IU AD Glass lays down the law on misbehaving basketball team

[AZ Hoosier 6,566]

http://www.wthr.com/story/27334319/2014/11/08/iu-ad-glass-lays-down-the-law-on-misbehaving-basketball-team

 

 

IU AD Glass lays down the law on misbehaving basketball team

 

 

Posted: Nov 08, 2014 3:40 PM MST

Updated: Nov 08, 2014 3:49 PM MST

By Bob Kravitz, WTHR SportsConnect

 

Tuesday night in Bloomington, IU athletic director Fred Glass addressed the Hoosiers basketball team and read them the Riot Act. He reiterated what the expectations were, and made sure they noted that the next time this happens, if it happens, the consequences will be greater.

 

“I made sure that collectively and individually they knew what I was saying to them,'' Glass told WTHR.com regarding the spate of off-court incidents that have stained the IU basketball program.

 

He was asked if he felt like he got through to his young men.

 

Glass laughed.

 

“I'm not too sure of many things,'' he said. “But I'm absolutely sure of that.''

 

Understand, Glass is not just an accidental tourist who happened upon the Hoosiers' misguided behavior. He, too, deserves some of the blame, especially for signing off on the laughably soft two-game suspension handed down to Hanner Mosquera-Perea, and the four-gamers to Stanford Robinson and Troy Williams. He conferred with Tom Crean. He helped make those decisions. He is not above criticism.

 

Saturday, months after the Mosquera-Perea penalty for an OWI, Glass sounded very much like a man who wished he and Crean had come down harder.

 

“Tom said Wednesday if he could do it all over again, he might do some things differently,'' Glass said. “I'm not going to call out any particular decision, but I will say that we're not arrogantly moving forward and saying, `Boy, we did everything right.' There's a thing or two I'd go back and do differently. Overall, yes, I think we've done the right things but if I had some do-overs, I'd probably do some do-overs,''

 

Glass didn't sound quite so repentant about the four-gamers to Robinson, Williams and Emmitt Holt.

 

Glass acknowledges that when it's all said and done, the problems reflect badly on him and his head coach, and they bear some responsibility – whether it's for bringing in misbehaving kids or for failing to make them understand there are consequences for their actions. But ultimately, this falls on the individual young men. Yes, they're young men, but they're not boys anymore. By now, they should understand right from wrong, understand they can't do some of the things their classmates in the general student body do. It's a small price to pay for the privilege of wearing the candy stripes.

 

“We do an awful lot of things to support these kids; ultimately, the kids are responsible,'' he said. “They just are. I don't mean that as a copout. I understand our responsibilities as stewards of the program and giving them tools and expectations, but I was at a Hall of Fame dinner the other night, I can't tell you the number of former athletes from all kinds of different sports coming up to me – and these are not Tom Crean apologists – saying, `Man, blaming the coach for all this is B.S.' While I think all administrators have to reflect on what they have to do, it's ultimately on the kids.''

 

And he's right. Crean has to own it and Glass has to own it, but these are independent-thinking young men who enjoy the privilege of a lifetime. It's not too much to ask them to lay off the weed in or out of season. It's not too much to ask under-aged kids to resist the temptation to drink. It's not too much to expect that your nominal leader, Yogi Ferrell, won't try to get into a campus bar with a fake ID. In the end, yes, it's on them.

 

Wednesday, Crean sounded like a father who's been deeply disappointed by his child's behavior. Glass sounded downright angry.

 

“Anger, upset, I don't think those words really do it justice,'' he said. “I grew up on IU basketball. I'm from Indianapolis. I've been watching since the days of Bootsy White, Joby Wright and John Ritter. I have a real appreciation for what Indiana basketball means. And unfortunately, the acts of some of the guys on this team have not been consistent with the way IU basketball should be represented. And I'm mad about it.''

 

He was asked why it's all come down this way the past nine months, with six of the team's players finding trouble. Is Crean bringing in some bad actors, the way Kelvin Sampson did back in the day, or are these good kids who've done some dumb things since they arrived in Bloomington?

 

“I think ultimately these kids want to do right, and at their essence, they're good kids,'' Glass said. “But I think they made bad decisions and in some cases, repeatedly made bad decisions, and I'm angry about that. But if I didn't think they were good kids, they wouldn't be here right now.''

 

I asked Glass if Crean or his players were on a zero-tolerance policy. A couple of days earlier, Crean said he didn't really understand what zero tolerance meant (he might want to ask Bob Knight). Saturday, Glass said he knew exactly what zero tolerance was, but wasn't going to do any more than put his players on notice that this nonsense won't be tolerated any longer.

 

“I don't adhere to zero tolerance as good policy,'' he said. “I think zero tolerance is a cop-out of sorts…I just think when the air is turbulent, the automatic pilot has to come off and the pilot has to put his hands firmly on the controls. And that's what we're doing. I think announcing zero tolerance can lead to bad outcomes. But I can assure you those players know directly, both from me and Tom, what those expectations are and what the consequences are going to be if those expectations aren't met.''

 

If the speeches aren't enough to make these young men understand what they're doing to IU's reputation, Devin Davis' condition should scare them straight. Davis has been moved to an Indianapolis hospital, where he is recovering from a fractured skull after getting hit by Holt's car.

 

“I believe and hope that this situation with Devin will show them this isn't fun and games,'' Glass said. “There are consequences. Tom has been terrific about encouraging them to visit Devin individually, play UNO with him, walk him around, help him eat and play brain-teaser games. It's been a real wakeup call and it should be.

 

“I remember as a kid, I thought I was immortal. I did a lot of risky, stupid, stupid, stupid things and I'm lucky it never came home to roost for me. I tell my kids the same thing – you think you're invincible and immortal but you're not. There are consequences. I think the thing with Devin should have brought home that very point. My hope and my belief is that this will be a real turning point for these young men.''

 

It's not enough for the coaches and administrators to hold them accountable. It's now up to them as teammates to hold one another accountable. There's a lot of trouble on a college campus, particularly on IU's party-hearty campus; I know this from personal experience, believe me. But now is the time for them to be a band of brothers, keep each other honest. Because the next time this happens, the consequences will – or should be -- much, much harsher.

 

Three quick thoughts.

1. Give Glass credit for having the huevos to face the team and tell them how it is.
2. This is the kind of talk Tom Crean should have had with the team last February when Hanner screwed up.
3. Of course, none of us knows for sure whether or not Crean has had "the talk" with the team. We would have to assume that he has, but...

[BlueDevil 8,655]

I don't know what crean does or says behind closed doors but how freakin embarrassing that the AD has to step in and do this instead of the head coach.

[LazOffTheBench 3,638]

Glass: "Hey, you kids! You're on notice. No more of this nonsense, okay?"

 

Sounds weak to me.

[biteoftheapple 4,115]

I don't know what crean does or says behind closed doors but how freakin embarrassing that the AD has to step in and do this instead of the head coach.

Dakich tweeted those exact words about this.

[OliviaPope40 6,449]

It is utterly embarrassing that he has to do this.

Edited November 9, 2014 by OliviaPope40

[coachmayhew 1,414]

I don't know what crean does or says behind closed doors but how freakin embarrassing that the AD has to step in and do this instead of the head coach.

That is exactly what Dakich tweeted earlier. He said in his 27 years in NCAA basketball that the AD has never talked to a team. He also said its an embarrassment.

[BlueDevil 8,655]

That is exactly what Dakich tweeted earlier. He said in his 27 years in NCAA basketball that the AD has never talked to a team. He also said its an embarrassment.

I try to stay out of the crean discussions but damn just don't see how he can support coach when he's doing his job for him.

[Kepner 1,261]

Im now convinced that no matter what Crean or anyone from the program says now,people will still complain.
Glass is just as responsible as Crean so he came in and set the record straight with the players and everyone is making it sound like a bad thing. Crean has said a lot with this team but having Glass come in as well shows that the staff isn't messing around

[IU Hoosier41 14,465]

Its good cop/ bad cop.. Crean is good, glass is the bAd. Makes sense to me.

[jayben00 75]

A whole lot of hindsight and second guessing. If the approach works, it works!

[BGleas 7,880]

Why are people assuming Crean hasn't had similar talks with the team multiple times? Glass himself said Crean spoke to the team for 30 minutes the Friday of Halloween about being safe and looking out for each other.

Ever heard of brining in a different voice for your players, students, kids, etc.?

[HoosierDribbler 464]

I couldn't help but think, "Just wait until your father gets home".

[biteoftheapple 4,115]

I hope everyone gets it now. And, I hope Glass and Coach follow thru, if some do not.

[bigred4006 0]

From what I have noticed that the under age drinking and that kind of actons are a large part of I U. The school as a whole should help these young adults see what the risks are to thear actions.
Which can be live changing and forever.
The school is thereasy not their parents to help guide them.

[KingPG21 6,583]

From what I have noticed that the under age drinking and that kind of actons are a large part of college. The school as a whole should help these young adults see what the risks are to thear actions.
Which can be live changing and forever.
The school is thereasy not their parents to help guide them.

Fixed it for you

[AZ Hoosier 6,566]

Why are people assuming Crean hasn't had similar talks with the team multiple times? Glass himself said Crean spoke to the team for 30 minutes the Friday of Halloween about being safe and looking out for each other.

Ever heard of brining in a different voice for your players, students, kids, etc.?

 

I never said he didn’t. In fact, in the OP I said: "of course, none of us knows for sure whether or not Crean has had "the talk" with the team. We would have to assume that he has, but..."

[WayneFleekHoosier 47,969]

Why are people assuming Crean hasn't had similar talks with the team multiple times? Glass himself said Crean spoke to the team for 30 minutes the Friday of Halloween about being safe and looking out for each other.

Ever heard of brining in a different voice for your players, students, kids, etc.?

I think most of us assume Crean has had these speeches multiple times with the players. And that is the problem. The current players don't respect or fear Crean enough to actually take what he says seriously. He has lost control. Thus, Glass must step in and act like the ring leader. Sad really.

The good cop bad cop analogy is decent but that should be with the assistant and the head coach. If the head coach is a softie then his assistants should be strict or vice versa. This shouldn't have gone this far.

Total lack of respect.

[BGleas 7,880]

I'd be shocked if there's any truth to that tweet.

That is exactly what Dakich tweeted earlier. He said in his 27 years in NCAA basketball that the AD has never talked to a team. He also said its an embarrassment.

[BGleas 7,880]

No worries, I wasn't addressing you specifically, but there were a few comments acting as if they assumed Crean hadn't already done this.

I never said he didn’t. In fact, in the OP I said: "of course, none of us knows for sure whether or not Crean has had "the talk" with the team. We would have to assume that he has, but..."

[AZ Hoosier 6,566]

No worries, I wasn't addressing you specifically, but there were a few comments acting as if they assumed Crean hadn't already done this.

We're cool. It would be crazy to think that the conversation never took place, but from the actions of some of these guys, you'd have to wonder. :)