5th Annual FFC Day

[Avenue Commons]

"And I hope that everything gets done in their lives that they set forth and to help all of us get done in our lives and helped us with."

-Indiana University Sweet 16 Head Coach Tom Crean

[muwarrior69]

From a Marquette alum perspective...couldn't be happier.  Rebuilt the program, left us Buzz Williams.

From an Indiana alum perspective...couldn't be happier.... program no longer has the stench of massive drug use, kids failing classes and cheating throughout.   

Worked out well for everyone

There are not too many win win's in the world, but this is one of them.

[Avenue Commons]

I am sure that Wild said to Cottingham, "Wait, let's get Tom's input on our next coaching hire!"

That piece of fiction is laughable. They gave Crean's thoughts as much consideration as that jacka$$ gave them in his leaving. Like Crean's players, his bosses heard about his departure through ESPN. May Crean rot in whatever personal hell he inhabits.  

Tom Crean's name was and is mud among the powers that be at Marquette. There's a reason he was scared to tell anyone that he was leaving and he left under the cover of darkness. He let down a lot of people that were very decent to him.

[jesmu84]

No Tom Crean, no Buzz Williams at Marquette. He never spends a day in his life on the coaching staff at MU. PERIOD.

To say with absolute fact that without Crean, Buzz would never have ended in up at Marquette some way/some how, is wrong. It's certainly improbable, but not impossible.

[MUfan12]

"And I hope that everything gets done in their lives that they set forth and to help all of us get done in our lives and helped us with."

-Indiana University Sweet 16 Head Coach Tom Crean

Setting forth to laugh at my desk to help my desk help get laughs.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

"And I hope that everything gets done in their lives that they set forth and to help all of us get done in our lives and helped us with."

-Sweet 16 Head Coach Tom Crean of Indiana University

FIFY

[The Equalizer]

Tom Crean's name was and is mud among the powers that be at Marquette. There's a reason he was scared to tell anyone that he was leaving and he left under the cover of darkness. He let down a lot of people that were very decent to him.

Here's the article from the time--Wild told the JS at the time that while he didn't like the way Crean left, he also said it "was not characteristic of the man as I dealt with him over the years".  

BTW, quote doesn't sound like a man talking about an employee who's name was "mud" around campus:

"We were very happy with him," Wild said. "We had had a good year and he carried us within a hair of the third round of the NCAA. We liked Tom and we were happy with his overall performance. I think in many ways it wasn't a money issue. We all felt there were a handful of programs, really, that had a long tradition and established programs and I think Indiana might make that case. They've fallen on hard times, so in some ways it was easier to go in there when the times are harder. But that's speculation on my part."

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/31869314.html

[2TimeWarrior]

Did you expect Fr. Wild to come out and say that he couldn't stand Crean and thought he was a prick?!  He handled questions with class as one would expect of a University president.

[Avenue Commons]

Here's the article from the time--Wild told the JS at the time that while he didn't like the way Crean left, he also said it "was not characteristic of the man as I dealt with him over the years".  

BTW, quote doesn't sound like a man talking about an employee who's name was "mud" around campus:

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/31869314.html

I wasn't talking about before TC left, his name was mud after TC left in the manner he did.

[The Equalizer]

Did you expect Fr. Wild to come out and say that he couldn't stand Crean and thought he was a prick?!  He handled questions with class as one would expect of a University president.

If Fr. Wild couldn't stand Crean and wanted him gone, I would NOT expect him to lie about it and say "We were very happy with him." 

If he didn't want him back, I would NOT expect him to lie about it and say "We would have tried to keep him."

If he thought that his departure was typical behavior, I wouldn't expect him to lie and say its "not characteristic of the man as I dealt with"

In short, if Wild actually couldn't stand Crean, wanted him gone, and is happy to be rid of him, the classy response would NOT  have been to lie three times--it would have been to simply say "We thank him for his past service and look forward to continued success with our new coach."

Fr. Wild is an honorable man, and shouldn't have to put up with your accusations that he's a liar, just so you can pretend that he shares your hatred of Crean.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Right. First he he tried to poach him as an assistant and when Buzz turned him down he pushed for him to get the head job at MU. That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Another myth you've repeated countless times to mitigate Crean's treachery. The idea that Cottingham and Wild were even speaking to Crean between April 1 and April 8 is ludicrous. Please give sourced quotes to back up your claim.

No Tom Crean, no Buzz Williams at Marquette.  So again, yes, Crean left us Buzz.  Correct that he wanted him to go to IU, but no Crean = no Buzz....I know that pains you greatly.

Water requires oxygen and hydrogen .... Hopefully you get it now.

As for TC and his push....sure you want to go there?  Why don't you use the search engine here.  I'm at truck stop on my way to the Colorado river next few days for jet skiing, enjoying friends, etc.  I don't have time to chase down your inaccuracies all the time.

[MU82]

I'm not going to dig up 5 year old posts to make my case, but I think a lot of us were disappointed in the process. I know I was. We thought we were worthy of a coach with a big name. We didn't get one. Obviously that was a letdown. I recall the sentiment of this board being concerned but willing to give the benefit of the doubt. Not many people really wanted to condemn the hire, just the process.

Let this be a lesson for next time, whenever that comes.

What if Duke had hired a big name instead of some hard-to-spell no-name who went 23-28 in his last two years as Army coach?

What if Michigan State had hired a big name instead of some assistant who had toiled loyally on Jud Heathcote's bench for a dozen years?

What if Georgetown had hired a big name in 1972 instead of a high school basketball coach?

What if Syracuse had hired a big name instead of coming up empty in their national coaching search and settling for a goofy-looking, bespectacled assistant?

For that matter, what if Marquette had hired a big name instead of a career assistant who had never been a head coach at any level before leaving Michigan State to run our program in 1999?

And, of course, what if Marquette had hired a big name instead of the ultimate underdog -- a guy who never played and who bounced around at every level before getting his big break when Crean left?

And that's just college basketball.

Phil Jackson ... a blacklisted pothead before the Bulls gave him a chance. Mark Spoelstra ... who? Gregg Popovich ... total nobody. Bill Belichick ... career assistant who failed miserably in his first head-coaching try. Tony La Russa ... a lawyer with little MLB playing or coaching experience. And so on and so on and so on.

It's always fun to pursue and land a "big name" ... unless the big name crashes and burns: Kelvin Sampson, Billy Gillispie, Kevin O'Neill, Tim Floyd, etc, etc, etc.

Nobody ever wants to hear it, but sometimes the best person for the job really is the obscure bald guy who wears his heart on his sleeve.

[ChicosBailBonds]

To say with absolute fact that without Crean, Buzz would never have ended in up at Marquette some way/some how, is wrong. It's certainly improbable, but not impossible.

As Blackheart would say...puppies and unicorns.

Or the dumb and dumber line....one in a million...so you are saying there's a chance.

    Improbable is being kind

[ChicosBailBonds]

Did you expect Fr. Wild to come out and say that he couldn't stand Crean and thought he was a prick?!  He handled questions with class as one would expect of a University president.

So much so that he signed the man to a 10 year contract for millions of dollars to be the face of the university.

LOL.  Some of you are really funny.

[The Equalizer]

I wasn't talking about before TC left, his name was mud after TC left in the manner he did.

If so, then why did you say: "There's a reason he was scared to tell anyone that he was leaving and he left under the cover of darkness."

Sure sounds like you're implying that the bad blood preceeded his departure and was the cause of the way he left. 

[muwarrior97]

I will never forget Crean's motto for the 2007-08 team which he put on the pocket-schedule... "One for all, all for one."  I bet DJ, Jerel, and Wes didn't either while finding out the news on SportsCenter five years ago today.  

You can't find character like that everyday.  Thank you, Tom Crean.

He was THE ONE

[Avenue Commons]

If so, then why did you say: "There's a reason he was scared to tell anyone that he was leaving and he left under the cover of darkness."

Sure sounds like you're implying that the bad blood preceeded his departure and was the cause of the way he left. 

Because I wrote it on my iPhone during lunch and didn't think it would be analyzed like the Magna Carta.

Let my clarify with simplicity: Crean didn't have the cojones to tell Marquette he was leaving so he just bailed. After that action, his name was mud and his name remains mud to this day.

[wardle2wade]

He was THE ONE

Exactly.

[drewm88]

Let this be a lesson for next time, whenever that comes.

What if Duke had hired a big name instead of some hard-to-spell no-name who went 23-28 in his last two years as Army coach?

What if Michigan State had hired a big name instead of some assistant who had toiled loyally on Jud Heathcote's bench for a dozen years?

What if Georgetown had hired a big name in 1972 instead of a high school basketball coach?

What if Syracuse had hired a big name instead of coming up empty in their national coaching search and settling for a goofy-looking, bespectacled assistant?

For that matter, what if Marquette had hired a big name instead of a career assistant who had never been a head coach at any level before leaving Michigan State to run our program in 1999?

And, of course, what if Marquette had hired a big name instead of the ultimate underdog -- a guy who never played and who bounced around at every level before getting his big break when Crean left?

And that's just college basketball.

Phil Jackson ... a blacklisted pothead before the Bulls gave him a chance. Mark Spoelstra ... who? Gregg Popovich ... total nobody. Bill Belichick ... career assistant who failed miserably in his first head-coaching try. Tony La Russa ... a lawyer with little MLB playing or coaching experience. And so on and so on and so on.

It's always fun to pursue and land a "big name" ... unless the big name crashes and burns: Kelvin Sampson, Billy Gillispie, Kevin O'Neill, Tim Floyd, etc, etc, etc.

Nobody ever wants to hear it, but sometimes the best person for the job really is the obscure bald guy who wears his heart on his sleeve.

I agree with your sentiment, but I think your post is a whole lot of confirmation bias. Nobody remembers the no-names who don't work out. Pitino, Calipari, Crean, Self, Roy Williams, and Ben Howland (3 FF Howland, not unemployed Howland) are all "names" who have had success at their new school. On top of that, I don't think there were as many big name coaches around when Duke, Cuse, and Georgetown hired their future legends.

Either way can be good or bad. Going with a no name carries a risk of looking small time. Going with a name carries a risk of publicly flaming out.

Regardless, we came out ahead in this one.

[keefe]

Crean didn't have the cojones to tell Marquette he was leaving so he just bailed. After that action, his name was mud and his name remains mud to this day.

Just the sort of guy you want on your wing in combat.

His name would be sh1t in the world of fighter pilots. There is honor in mud on the uniform.

[Silkk the Shaka]

Buzz took a good job and made it a great one.

[keefe]

So much so that he signed the man to a 10 year contract for millions of dollars to be the face of the university.

LOL.  Some of you are really funny.

That must be some Truck Stop. You've been there more than two hours...

[keefe]

April 1, 2008 Tom Crean reveals he's a punk and sneaks out of Milwaukee without saying his good byes or informing his boss.   Where were you when you found out?  

I didn't find out until that evening but I was drunk and eating domino's pizza.

Can't believe it's been 5 years already, time flies when you're having more success than Indiana.

On a running machine at the Monterrey Hyatt. Found out the same way the Three Amigos did - watching ESPN. Treachery.

[Badgerhater]

Buzz took a good job and made it a great one.

Wins the thread.

[The Equalizer]

Because I wrote it on my iPhone during lunch and didn't think it would be analyzed like the Magna Carta.

Let my clarify with simplicity: Crean didn't have the cojones to tell Marquette he was leaving so he just bailed. After that action, his name was mud and his name remains mud to this day.

That brings us back to Fr Wild.  Remember, these quotes are a week after Crean left.  He had full and complete knowledge of exactly how Crean left, and yet Wild is not just making cordial public statments, but still saying they liked Crean and would have tried to keep him.  

Doesn't make sense for Fr. Wild to say this if he didn't mean it, don't you think?  

Frankly, I can't see Fr. Wild telling lies to cover for a guy he liked.  So I have a really hard time understanding why he would serially lie to cover for a guy who supposedly was "mud."