I am a big fan of Coach Crean, but I have to admit I am a bit more disappointed after last night than I thought I would be (I thought they were going to lose, but not like that).
I've never been a big believer in the "March fade" theory as it relates to MU's teams. If you have to qualify that charge by saying "with the exception of '03" I think it loses its teeth. Nor have I ever really bought into the "practices are too long/too physical" stuff. However, after the last 3 games coupled with last season and our lack of post season success, even as a Tom Crean fan, I am wavering a bit on each of them. I think it is acceptable to question star players going out with what I assume is actually a broken wrist (I am no orthopedist, but that was an awfully big piece of hardware for a 2 week old sprained thumb) suffered in practice late in the season 2 out of 3 years. Likewise, I think it is fair to question a coach on consistently poor BET performances and why MU was late for their opening round NCAA game in 2 consecutive seasons.
There are obviously many areas for blame with problems, as well as many areas for credit for the successes, and Coach Crean certainly has his share of each. He always talks about players needing to get better at this, that and the other. I would like to hear his thoughts on what he thinks he needs to get better at as a coach. I have some ideas, but not being there every day, I have no idea if they're right. Fact is, this is still his first and only job, and he is still I suppose somewhat inexperienced. I would just like to hear Rosiak or somebody ask him for comments on what improvement opportunities he sees for himself and his staff. I think it would be interesting to bounce his response off of our individual perceptions of his positives and negatives.