What they're sayingWritten by: Todd RosiakHere's what former Indiana players Isiah Thomas and Jared Jeffries had to say about the hiring of Crean by the Hoosiers, compliments of the Journal Sentinel's Charles F. Gardner. Both were in town Tuesday with the New York Knicks, and spoke prior to their game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Thomas
"I know he's a great coach. I spent a lot of time with him over the summers, just talking about basketball. He's got a brilliant basketball mind. It's definitely a good hire for Indiana. I was very vocal about Dan (Dakich) getting the job, but Tom is definitely qualified and will do an excellent job at Indiana. Any way that I can help him, I definitely will ."
Jeffries
"I've known Tom Crean for a long, long time. He recruited me at Michigan State when he was an assistant. I didn't want to leave my hometown to go to the Big Ten (reason he didn't sign with Michigan State) - he was the main recruiter I talked to - probably from my sophomore year on, we had contact.
"I remember when he first got the job at Marquette we played against them and Dwyane Wade in the Alaskan Shootout and I talked to him a lot. I've known him for a while. I think it's a very good move. He's proven himself to be a successful college coach at this level, a very good recruiter, recognize talent. That's who we need at Indiana, we need somebody who is going to be stable, a foundation for our future. We need a coach that can go there and be there 15, 20 years and build a winning program. I think people are looking for what coach Knight had, not necessarily what coach Knight did, but the fact he can be there for a long time, be a contender, win championships and get talent.
"He's very honest, passionate, he knew the game, he knew where he saw me playing. It sounded good but it came down for me, why leave my hometown (Bloomington) and go to the Big Ten? I didn't want to leave my hometown. But he was very, very positive with me. We had a chance to talk a lot. He was the main recruiter that I talked to, sent me letters, probably from my sophomore year on."
Did what Crean accomplished with Dwyane Wade help separate him? "Yes, what he did even with Travis Diener, did a really good job of recognizing the talent level. He recruits the Midwest very well - that's the key. Right now you've got so much talent coming out of Indiana, there's no reason a Greg Oden should leave, a Josh McRoberts should leave - you've got to get all those guys - they got Gordon last year. If you can recruit your state, Indiana is turning out some great players right now. He will recruit the Midwest well. Indiana is the kind of program that can sell itself, because you'll never get a better basketball environment."
http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/04/02/what-they-re-saying.aspx
