B1G Coach of the Year

[fwgreenway 497]

Tonight it's Tom Crean period

[Baltimore Hoosier 986]

Funny how so many people were trashing Crean early in the season, now he's a potential B1G Coach of the Year. 

[biteoftheapple 4,115]

Funny how so many people were trashing Crean early in the season, now he's a potential B1G Coach of the Year.

You know that the product on the floor is why, don't you? If you watched Maui or the Duke game, you could not have been pleased with what was happening on the court. Add in the off court issues, then that is an easy point to see .

[ALASKA HOOSIER 11,261]

I look at pre-conference CTC and I don't want him as IU's coach. He has changed his coaching completely. He is different. He is showing good coaching and adjusting. For the 7 years prior, that wasn't the case. He must be taking advice from someone, and he is listening. The conference coach is a phoenix! If he continues to do this, he is starting to win back my heart.

[Alford Bailey 12,373]

When you look at our roster we really should be in first place. Tons of talent. Maybe that hurts Crean somewhat.

[AKHoosier 6,803]

When you look at our roster we really should be in first place. Tons of talent. Maybe that hurts Crean somewhat.

 

I would amend that to say we really should be in contention for first place.

 

There's a lot of talented teams with good coaches in this conference.  You can't ever really say we SHOULD be in first place.  Except if you're Kansas in the Big 12.

[BGleas 7,880]

Yes, IU is talented. But being in Maryland, I can tell you that Maryland fans thought they were going to cake-walk to the Final Four this year. They may still go, but their fans and most of the media, thought Maryland was heads and shoulders above everyone else in the Big Ten. 

 

 

When you look at our roster we really should be in first place. Tons of talent. Maybe that hurts Crean somewhat.

[Brass Cannon 24,616]

I would amend that to say we really should be in contention for first place.

There's a lot of talented teams with good coaches in this conference. You can't ever really say we SHOULD be in first place. Except if you're Kansas in the Big 12.

Agreed there's a reason we weren't even picked to win the conference.

[mdn82 25,510]

Agreed there's a reason we weren't even picked to win the conference.

Because most people picked Maryland who was a preseason top 3 team in the nation?

[Brass Cannon 24,616]

Because most people picked Maryland who was a preseason top 3 team in the nation?

Yeah you can't claim we have so much talent we were expected to win the conference if nobody actually predicted that. Outside of the fanbase that is.

[Chips&Dipo 1,464]

Where in the rule book does it say that Coaches that don't have talented teams can be COY? Just wondering.

[HoosierAloha 30,067]

Where in the rule book does it say that Coaches that don't have talented teams can be COY? Just wondering.

Think it's in the coaches handbook... Crean has a talented roster and is still at IU = can't vote for him.

I really can't see Beilein, Groce, Miles, Matta, and Painted vote for Crean.

[Alford Bailey 12,373]

Yeah you can't claim we have so much talent we were expected to win the conference if nobody actually predicted that. Outside of the fanbase that is.

So we are overachieving?

[mdn82 25,510]

So we are overachieving?

I think honestly if we got by Wichita St we would have been picked by some to win conference this year. Not many but we would have been there. Last years underachieving makes this year look like overachieving imo.

[8bucks 6,429]

So we are overachieving?

I don't think we are overachieving. We have several upperclassmen that start or log heavy minutes. We have 2 McDs still playing. We have a senior AA point guard. We are not lacking at any position.

Given how we started the year, some may think we are overachieving.

This is not a knock on Crean either. In fact it is good for him to have been able to build a strong roster and overcome a bad start and an injury to the top scorer. If we can keep guys from transferring then I see no reason we can't have a really strong 4-5 year run.

[ThompsonHoosier 3,414]

http://btn.com/2016/02/26/we-asked-a-few-big-ten-writers-for-coach-of-the-year-picks/

 

By: Tom Dienhart

 

Who is your choice for Big Ten Coach of the Year? Fran McCaffery? Tom Crean? Greg Gard? Lots of good options. I asked several people who cover the league for their choice as the season is about to draw to a close.

 

 

Chad Leistikow, Des Moines Register: Right now I’ve got Iowa’s Fran McCaffery with a slight lead, but he’s got to show he can finish off what the Hawkeyes have started. I think McCaffery’s case is helped by the unwarranted low expectations placed on Iowa to start the season (picked ninth in the league by a BTN panel, which was silly considering four senior starters returned off a team that won a first-round NCAA Tournament game by 32 points). Indiana’s Tom Crean and Wisconsin’s Greg Gard are right behind McCaffery, though, if the Hawkeyes slip down the stretch. Crean has to be praised for how he’s dealt with the loss of James Blackmon, Jr. And it goes without saying that Gard has found his way after taking over midseason for Bo Ryan.

 

Scott Richey, Champaign News-Gazette: Fran McCaffery. The majority opinion in the preseason had Iowa in the middle of the pack of the Big Ten, if not a couple spots lower. The non-conference didn’t do the Hawkeyes any favors, other than beating Wichita State, but the two wins against Michigan State turned the tide in the Big Ten. Now, Iowa is a top 10 team and competing for a conference title. That’s a long way from being considered the seventh-, eighth- or ninth-best team in the league.

 

Dan Duggan, NJ Advance Media: Fran McCaffery, Iowa. McCaffery has led the development of a veteran Iowa team that is fighting for the Big Ten crown.

 

Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star: Can already tell you, unless something drastically changes: Tom Crean. Folks will call me a homer, and that’s fine. But Crean had to work through or overcome 1) a season that looked like it was careening off course in early December, 2) a fan base that was furious after Maui and Duke, and 3) a team that was shorn of its second-leading scorer on the eve of Big Ten play and essentially had to self-evaluate and adapt on the fly. And now he’s got the inside lane to win the league. If Iowa takes the title eventually, McCaffrey could ****** my vote at the end. But right now, it’s Crean, easily.

 

Dan Dakich, ESPN and 1070 The Fan: Fran McCaffery and Tom Crean fighting it out down the stretch. To the victors go the spoils. Fran has done a great job bringing a team no one expected much out of to Big Ten title contention. Crean without James Blackmon has made his team better.

 

 

 

Edit: Osterman said "McCaffrey could s.n.a.t.c.h my vote..." I don't know why it was censored.

[Bryan Medema 1,488]

Where in the rule book does it say that Coaches that don't have talented teams can be COY? Just wondering.

Did you just try and lawyer us?

[Old Friend 8,389]

Indiana wins the next 2 games, Crean's the COY.  And he'll deserve it.  He might get it with a 1-1 finish.

 

He's clearly made drastic changes in his approach.  This is the first team of his I can remember that's peaking late in the year.  That's better in late February than it was in mid-December.  He deserves a hell of a lot of credit, and I've been one of his biggest detractors.  I also said I wanted HIM to improve just like I want to see players improve, and he's done exactly that.   I give him tremendous kudos for his ability to (finally) figure things out.  

[Old Friend 8,389]

Funny how so many people were trashing Crean early in the season, now he's a potential B1G Coach of the Year. 

You do realize he's made significant changes, right?  He's done a few things many people were calling for him to do (quit driving the kids so hard, focus more on defense, "do what we do" which is run, space the floor, move the ball, etc), and we're better because of it.  This is the first season in his 8 year tenure Indiana is better in late February than we have been at any point in the season.   You have to acknowledge the whole story, here.

[Old Friend 8,389]

So we are overachieving?

A few things..

 

1)  We are getting the most from what we have right now.   That was not happening in the pre-conference part of our schedule.  I'm not there every day, but it's pretty obvious something changed.  Crean's seat may have gotten really hot and forced him to look at some things and make changes.  I don't know, but they have.  Which has led to this team achieving what it can.

 

2)  We have a McD's all American and lifetime assist leader at point guard.  We have a McD's all American in the post.   We have a freak athlete on the wing.  We have solid role players and many who can shoot.  Our freshmen have matured quickly, and they're athletic.  I don't think we've over-achieved at all.  In fact, I'd say Crean (because of his history here) was a reason Indiana wasn't picked very high.  I mean, seriously, his resume doesn't necessarily say "can win the Big Ten" on a consistent basis.   But again...he's made some changes or adjustments in the way he's coaching that have been really effective.  

 

3)  Let's face reality.  The Big Ten's not very good.  As deep and experienced as we are, we SHOULD be in this position.   I think, anyway.