Scholarship table
So I believe some of the credit of the amigo class should go to Wade's triple double against UK.
Not to mention that the recruiting in state is much tougher. Now there is ND, Baylor and Purdue in the mix.
And Diener's game against Holy Cross.Psst...Baylor is in Texas. Valpo maybe? Or Butler?
I am confused about the recruiting thing. People give him alot of credit for recruiting but he recruited Wade and coincidentally had a great class after the final four run. So I believe some of the credit of the amigo class should go to Wade's triple double against UK.
But, even I was always troubled by Crean's seeming inability to make halftime adjustments (or adjustments on the fly). I'm not saying I knew what adjustments needed to be made, but I did notice that the team didn't seem to fix things in the second half.
Look at Crean's successful classes, they both came when he had a lot of playing time to give, in the class of 2000 and class of 2005. He got essentially 5 top 100 players in those two classes, and 7 highly rated players when you consider that Sanders was a top Prep School guy and Lott a JUCO AA. In his remaining seven years, he got only 5 additional top 100 players and 1 JUCO AA. Right now, Buzz is in that same situation.
Is Aaron Bowen a good start for 2010?
A number of games last year involved significant comebacks/adjustments by MU. We were down early to Seton Hall and came back and won. The comeback at ND was huge--that game was well in hand for ND, but MU came back from a deep hole and very nearly took the game. As I recall we were down big against Stanford and came back to tie in regulation. Down at the half @Villanova and won. That's just last season--and there were probably a few others.Last year's team didn't always come back and win every game--but we haven't yet played the type of teams--UL, Syracuse, UConn --that we didn't come back on. Its hard to tell whether we are any better or worse yet. I don't know if UL or UConn gets us down by 15 whether we'll find it as easy to come back as we did on Providence. I think probably not.
I'm still puzzled at the success of this team. I thought for sure you couldn't win with just guards.
If Crean had been the wrong hire for the time, if he couldn't recruit and promote the hell out of the program and coach a little, we would be where SJU/DePaul/Seton Hall are...But look 90 miles south on 94 and contemplate how easy it would be for us to end up like them.
I have not seen anybody say this. I think most almost universally agree he was exactly the right hire for the time. However, I think many also feel (perhaps including Crean himself) that he may have peaked out and it was a good time for a change. As good a job as he did, there certainly did appear to be room for improvement. Time will obviously tell if that is the case or not.
He certainly had flaws. However, to refuse to give him any credit for where the program is now is just wrong.
So, here is the uncomfortable question for MU fans ... Does IU STILL hold an inherent advantage over MU on the recuriting trail. Is Crean correct in thinking that IU will give him a little more wind at his back to get the recruits to go to the next level that he could not at MU (save 2003)?You agree?