Crean on front page of Chicago Tribune Sports

[marquette09]

Good article about him and Izzo

[LastWarrior]

perhaps this is a bit more helpful... 

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/cs-070314marquette,1,4055417.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

Gee, you look familiar ...
Michigan St.'s Izzo, Marquette's Crean put their friendship to test in uncomfortable game for both
By Brian Hamilton
Tribune staff reporter

March 14, 2007, 10:36 PM CDT

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Digging ever deeper into the storehouse of Tom Crean and Tom Izzo friendship anecdotes, beating that Tom-Tom drum steadily, this was revealed on the eve of Thursday night's NCAA tournament meeting between Marquette and Michigan State:

When they met, Izzo had a "cheesy" mustache. Crean suffered from what friend and mentor Izzo labeled "a paranoia syndrome." Managers were dispatched into the recesses of every gym they visited, the better to flush out potentially prying eyes.

"I used to say, 'Tom, they have 20 films on us anyway,'" Izzo said.

Following that protocol Wednesday would have been similarly pointless. A Michigan State spy might as well have stared into a clear pond; all he or she would get is a reflection of the Spartans themselves.

Likewise, the coaches on the sideline in the East Regional first-round game at Lawrence Joel Coliseum will be facsimiles, fast friends and now reluctant adversaries for the first time. Quite deliberately, Izzo and Crean have never scheduled each other in the eight years since Crean left his friend's side in East Lansing.

Then the NCAA selection committee foisted that reality upon them, not to mention a three-day dissection of their relationship. An exasperated Izzo started his Wednesday press conference by peddling an "I really don't like Tom Crean" line. No sale.

"If people see us as friends and see the blueprint ... I never made it a secret that we were going to follow that blueprint when I came here," Crean said Wednesday. "We're not changing it now."

Said Izzo: "I think he's tweaked a few things. But the staples? They're going to defend, they're going to rebound, they're going to fast break. And try to recruit good players and motivate them and try to get them better. I don't think he's deviated from that at all. He shouldn't deviate from it, because he was the one who helped build it."

Crean was a Michigan State graduate assistant in 1989-90 and returned five years later as a member of Izzo's first staff. After 88 wins and a Final Four appearance in four seasons, he departed for Marquette.

The first sign Crean commissioned upon his arrival lifted a motivational bromide from Izzo: A championship effort is the only effort accepted here. It hangs in the Golden Eagles' locker rooms, and so Izzo, in effect, is a daily influence. It is no coincidence.

"He was one of the first people to give me the time of day as a young coach," Crean said. "I looked up to him in a hero, idol kind of way. But as time went on, as our friendship grew, we became peers. Tom allowed that to happen."

It also allowed for some "Outer Limits" moments for players. On the road, Marquette roommates Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal survey televised games to bide time until tip-off. Catching the Spartans felt like a breach in the space-time continuum: How could they be in the hotel if they were on TV as well?

"We'd say, 'That's our play. We call it this, that's what we run.' It's kind of weird," Matthews said. "But now that you're matched up with them, it's more, 'Whoa, OK, they're going to be doing the same thing.' It's going to be tough."

Tough will be the postgame handshake between Crean and Izzo. North Carolina coach Roy Williams endured such a moment in 1991 when as the coach at Kansas he faced mentor Dean Smith for the first time.

"If you win, you see the look on his face and it hurts," Williams said. "And if he wins, you've got that same look and feeling yourself."

The recognition of this inevitability has seeped into Crean's mind, jostling the terra firma upon which he has based his coaching career. And it necessarily led to another solemn thought.

It's the first time in his life he's not rooting for Tom Izzo to win.

bchamilton@tribune.com

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

http://www.suntimes.com/hoops/men/298217,CST-SPT-marq15.article

[NCMUFan]

Tom Crean's roots are deep in Michigan.  I hope he never has to choose between going back to Michigan State or staying with Marquette.  We ought to show our appreciation to Tom Crean while he is here.

[MarquetteFan94]

Great stuff....pretty funny picture of Crean on the second page of the article...at least in the print edition

[State]

Sunday we are all in an up roar because of our seed, but since then we and media outlets can't get enough of the Izzo-Crean match-up.

Looks like the committee got this one right.

[mu_hilltopper]

Tough post-game handshake?  Only if MU loses.  MU and Crean needs this win.  Izzo is full of post-season success, even recently.   Crean needs this one. 

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

Tough post-game handshake?  Only if MU loses.  MU and Crean needs this win.  Izzo is full of post-season success, even recently.   Crean needs this one. 

There are a few one-and-dones on the MSU ledger recently and last year's loss to George Mason can't sit that well with the fanbase. Granted the Masons went to the Final Four but that team had Paul Davis, Shannon Brown, and Maurice Ager as seniors and they were expected to acheive big things during their time.

[mu_hilltopper]

While last year might have been a disappointment, MSU has been a pretty consistent performer over the past 8-10 years, sure having a few one and dones, but also some FFs and E8s mixed in there.   You really can't complain if you're a MSU fan about post-season successes.