Is IU currently reaching out to Brad Stevens through back channels?

[HoosierHoops1 5,024]

I think the Cody Vic team could have won it. IF the rumors are true that Crean worked the practices way too hard late in that season then I believe he also has limitations understanding how to coach towards a championship. I believe the rumors to be true because I heard too many independent guys comment about how hard the practices and even walk throughs were.

So to answer your question, yes I think he can coach a champion here but I think the gaps between contenders will be wide and unsatisfactory.

My question though is would IU make a change if we get to the NCAA this year? I think not. Would we then make a change next year if we make the sweet sixteen? Again, I think not.

We didn't lose to Syracuse because we went through a hard practice. Hulls was hurt, Yogi had one of his worst games of the season, Syracuse had length at every position, Hanner has already taken more 12 footers than Cody did all that season and we needed that shot against the zone. Oladipo might have been our only player that didn't have a serious flaw.

[8bucks 7,555]

We didn't lose to Syracuse because we went through a hard practice. Hulls was hurt, Yogi had one of his worst games of the season, Syracuse had length at every position, Hanner has already taken more 12 footers than Cody did all that season and we needed that shot against the zone. Oladipo might have been our only player that didn't have a serious flaw.

Certainly some truth to what you said but we finished the last month of that year with 5 wins and 4 losses. We looked flat and never really found the rhythm we had when we were number 1. Of our 5 wins down the stretch only the win at Michigan resembled the way we had played the first 2/3 of the year.

I heard several broadcasters comment on the pace of our practices. Stephen Bardo on a local radio show echoed the concern that the practice paces could have explained our late season swoon.

I am not sure if that was the case or not but the Syracuse loss was only a part of our poor finish. We went over a month playing very average basketball.

[Walking Boot of Doom 18,170]

Once again I'm not really sure if you're actually responding to things I've written or are just on a tangent. Where did I mention Bob Knight? Now that you've brought him up, I'll tell you my opinion in the context of my original point about using the name Clappy - I don't know why people would have chosen to use demeaning names in regards to Coach Knight either. Is that what you're looking for?

And again, we can see it differently, but I just don't see the need to use silly demeaning names for someone. I think it takes something away from whatever argument one is trying to make when they do that. That's all.

You have posed, in a much more eloquent way, the same question I've often had. No matter what you think of our coach, he's actually a good guy who is giving it his all, and in some cases failing, to help this program succeed. No reason to attack him with the names given to him by UK and Purdue fans when there are much more intelligent and rational ways to express his deficiencies as a coach.

I think many are fed up, and are misplacing the built up anger of the past 12 years of failure on Crean. He's not the man for the job, but that doesn't mean we should belittle him with name calling. He's not trying to harm the program, he's doing everything he can to help it. It's just not good enough. Thank him for the good he has done, there is a lot to thank him for, and acknowledge his failures, we all know there are plenty. There is never a need to attack the man just because his best isn't good enough.

[CottageGrove 563]

You have posed, in a much more eloquent way, the same question I've often had. No matter what you think of our coach, he's actually a good guy who is giving it his all, and in some cases failing, to help this program succeed. No reason to attack him with the names given to him by UK and Purdue fans when there are much more intelligent and rational ways to express his deficiencies as a coach.

I think many are fed up, and are misplacing the built up anger of the past 12 years of failure on Crean. He's not the man for the job, but that doesn't mean we should belittle him with name calling. He's not trying to harm the program, he's doing everything he can to help it. It's just not good enough. Thank him for the good he has done, there is a lot to thank him for, and acknowledge his failures, we all know there are plenty. There is bever a need to attack the man just because his best isn't good enough.

Bingo

[Hutch89 2,946]

You have posed, in a much more eloquent way, the same question I've often had. No matter what you think of our coach, he's actually a good guy who is giving it his all, and in some cases failing, to help this program succeed. No reason to attack him with the names given to him by UK and Purdue fans when there are much more intelligent and rational ways to express his deficiencies as a coach.

I think many are fed up, and are misplacing the built up anger of the past 12 years of failure on Crean. He's not the man for the job, but that doesn't mean we should belittle him with name calling. He's not trying to harm the program, he's doing everything he can to help it. It's just not good enough. Thank him for the good he has done, there is a lot to thank him for, and acknowledge his failures, we all know there are plenty. There is bever a need to attack the man just because his best isn't good enough.

Living up to your name! Haha. Agree 100% though

[bnkepner 1,509]

please post one of those interviews. I thought I might have just missed them but upon searching for the past 20 minutes I am doubting any exist. Please share

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/21/brad-stevens-on-indiana-speculation-im-the-head-coach-of-the-boston-celtics-this-is-the-job/

 

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/235967/Brad-Stevens-Committed-To-Celtics-Amid-Speculation-Of-Interest-From-Indiana-University

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2014/12/brad_stevens_shoots_down_rumors_hed_leave_celtics_for_indian.html

 

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2014-12-22/brad-stevens-celtics-college-butler-indiana-rumors-rajon-rondo-danny-ainge

 

http://thebiglead.com/2014/12/16/brad-stevens-leaving-the-celtics-for-the-indiana-hoosiers-will-be-a-storyline-all-season/

 

 

You must not have looked very hard. There were 10 pages of similar articles on google….

[Walking Boot of Doom 18,170]

Living up to your name! Haha. Agree 100% though

Haha I know... I don't think most people understand my perspective here. Those who dub me an apologist think that I'm happy with our current level of success and Crean which is way off. I just don't see the point in blasting a man for trying. He's not the guy to lead us back to glory and we all know that. Let's just support the team, enjoy the positives along the way, and hope the next coach gets us closer to being elite again.

[HoosierAloha 30,102]

Haha I know... I don't think most people understand my perspective here. Those who dub me an apologist think that I'm happy with our current level of success and Crean which is way off. I just don't see the point in blasting a man for trying. He's not the guy to lead us back to glory and we all know that. Let's just support the team, enjoy the positives along the way, and hope the next coach gets us closer to being elite again.

 

I really just want to put people down and repeat my same schtick to get my point across.  It makes me feel a lot better. 

[MikeRoberts 7,995]

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/21/brad-stevens-on-indiana-speculation-im-the-head-coach-of-the-boston-celtics-this-is-the-job/

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/235967/Brad-Stevens-Committed-To-Celtics-Amid-Speculation-Of-Interest-From-Indiana-University

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2014/12/brad_stevens_shoots_down_rumors_hed_leave_celtics_for_indian.html

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2014-12-22/brad-stevens-celtics-college-butler-indiana-rumors-rajon-rondo-danny-ainge

http://thebiglead.com/2014/12/16/brad-stevens-leaving-the-celtics-for-the-indiana-hoosiers-will-be-a-storyline-all-season/ You must not have looked very hard. There were 10 pages of similar articles on google….

http://thebiglead.com/2014/12/16/brad-stevens-leaving-the-celtics-for-the-indiana-hoosiers-will-be-a-storyline-all-season/ i only read the last article you posted to know you didnt read these. The last article has no quotes from Stevens and leaves the reader thinking he may be ready to make a move. He has said he is happy in Boston and plans to stay... That is all. Don't make more of it than it is. That article itself says he said he wouldn't leave Butler and then did...

[Parakeet Jones 4,028]

You have posed, in a much more eloquent way, the same question I've often had. No matter what you think of our coach, he's actually a good guy who is giving it his all, and in some cases failing, to help this program succeed. No reason to attack him with the names given to him by UK and Purdue fans when there are much more intelligent and rational ways to express his deficiencies as a coach.

I think many are fed up, and are misplacing the built up anger of the past 12 years of failure on Crean. He's not the man for the job, but that doesn't mean we should belittle him with name calling. He's not trying to harm the program, he's doing everything he can to help it. It's just not good enough. Thank him for the good he has done, there is a lot to thank him for, and acknowledge his failures, we all know there are plenty. There is bever a need to attack the man just because his best isn't good enough.

Thank you. This is exactly how I feel. I have zero problem with criticism of his coaching which is due at times. However, I grow very tired of the few who seem to cross the line into a personal hatred of the man.

[KingPG21 6,587]

I really just want to put people down and repeat my same schtick to get my point across.  It makes me feel a lot better.

Don't forget to take thinly veiled shots at people with opposing view points. Or make snide comments about watching what you say,because you've been warned to cut back on the stupid comments or trolling. I think we know what posters I'm talking about

[southsidehoosier 5,149]

Reporter: Hey Brad I know your employer (Boston Celtics) is listening to this interview but would you immediately leave this job to take a hypothetical job that has no opening right now? You would? Okay well we will leave you and Danny Ainge alone now. Thanks.

[bnkepner 1,509]

http://thebiglead.com/2014/12/16/brad-stevens-leaving-the-celtics-for-the-indiana-hoosiers-will-be-a-storyline-all-season/ i only read the last article you posted to know you didnt read these. The last article has no quotes from Stevens and leaves the reader thinking he may be ready to make a move. He has said he is happy in Boston and plans to stay... That is all. Don't make more of it than it is. That article itself says he said he wouldn't leave Butler and then did...

You caught me on the last one, but the rest I posted I had read before and posted them on this forum before. So yeah take the one that was written early and talked about the rumor against the others I posted that had quotes from him saying he was staying and wasn't budging. You barely looked for articles and and argued that they didn't exist, I post ones that exist and you don't read them and continue to argue your point. Typical on this forum

[HoosierTrav 8,338]

Indiana is finding itself in a very similar situation to that of Michigan Football. The next hire HAS to be a "homerun" hire, and a hire that the fan base dictates who it will be. For many Hoosier fans (including myself), Stevens is that "Homerun", for many reasons. The most important reason, to me, is the fact that he fully understands the IU culture, and his Butler teams resembled old IU more so than any team since the Knight days. This has been backed up by former players. A very small faction of IU supporters argue that there are no guarantees that Stevens wins at IU. This is a fair question, considering it cant be proven as fact until it happens. All we can do is try our best to make an educated guess. There are a few important factors that I look at when forming an opinion or guess at the level of success that Stevens would have at Indiana.

 

1.) Does he have a history of winning? Yes. A .772 win percentage in 6 seasons. 5 of which he made the NCA tournament. 2 of which he was consecutive National Runner Up.

 

2.) Can he evaluate, recruit, and develop elite pro talent? Yes. Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack. One of which is looking like an NBA all star.  Considering the resources he had at Butler, in comparison to what he'd have at a basketball blueblood like Indiana, I think its more than fair to assume he'd take it up a notch at Indiana. Given the fact that most blue chip talent is most concerned with being set up to go to the NBA, it only helps his case after being the Boston Celtics Head Coach. It says a lot that the NBA's most successful franchise chose him over many of todays elite CBB coaches.

 

3. Can he promote IU's brand in a positive light nationally? This is important IMO. You look at coaches Like Coach K, Boeheim, Williams, Self, Pitino, Calipari, and realize that ESPN and the national media all love thee guys. Stevens had become a media darling and more importantly a darling amongst his peers. This goes a LONG way for a young coaches credibility with players.

 

4.) MOST IMPORTANTLY: Does he put his teams in position to win games? He's been regarded as one of,  if not the best coaches in america at preparing his teams. Some of his colleagues have gone as far as calling him a genius, and a future HOF'er. I'll take their word over any skeptical fan's.

 

I will agree that it's unfair to Crean and the players to discuss at this point. We dont know for certain whether this team is an NCAA team or not yet, but could play a major role in distracting this young team from focusing. Our large and boisterous fan base harms us in many cases, believe it or not.

 

[southsidehoosier 5,149]

Indiana is finding itself in a very similar situation to that of Michigan Football. The next hire HAS to be a "homerun" hire, and a hire that the fan base dictates who it will be. For many Hoosier fans (including myself), Stevens is that "Homerun", for many reasons. The most important reason, to me, is the fact that he fully understands the IU culture, and his Butler teams resembled old IU more so than any team since the Knight days. This has been backed up by former players. A very small faction of IU supporters argue that there are no guarantees that Stevens wins at IU. This is a fair question, considering it cant be proven as fact until it happens. All we can do is try our best to make an educated guess. There are a few important factors that I look at when forming an opinion or guess at the level of success that Stevens would have at Indiana.

 

1.) Does he have a history of winning? Yes. A .772 win percentage in 6 seasons. 5 of which he made the NCA tournament. 2 of which he was consecutive National Runner Up.

 

2.) Can he evaluate, recruit, and develop elite pro talent? Yes. Gordon Hayward and Shelvin Mack. One of which is looking like an NBA all star.  Considering the resources he had at Butler, in comparison to what he'd have at a basketball blueblood like Indiana, I think its more than fair to assume he'd take it up a notch at Indiana. Given the fact that most blue chip talent is most concerned with being set up to go to the NBA, it only helps his case after being the Boston Celtics Head Coach. It says a lot that the NBA's most successful franchise chose him over many of todays elite CBB coaches.

 

3. Can he promote IU's brand in a positive light nationally? This is important IMO. You look at coaches Like Coach K, Boeheim, Williams, Self, Pitino, Calipari, and realize that ESPN and the national media all love thee guys. Stevens had become a media darling and more importantly a darling amongst his peers. This goes a LONG way for a young coaches credibility with players.

 

4.) MOST IMPORTANTLY: Does he put his teams in position to win games? He's been regarded as one of,  if not the best coaches in america at preparing his teams. Some of his colleagues have gone as far as calling him a genius, and a future HOF'er. I'll take their word over any skeptical fan's.

 

I will agree that it's unfair to Crean and the players to discuss at this point. We dont know for certain whether this team is an NCAA team or not yet, but could play a major role in distracting this young team from focusing. Our large and boisterous fan base harms us in many cases, believe it or not.

Well said.

[Alford Bailey 13,228]

I think he woukd settle for less if you pressed him on breaking his contract. I think our resident attorney, martinmoplady, has spoken about this but woud like to hear about it again. We coukd settle for 1/2 his contract would be my guess which would be heap if we get Stevens.

The best option is to keep the heat turned up. Another poor season and things will get pretty toxic for Crean in Btown. Then, maybe he leaves on his own.

[JSHoosier 22,213]

No matter how many interviews Stevens does saying he has no interest in leaving the Celtics, some IU fans think that is some sort of secret code that he is coming hahah

What do you expect him to say?  Saying anything else wouldn't be a smart move on his part.  I'm not saying he'd take the job, but it also wouldn't be the first time a coach said one thing and did the exact opposite.

 

Calipari said Memphis was where he wanted to be, he left for UK about a week later.  Nick Saban was coaching the Miami Dolphins and flat out said he will not be the Alabama coach, he said that in December of 2006 and in January of 2007 he became the Alabama coach.

[rebelhoosier848891 9,588]

If our success level remains the same----I predict the Crean era will last 2 more years.

 

I like him---he's brought our program back and emphasizes the student in student-athlete.

 

He's proven he's a good coach---but not yet shown he's a great coach.

 

At the end of the day---even those of us who like Crean---acknowledge he has to field teams that are contenders year in and year out. He has not shown us yet he can do that----this year is make or break----we need to get on a run and challenge for the Big title and make a tourney run. 

 

There is still time---but the clock is ticking-----and time is running out! 

[rebelhoosier848891 9,588]

With all that being said----I hope posters will avoid the cheap shots and personal attacks on Crean who has given everything he has to our program.

 

We can do a lot worse---and I hope if we replace him it will be a homerun hire ---like Stevens.

 

But for me---I will continue rooting for Crean this year---because he is our Coach----I hope he gets it turned around because of the uncertainty in new hires.

[JSHoosier 22,213]

If our success level remains the same----I predict the Crean era will last 2 more years.

 

I like him---he's brought our program back and emphasizes the student in student-athlete.

 

He's proven he's a good coach---but not yet shown he's a great coach.

 

At the end of the day---even those of us who like Crean---acknowledge he has to field teams that are contenders year in and year out. He has not shown us yet he can do that----this year is make or break----we need to get on a run and challenge for the Big title and make a tourney run. 

 

There is still time---but the clock is ticking-----and time is running out! 

He's good at certain aspects of being a coach, but at the single most important aspect of his job he's only ever proven to be mediocre.  His resume is wildly mediocre.