Powers that be @ MU, or, the conspiracy thread.

[tower912]

This situation is not Buzz' fault.   The man applied for a job and convinced the power that be that he was coaching candidate with the best vision and enthusiasm for the position.   It is not Buzz' fault that Bennet, Grant, Miller, Lowery, et al said they were not interested and the powers that be settled on Buzz rather than push harder on one of those candidates.   And finally, I read a thread either here or on the other board that indicated a big MU money guy confronted Crean after both the G-town and Stanford losses.   So, is there a big money player that has the kind of pull that would influence TC to leave?   Are there parties that wanted a inexperienced AD?   Ultimately, doesn't Father Wild have final say?   Are there individuals who can get that esteemed Jesuit to do what they say?  Was there a power broker backing Buzz over the other candidates?   Why? And if the answer to these questions are yes?   Who is he, and shouldn't we be blaming him for how this all played out, rather than our new coach who, for better or worse, wanted this job and is going to pour everything he has, again, for better or worse, into it?   

[The Man in Gold]

Fear the PTB's! Next year's giveaway for the Northeastern Tech St. game will be tin foil hats for everyone!

[BrewCity83]

Looks like no one's touching those theories......

[tower912]

I don't buy any of them.   I was trying to put into one place all of the crazy abe flying around here.     Personally, I believe that Buzz was probably our 3rd or 4th choice, but Bennett and Miller for sure said no.   Rather than let it drag on, our AD, with advice from Cords, settled on Buzz, and then had him sell his vision to Father Wild.      I believe Crean was told to decide in a big hurry whether he wanted to go to what is traditionally one of the top 10 jobs in college hoops.    He decided to jump and everything else got handled like crap.      Certainly, I would have liked to see about 5 different things handled better.   But, to paraphrase the great Donald Rumsfeld , we hire a coach with the administrative team we've got, not the one we'd like.

[bma725]

So, is there a big money player that has the kind of pull that would influence TC to leave?   Are there parties that wanted a inexperienced AD?   Ultimately, doesn't Father Wild have final say?   Are there individuals who can get that esteemed Jesuit to do what they say?  Was there a power broker backing Buzz over the other candidates?   Why? And if the answer to these questions are yes?   Who is he, and shouldn't we be blaming him for how this all played out, rather than our new coach who, for better or worse, wanted this job and is going to pour everything he has, again, for better or worse, into it?   

Wild doesn't have ultimate say, but not to some power broker.  He's still responsible to the Jesuits first and foremost, and if you think the Jesuit higher ups aren't involved in every step of the decision making, then you don't know Wild or the Jesuits very well.  That's why Cottingham got the AD job.  Wild liked him and pushed really hard to get him, first to the Jesuits, then the BOT, then to Cottingham himself, who didn't want the job initially.

[bilsu]

The fact is a lot of people assume this was a bad hire. Another fact is we do not know it is a bad hire. If he fails he fails, but I am willing to give him the chance. I do think one of the reasons Buzz was hired was to stick it to Crean. I really believe Crean thought Buzz was going with him. I also think Crean thought the recruits that opted not to go to MU would follow him to Indiana. There are two reasons this did not happen. One MU hired Buzz which prevented him from going to Indiana to help lure our recruits to Indiana. I am sorry we lost Williams and Taylor, but I am happy they did not follow Crean to Indiana. The other factor that Crean did not realize is he promised all of these recruits he was staying at MU. By leaving they lost all trust in him and not one of them considered Indiana. I also think Crean thought that since Holloway was interested in playing for him at MU that he would comeback to Indiana.  But I am sure when Crean was recruiting him he told him he was staying at MU and there goes the trust factor. We are recruiting several juniors. We cannot sign them all, but it is my belief that the ones we lose, we will not be losing to Indiana. Whether hiring Buzz turns out to be a good hire or not it certainly was a hire that stuck it to Crean where it is really going to hurt him. He has no players at Indiana and almost no opportunity to bring in any impact players for next year. Let's back Buzz and give him a chance. Whether the hire was good for MU or not it dealt Crean a serious blow which will be hard for him to recover from. Maybe he will, but things have not gone right for Crean so far and I am enjoying that. Support Buzz until he shows you he cannot do the job.

[wampum77]

Whether bilsu is right or not I don't know, but part of crean's recruiting problem was that the word was out both amongst recruits and coaches regarding his self centered idiosyncrasies, and the way he handled his exodus certainly does nothing to lessen the questions about him and raises still others ie. credability.  After the way he treated his players you'd think he'd have trouble looking recruits in the eye, but it really won't phase Tommy.  He'll be back out there talking and saying nothing, just like always.