When Deane was hired???

[MUSF]

I didn't see Deane as that good of a game coach.  He frequently called timeouts 1 or 2 minutes into the game to yell at his players.  We played "stall ball" most of the time he was there, running out the shot clock then having to throw up a prayer.  The defense was good, but the offense was not.  I guess it did win games, but most of them were ugly to watch.

ever watch a UW-Madison game?

UW under Ryan looks like Memphis compared to the last couple years of Deane ball at MU.

[tower912]

I seem to remember that if somebody gave up a basket, particularly one of his unathletic bigs, that person came out of the game at the next TO.   Of course, this did not apply to Crawford, Hutchins, or Wardle.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

That picture was either from the 77 reunion team or when we retired Al's number....I think the former.

It was a big party after the game, a great time.  Al was in rare form.  We wore the the throwback uniforms that game.

I really liked Mike, really enjoyed working with and for him.  I think Mike's biggest weakness is that he wasn't a kiss ass guy....many would call that not a weakness but a strong point.  I'd agree, though at times you have to play the game of politics.  When Mike would call out Cords publicly about not having a new practice center, etc....that just wasn't smart.  Deane may have been right to ask where his practice facility was, but you do that behind closed doors, not in public settings.

I thought he was a terrific coach, a throw back type coach.  Could definitely beat a team or two he had no business of beating.  However, at this level you have to have the horses because coaching will ultimately get you close, but not far enough.

When Billingsley backed out of his commitment, that was the beginning of the end in my opinion.

As far as his personality, yeah he rubbed some people wrong.  As I've said consistently here, almost every coach (especially head coaches) I've ever met, worked with have a quirky personality.  It's hard to be in a profession where you are constantly scrutinized, constantly looking over your shoulder, having to deal with 18-22 year old kids that aren't always with it, having to deal with glad handing alumni, etc.   It causes you to either become a bit paranoid, develop a shell or a combination of insulating traits.  It's a high stress job and they are often type A perfectionists operating in a glass bubble.

Not an easy gig by any means...in my opinion it often leads to philandering, drinking, egotistical and sometimes abusive behavior that a good many of these guys sometimes develop.  Then again, there are plenty of high ranking corporate America types that fall into these same trappings.

Good post.

I guess that is my point. As I said before, I enjoyed Coach Deane personally but I can see how his behavior would draw the ire of the administration. I just find it interesting that some people can rail against Crean and his fatal personality flaws and yet dismiss the glaring flaws of Deane simply because they like a guys guy that enjoys drinking, telling dirty jokes, and tossing out insults. That is fun at the bar but can get old in the office.

I have no problem with people dis-liking Crean. Hell, I don't really like him. The problem I have is when people translate personality differences into Deane = Good Guy/Good Coach and Crean = Bad Guy/Mediocre coach.

Well put, by both of you.

Mike is rough around the edges, and appeals to people who are similar.

Crean was more polished and therefor seen as less than genuine (I'm not arguing if he was, I'm just saying that's how people took it, i.e. "he's a used car salesman")

I don't think either was perfect... and we are being honest with ourselves, Al wasn't perfect either... but we loved him.

I think you have to look at a coach overall rather than focusing on the little details, otherwise you'll hate every coach MU ever has.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I didn't see Deane as that good of a game coach.  He frequently called timeouts 1 or 2 minutes into the game to yell at his players.  We played "stall ball" most of the time he was there, running out the shot clock then having to throw up a prayer.  The defense was good, but the offense was not.  I guess it did win games, but most of them were ugly to watch.

It's the style Deane had to play because he didn't have the horses.  We used to talk to him at times about the timeouts and it was simple.  If those guys weren't executing the gameplan from the second that ball was tipped, he was going to set that point with them immediately.  And in the next minute if they blew it again, he would set it again.  I only recall maybe 1 or 2 games where we desperately needed timeouts late in a game that he blew early, but that was one of the drawbacks.

[MUSF]

I didn't see Deane as that good of a game coach.  He frequently called timeouts 1 or 2 minutes into the game to yell at his players.  We played "stall ball" most of the time he was there, running out the shot clock then having to throw up a prayer.  The defense was good, but the offense was not.  I guess it did win games, but most of them were ugly to watch.

It's the style Deane had to play because he didn't have the horses.  We used to talk to him at times about the timeouts and it was simple.  If those guys weren't executing the gameplan from the second that ball was tipped, he was going to set that point with them immediately.  And in the next minute if they blew it again, he would set it again.  I only recall maybe 1 or 2 games where we desperately needed timeouts late in a game that he blew early, but that was one of the drawbacks.

No doubt Deane was/is a winner. His system and mediocre recruiting left little margin of error though. Once his teams started losing it was all over. Deane's style of play is boring when he is winning but when they started to lose, MU became almost un-watchable. It was awful. That, along with his personality and demeanor, killed him in the end. I am curious as to what the opinion inside the Athletic Department was.

[mviale]

come on - why would you want Crean to call a time out? What is he going to say? Come on guys, you are making me look bad on national TV.

[Tommy Brice for Coach]

ever watch a UW-Madison game?

Yeah.  And they showed this year how far that style of ball will get you in the tourney. 

I hate Madison, but I'm gonna play devil's advocate here...

It got them further than our game got us.

[bma725]

ever watch a UW-Madison game?

Yeah.  And they showed this year how far that style of ball will get you in the tourney. 

I hate Madison, but I'm gonna play devil's advocate here...

It got them further than our game got us.

It got them further because they played Cal State-Fullerton and Kansas State.  If they had played Stanford in round two, they would have gotten just as far as MU did.