Winning games where his team shoots a lower % than the opponent. 3. Developing a team through the course of a season. Does anyone have the numbers on IU's finish in the Big Ten vs. the predicted finish each season? That would be interesting.

My family will be offering prayers for you and your family. Sorry that you have to go through this. Thanks for sharing it so that we have the opportunity to support you.

OSU 84 IU 76

So my least favorite Creanisms over the last 9 years have to be, "matchup nightmare" and "play faster" What are yours?

Tony Bennett Press Conference After watching the 1st 4 minutes of this press conference I am more convinced than ever that this is the man for the future of IU basketball. Send a written apology to every member of his family for the way that his sister was dismissed. Make a public statement apologizing to her. Open the coffers and pay him whatever it is that he wants. Just a few things that he did in this one press conference 1. Downplayed a victory against a top 5 team by speculating that UNC did not have their best night 2. Criticized his players shot selection 3. Took the blame for not giving his players enough structure in previous games. 4. Talked about specific little things that need to be done to win 5. Highlighted Defense and commitment to defensive principles 6. Spoke about this being the time of year where fundamentals win games Things he did not do 1. Talk about how young his team is (9 of 14 are underclassmen), though he was specifically asked about his freshmen 2. Bring up injuries or surgeries from years past 3. Throw players under the bus 4. Talk with sensitivity about the confidence of his players 5. Reference deflections 6.Reference ANY metric 7.Cry 8.Use the phrase, "play faster" He actually said that they had been working on slowing down. 9. Look at anytime like a cartoon character

Good info! I don't mind the slow pace. I just want to see execution.

I am ready for Tony Bennett. I would obviously be happy with Stevens or Donovan. I remember wanting to hate Donovan's FL teams, but always admiring the way that they shared the ball and how he gave his players specific roles. Stevens is pretty obviously great. I do remember some games where his Butler guards made me crazy by dribbling the ball for 25 seconds of the shot clock before jacking up a bad shot, however, it wasn't a consistent issue. Also, in most of those games he was so outmatched talent wise. My reasoning for Bennett, is that he is heavily substance over style. To me the last 9 years, or perhaps the last 6, have been so heavily style over substance that it has been unwatchable. I don't mind watching the war of attrition that UVA makes other teams engage in. I firmly believe that, if he came to Indiana, TB would be able to produce a more consistent offense than he has at UVA, but I don't even care. My top 3 wants for the new coach would be as follows. 1. Discipline/control: I want a coach who is clearly the man in charge, less of a cheerleader and more of an authority figure. 2. Fundamentally sound Defense. 3. Specific roles for players. Not everyone can be a primary scoring option. Not everyone can be a primary ball handler. Give guys roles based on their strengths and let them flourish by focusing on those objectives. Thoughts?

I just don't understand the desire for Archie, but I have a feeling that he will be the next coach at Indiana. Help me understand what it is that gets people excited about this guy. What style do his teams play? What type of approach does he take (is he a players coach, a disciplinarian, etc)? What coaches is he connected with? Does he come from a certain coaching tree? I have watched his team play a handful of times and he always drove me crazy on the sidelines, but I am willing to learn why he'd be a good fit at IU.

Did I fail to mention that I heard this is 1987?

Alaska makes jokes, but I have facts. I heard that Sports Illustrated was going to publish a cover story about the Indiana coaching position. And who will be on the cover? None other than Billy Donovan! (Evidence below)