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

[Walking Boot of Doom 18,170]

If you think we are name calling our coach, you may want to read up on Hoke, Gillespie, or any other football related coach in the sec. With the big paycheck comes big aspirations and when you fail people get upset. Its not unique to us and being honest we could be much worse. Just look west of us and how Illini fans were after Weber who went to the final game and stomped Crean most every year. What really gets me are the same folks like you worried about poor 2.6 million a year Crean are the same ones wanting the expectations lowered at Indiana. You say we will never be the same as back then or we're not elite anymore and give Crean 2 more years to finally get the right recruits. Any other program of our stature he would have been already run out f town. Purdue is right down the road if you want to root for losers. Let's quit apologizing and being nice and expect our coach to win big. For those not knowing its a great feeling.

So you say that I should look at how fans of Michigan, Kentucky, and SEC talk about their coaches? I should rationalize our actions based on their own? Yet day in and day out you say we, Indiana fans, are "special" and better than the rest. You contradict yourself, sir. All I ask is that we thank a man for a job well done. Crean, you have done an excellent job getting us out of the gutter, thank you. Now, it is time for a coach that can win championships. There is no reason to criticize an employee for doing the job you asked them to do. Crean succeeded at resurrecting the program. It now becomes the administrations job to assign someone else the responsibility of restoring the program's glory.

That is all I am saying. I am not asking that we expect less than a championship caliber coach. I also do not believe that anyone, including Brad Stevens, can satisfy those fans dreaming of the next Bob Knight. I expect the next hire to be better than Crean, but I know they may not be the long term solution. It takes a lot of luck to find the best.

[jonz44 810]

I agree but the thing that gives me pause is the timing. If we make the tourney this year and win one game, then next year again get to the tourney and make it to the sweet sixteen then lose are we still making a change after that year?

As I see it, after the 2016 season we once again lose a lot of key players. Some guys return but we will primarily be a young team yet again and likely in that rebuild mode. So while it may be a good time to reload, would IU really fire a coach after making the sweet sixteen? I agree that we are after more than sweet sixteens but still I have doubts IU would make a change then.

What gives you pause literally scares the hell outta me! I'm afraid we'll be just a half step above mediocre...and settle for it!

To be honest, I'm all or nothing. Win big or go home as far as Crean goes. I feel like he wasted the momentum the program had the two years Zeller was here and I really don't think he should get very much longer to prove he has what it takes to measure up.

Making the tournament every year at Indiana should be a given and if you don't there should be hell to pay. Making the sweet sixteen on a real regular basis should be a given. Final four and national championship contention should happen frequently!

Call them what you want, and I'm not a fan of Big Blue Nation, but they refused to accept mediocrity and kept bitching until things were changed. I think Calipari is shady as hell but he's getting it done and truthfully there are a lot of coaches out there that are getting it done and running a clean program. I was wondering today, "is Crean our Tubby Smith?" A nice guy but someone who just can't get it done at this level...personally I thought Tubby was a better in game coach but not as good of a recruiter although lately I'm not sure Crean has the recruiting edge!

Crean is in his seventh year. Results matter. Sooner or later you get it done...If not someone else gets a chance! This is Creans time to get it done...or let's find that other someone. (And send Glass packing for giving that asinine contact! Where did you think he was going if you didn't give him that buyout?)

Most of the time you get what you will settle for. Settle for mediocrity? That's probably what you'll get. I say this program deserves and should demand excellence!!!

P.S. we ain't freaking Purdue!

[jonz44 810]

Should this ever happen...I have a team training video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bHP-wFBO6k

That right there is hilarious as hell! And at 49/50 that kid traveled!

Put the team on that regimen and even Hulls might have dunked! Lol

[jonz44 810]

Better question: In the past what schools have had a fan-base request a specific coach? Which requests panned out, and which ones didn't?And when the requested coach came to the school, what were the coaches results?

Obviously the most immediate example is Harbaugh with Michigan. Did The UNC fan base request Roy Williams like IU is with Stevens?

I do believe the fan base clamored quite loudly for 'ol Roy!

[8bucks 6,557]

So you say that I should look at how fans of Michigan, Kentucky, and SEC talk about their coaches? I should rationalize our actions based on their own? Yet day in and day out you say we, Indiana fans, are "special" and better than the rest. You contradict yourself, sir. All I ask is that we thank a man for a job well done. Crean, you have done an excellent job getting us out of the gutter, thank you. Now, it is time for a coach that can win championships. There is no reason to criticize an employee for doing the job you asked them to do. Crean succeeded at resurrecting the program. It now becomes the administrations job to assign someone else the responsibility of restoring the program's glory.

That is all I am saying. I am not asking that we expect less than a championship caliber coach. I also do not believe that anyone, including Brad Stevens, can satisfy those fans dreaming of the next Bob Knight. I expect the next hire to be better than Crean, but I know they may not be the long term solution. It takes a lot of luck to find the best.

Think I have disagreed with you several times recently but having read this post I have no idea why. We are on the same page. Good post.

[8bucks 6,557]

This. There's no reason to think otherwise apparently. Apparently IU would win title after title if he blessed all of us with his coaching expertise. He won a million games in the Horizon League, but people here can't shut up about a coach who won the B1G outright just a few hundred days ago.

I asked this previously and am legitimately interested in your answer.

I am curious, let's start with Creans 3rd year and extend through 2016. What sort of results would you want out of a coach at IU? BT championships are great and I will take those anytime but do you have any expectations on a national level?

[HoosierTrav 7,900]

I asked this previously and am legitimately interested in your answer.

I am curious, let's start with Creans 3rd year and extend through 2016. What sort of results would you want out of a coach at IU? BT championships are great and I will take those anytime but do you have any expectations on a national level

Each year it gets worse. Indiana fans have been divided into two groups, it seems. Those who refuse to lower the bar and those who are increasingly building their tolerance for mediocrity (or worse). I consider myself in the former category. Mediocrity would be much easier to swallow if the coach was making a mediocre salary. Some say we aren't being fair but that is ridiculous. When you are in the top 7-8 paid coaches in the country, you HAVE to perform to the level of your paygrade. Its not about fairness. I'd say that its extremely unfair for us to have to pay this type of money out when we are getting the results we've been getting. It's highway robbery. I'll NEVER feel sorry for a man taking heat when he's grossly under-performing and making roughly 3.5 million a year. Bringing up things like his character and trying to back you into a corner with the emotion of the rebuild does nothing for me. Its a business operation. You have to completely remove emotion when making business decisions, or you're vulnerable to make very costly mistakes. Mistakes that cost you to the tune of $12 Million + the possible buyout money of the coach that the fan base is demanding. CRAZINESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[shortspacequickness 1,034]

I asked this previously and am legitimately interested in your answer.

I am curious, let's start with Creans 3rd year and extend through 2016. What sort of results would you want out of a coach at IU? BT championships are great and I will take those anytime but do you have any expectations on a national level?

I don't think you can put numbers on that. College basketball is so different since IU's championship years so I don't think that can ever be part of the discussion; not that you are doing that but it is a general attitude among some. But IMO a reasonable expectation for IU would be to win/contend for the Big Ten every year; and have a chance to advance in the NCAA every year depending on the circumstance (i.e: there still will be down years no matter who the coach is). That's what kind of job Indiana is; that's how you have to win at a place w/resources, etc. I just think Crean deserves a chance to get through this. The personal vitriol baffles me because he really has done a lot of good and put the program in a pretty high place. His best years are ahead of him at IU... and if he doesn't win then you see what the candidate pool actually looks like. Maybe your guys' dream Stevens will be at a different point by then. Yet year after year it seems like we have produced at a high rate on offense but I guess it is not aesthetically pleasing to certain crowds. Defensively I would prefer a coach mix it up more than Crean has but it hasn't been all bad either. This team has some serious guard play and who knows what happens if Devin Davis comes back ready at some point.

 

This team will probably will enough to keep this going another year so most of the talk is nonsense. Blackmon got there just in time. 

 

Too bad Trey Lyles didn't stick around. (I wish it were sarcasm)

[8bucks 6,557]

I don't think you can put numbers on that. College basketball is so different since IU's championship years so I don't think that can ever be part of the discussion; not that you are doing that but it is a general attitude among some. But IMO a reasonable expectation for IU would be to win/contend for the Big Ten every year; and have a chance to advance in the NCAA every year depending on the circumstance (i.e: there still will be down years no matter who the coach is). That's what kind of job Indiana is; that's how you have to win at a place w/resources, etc. I just think Crean deserves a chance to get through this. The personal vitriol baffles me because he really has done a lot of good and put the program in a pretty high place. His best years are ahead of him at IU... and if he doesn't win then you see what the candidate pool actually looks like. Maybe your guys' dream Stevens will be at a different point by then. Yet year after year it seems like we have produced at a high rate on offense but I guess it is not aesthetically pleasing to certain crowds. Defensively I would prefer a coach mix it up more than Crean has but it hasn't been all bad either. This team has some serious guard play and who knows what happens if Devin Davis comes back ready at some point.

This team will probably will enough to keep this going another year so most of the talk is nonsense. Blackmon got there just in time.

Too bad Trey Lyles didn't stick around. (I wish it were sarcasm)

I think we largely agree on performance then. Compete for BT most years and expect to advance in the tourney. There will be a down year but it should be like MSU now. They have competed for the BT championship for several years in a row before having the down year.

When you say Crean should have a chance to get through this what does that really mean in terms of time? This year or next? I think you are right about us winning enough this year to have Crean return next year but my concern is that after Yogis senior year we lose so many players we are back to being young again.

[hoosierinIll 335]

If I'm Glass, you keep Crean until you hire Stevens.  If Stevens says, "no, I'm not interested and I want to stay in the NBA the rest of my life" then you move to Marshall, Bennett, Smart, etc.

 

Stevens, in my opinion is the only homerun.  Marshall could be really good, but in terms of nostalgia, uniting the fan base/state, no one would compare to Stevens...and the guy is a heck of a coach.

 

Do I think Crean is a good coach?  No.  I think he is an average coach who has a strong work ethic who does some things pretty well.  From a basketball perspective, I think there are quite a few coaches around the state of Indiana (including high school) who are better teachers and managers of the game.  

 

For his sake, I hope he makes the tournament this year.  If not, we're going to be in a very difficult situation if he is retained even after not making the tournament.  Recruiting is already starting to dip some, his job status will only continue to become questionable (not just from the fan base but on a national perspective because of the tradition/history of IU) and it will become one of those "inevitable" situations that causes a drop in the overall quality of the program (players stop caring, etc.).  

 

People, however, who accept the current quality of basketball need to realize how far the expectations have fallen.  It's about winning and winning the right way.  We haven't done that consistently for a long while.

[OliviaPope40 6,641]

I don't see Smart leaving VCU he has turned down big name offers heck Painter turned down Missouri.

[jonz44 810]

If I'm Glass, you keep Crean until you hire Stevens. If Stevens says, "no, I'm not interested and I want to stay in the NBA the rest of my life" then you move to Marshall, Bennett, Smart, etc.

Stevens, in my opinion is the only homerun. Marshall could be really good, but in terms of nostalgia, uniting the fan base/state, no one would compare to Stevens...and the guy is a heck of a coach.

Do I think Crean is a good coach? No. I think he is an average coach who has a strong work ethic who does some things pretty well. From a basketball perspective, I think there are quite a few coaches around the state of Indiana (including high school) who are better teachers and managers of the game.

For his sake, I hope he makes the tournament this year. If not, we're going to be in a very difficult situation if he is retained even after not making the tournament. Recruiting is already starting to dip some, his job status will only continue to become questionable (not just from the fan base but on a national perspective because of the tradition/history of IU) and it will become one of those "inevitable" situations that causes a drop in the overall quality of the program (players stop caring, etc.).

People, however, who accept the current quality of basketball need to realize how far the expectations have fallen. It's about winning and winning the right way. We haven't done that consistently for a long while.

Agree on every point. Time to get it done or go away!

[JSHoosier 20,524]

I don't think you can put numbers on that. College basketball is so different since IU's championship years so I don't think that can ever be part of the discussion; not that you are doing that but it is a general attitude among some. But IMO a reasonable expectation for IU would be to win/contend for the Big Ten every year; and have a chance to advance in the NCAA every year depending on the circumstance (i.e: there still will be down years no matter who the coach is). That's what kind of job Indiana is; that's how you have to win at a place w/resources, etc. I just think Crean deserves a chance to get through this. The personal vitriol baffles me because he really has done a lot of good and put the program in a pretty high place. His best years are ahead of him at IU... and if he doesn't win then you see what the candidate pool actually looks like. Maybe your guys' dream Stevens will be at a different point by then. Yet year after year it seems like we have produced at a high rate on offense but I guess it is not aesthetically pleasing to certain crowds. Defensively I would prefer a coach mix it up more than Crean has but it hasn't been all bad either. This team has some serious guard play and who knows what happens if Devin Davis comes back ready at some point.

 

This team will probably will enough to keep this going another year so most of the talk is nonsense. Blackmon got there just in time. 

 

Too bad Trey Lyles didn't stick around. (I wish it were sarcasm)

We're pretty close on what expectations should be.  We should expect to compete in the conference every season, some of those seasons we should expect to compete for national titles.  I'd add that a down year shouldn't mean missing a 68 team field, let alone failing to make the NIT.

 

My honest question is what can you look at to definitively say his best years are ahead of him?  At some point a coach's resume reflects his ability, and Crean's resume shows he's never been able to meet those expectations and he's been coaching the better part of 20 years.  He didn't even compete in his conference every season at Marquette.  At the same point, the coaches at other programs of Indiana's stature had all proven they can meet those expectations.  In 15 years Crean has accomplished less then any coach at a program the caliber of Indiana, he's really not even close to any of them at this point.  What can we definitively look at?  It's not his coaching history.  For me to say that I'd have to have something definitive to think what he's shown in 15 years isn't what he's really capable of.  It'd better be a heck of a lot more substantial than hopes and dreams, because 15 years is a large enough sample size to judge him on IMO and it's not in his favor.

[Alford Bailey 12,417]

If I'm Glass, you keep Crean until you hire Stevens.  If Stevens says, "no, I'm not interested and I want to stay in the NBA the rest of my life" then you move to Marshall, Bennett, Smart, etc.

 

Stevens, in my opinion is the only homerun.  Marshall could be really good, but in terms of nostalgia, uniting the fan base/state, no one would compare to Stevens...and the guy is a heck of a coach.

 

Do I think Crean is a good coach?  No.  I think he is an average coach who has a strong work ethic who does some things pretty well.  From a basketball perspective, I think there are quite a few coaches around the state of Indiana (including high school) who are better teachers and managers of the game.  

 

For his sake, I hope he makes the tournament this year.  If not, we're going to be in a very difficult situation if he is retained even after not making the tournament.  Recruiting is already starting to dip some, his job status will only continue to become questionable (not just from the fan base but on a national perspective because of the tradition/history of IU) and it will become one of those "inevitable" situations that causes a drop in the overall quality of the program (players stop caring, etc.).  

 

People, however, who accept the current quality of basketball need to realize how far the expectations have fallen.  It's about winning and winning the right way.  We haven't done that consistently for a long while.

Great post. "Uniting the fan base/state" This is huge and is one of the biggest issues nobody talks about. This fan base is split and will stay that way with Crean. We need a great coach who can also get the fan base excited again and on the same page. This is why I say Crean needs replaced even if we make the Dance this year. Barring a final four run that is.(aint happening with this team).

[deemoons 2]

Way to keep upbeat guys! True Hoosiers!