7000 fans a game?

[Lennys Tap]

So they didn't consider him a supreme a-hole until today? That seems like an odd tipping point. An off hand guess of a large number from nearly 20 years ago that was pretty close to accurate if he was talking about butts in seats?

Of course they considered him a supreme a-hole before today. This self aggrandizing BS is just another example (in a long, long list) of why he is what he is. That you think this was an "off handed guess" and that you think 7,000 is "pretty close to accurate" when the real number is 10,000 proves that you have no idea who TC is and that you are really bad at distinguishing the difference between gross exaggeration and accuracy.

[Skatastrophy]

The arena was desolate during the early days of Crean's tenure. The figures may claim 10k but actual attendance was likely closer to 7k as Crean stated.

And, just to preemptively rebut the stupidity, I went to every single home game of Crean's first three seasons and I remember the empty sections full of seat-backs.

+1

Crean handed me seats behind the MU bench outside of the McCormick cafeteria my freshman year. He was literally in McCormick at dinner time with one of the players begging students to show up to the games, saying we'd have a lot of fun.

He put in way more work than people give him credit for to turn the program up a notch from the Wardle+Nnamaka age. Dude is a grinder.

[mu03eng]

I will absolutely make fun of Crean on twitter especially with unflattering pictures (there are so many). I was bitter when he left, but I've since mellowed with old age and am fine with Crean's legacy. I would never take him back, if only for the optics but I appreciate what he did and am glad he's doing the Century thing. Contrary to revisionist history, Marquette owes Crean a lot. He's also an A-Hole. Those things are not mutually exclusive.

Side note, if people say he got lucky with Wade then we also have to say he got unlucky with McNeal and DJ injuries. I have no doubt that MU would have made a Final Four run had DJ not broken his foot in the UConn game in 2008. The McNeal injury was also unlucky but to a lesser extent.

[wadesworld]

I will absolutely make fun of Crean on twitter especially with unflattering pictures (there are so many). I was bitter when he left, but I've since mellowed with old age and am fine with Crean's legacy. I would never take him back, if only for the optics but I appreciate what he did and am glad he's doing the Century thing. Contrary to revisionist history, Marquette owes Crean a lot. He's also an A-Hole. Those things are not mutually exclusive.

Side note, if people say he got lucky with Wade then we also have to say he got unlucky with McNeal and DJ injuries. I have no doubt that MU would have made a Final Four run had DJ not broken his foot in the UConn game in 2008. The McNeal injury was also unlucky but to a lesser extent.

Wade falling into his lap no doubt was very lucky for Crean.  McNeal's injury was unlucky, but you'd still like to think he could find a way to have his team at least ready to compete, or maybe just make a 2 point basket in the first 20 minutes of an NCAA Tournament game.

The DJ injury was under Buzz, and I would never assume a FF run no matter how healthy or good the team was.  They were ranked 8th in the country.  If they played to that ranking they lose in the Elite 8.  Draw, luck, playing well, etc. all have to happen.  Unfortunately we'll never know.

[Galway Eagle]

According to wikipedia deane was the one that started recruiting Wade not even crean

[GooooMarquette]

According to wikipedia deane was the one that started recruiting Wade not even crean

Starting the recruiting process is easy.  Closing the deal isn't.....

[buckchuckler]

So I was there for the transition.  7K fans seems about right to me for the games I attended.  3 years later the place was always packed. 

[Lennys Tap]

Starting the recruiting process is easy.  Closing the deal isn't.....

When your competition (because Wade was a non qualifier) is Bradley and Illinois State it's not all that hard.

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Of course they considered him a supreme a-hole before today. This self aggrandizing BS is just another example (in a long, long list) of why he is what he is. That you think this was an "off handed guess" and that you think 7,000 is "pretty close to accurate" when the real number is 10,000 proves that you have no idea who TC is and that you are really bad at distinguishing the difference between gross exaggeration and accuracy.

Read what I wrote again. 7,000 is close to accurate if he was talking about butts in seats. If the official attendance was 10,000 then 7,000 for butts in seats is a reasonable guess. As a fan who went to some of those games, that seems about right. Others who went to games during that era seem to agree.

[Dr. Blackheart]

+1

Crean handed me seats behind the MU bench outside of the McCormick cafeteria my freshman year. He was literally in McCormick at dinner time with one of the players begging students to show up to the games, saying we'd have a lot of fun.

He put in way more work than people give him credit for to turn the program up a notch from the Wardle+Nnamaka age. Dude is a grinder.

He also gave away a lot of free tickets all his years...great showman...great snake oils man.

[Dawson Rental]

The mirror.

Boom! 

[Dawson Rental]

I would take Crean back as our coach in a heartbeat . He would get us back to the final four pretty quickly.

I agree with this analysis.... of what you would do. 

I also agree that you are pretty much alone in your assessment.

[mu03eng]

Wade falling into his lap no doubt was very lucky for Crean.  McNeal's injury was unlucky, but you'd still like to think he could find a way to have his team at least ready to compete, or maybe just make a 2 point basket in the first 20 minutes of an NCAA Tournament game.

The DJ injury was under Buzz, and I would never assume a FF run no matter how healthy or good the team was.  They were ranked 8th in the country.  If they played to that ranking they lose in the Elite 8.  Draw, luck, playing well, etc. all have to happen.  Unfortunately we'll never know.

You're right, DJ injury was under Buzz....getting old makes the memory fuzzy.

And the McNeal injury really hurt because there is one thing that Crean is terrible at, it's making adjustments both in-game and to his overall plan. McNeal was a big part of the offense and defense that season and Crean was just incapable of adjusting.

The only thing I really hold against Crean is holding Wesley Matthews back all those years.

[Dawson Rental]

Meh.  190 wins.   Final 4.   One tourney win in 9 years, sans Wade.   Shepherded the move to the Big East.   Couldn't string together consecutive classes or develop bigs.       In other words, some good, some bad.   I'm done worrying about him.    Glad he is coming back for the Century jubilee, or whatever it is.

A very fair and IMHO, accurate description of the man as Marquette's basketball coach. I guess you could add that almost immediately he brought back some excitement to a basketball program that was moribund at the time of his hiring.

I think that 33% of the vitriol about him now is from the way he left and 67% over who he was/is as a human being cue keefe for all the details.

[Dawson Rental]

According to wikipedia deane was the one that started recruiting Wade not even crean

What???  Deane recruited?  Who've guessed.

[B. McBannerson]

According to wikipedia deane was the one that started recruiting Wade not even crean

According to Dwyane Wade, he got a letter from MU, one of 100's that MU sends to many HS basketball players.

This notion that a recruit lands in someone's lap suggests to me that many here have never had the pleasure of being recruited to play college sports, or watched the process for their son or daughter.  A recruit doesn't land in one's lap, that is no different in this case either. 

[PBRme]

+1

Crean handed me seats behind the MU bench outside of the McCormick cafeteria my freshman year. He was literally in McCormick at dinner time with one of the players begging students to show up to the games, saying we'd have a lot of fun.

He put in way more work than people give him credit for to turn the program up a notch from the Wardle+Nnamaka age. Dude is a grinder.

plus 1


I think Crean made a lot of efforts to get students to the games and it definitely makes the atmosphere a 100 times better

[wadesworld]

According to Dwyane Wade, he got a letter from MU, one of 100's that MU sends to many HS basketball players.

This notion that a recruit lands in someone's lap suggests to me that many here have never had the pleasure of being recruited to play college sports, or watched the process for their son or daughter.  A recruit doesn't land in one's lap, that is no different in this case either.

When a recruit's options are limited due to academic issues, a recruit who may not otherwise be available or interested in a certain school sometimes falls into a coaches lap.

[Galway Eagle]

According to Dwyane Wade, he got a letter from MU, one of 100's that MU sends to many HS basketball players.

This notion that a recruit lands in someone's lap suggests to me that many here have never had the pleasure of being recruited to play college sports, or watched the process for their son or daughter.  A recruit doesn't land in one's lap, that is no different in this case either.

I don't think anyone is suggesting he landed in creans lap so much as a player that was probably supposed to be a role player ends up being one of the best basketball players ever is kind of a fluke. Didn't we have the guy we recruited to be the main guy transfer out because of Wade? Seems like that is what people mean when they say helanded in creans lap

[MarquetteDano]

I don't think anyone is suggesting he landed in creans lap so much as a player that was probably supposed to be a role player ends up being one of the best basketball players ever is kind of a fluke. Didn't we have the guy we recruited to be the main guy transfer out because of Wade? Seems like that is what people mean when they say helanded in creans lap

Not so sure Wade rankings were "role player" territory.  Wasn't he Top 75?

[B. McBannerson]

Dwyane Wade, let's hear from him directly.

The competition was Michigan, DePaul (who made the NCAA tournament while recruiting Wade), Bradley, Illinois State, and others.

Wade was 9th rated HS player in Illinois, which isn't great.  His test scores were bad, Michigan backed off though they could have continued to pursue him (no Big Ten rule preventing them from taking a partial qualifier).

That left Depaul, ISU, MU, and BU.

Here's what Mr. Wade had to say in his book, Crean sold him on MU and committed to him.  No falling into a lap, Wade committed to a coach and school (from his book):

Wade said MU was his first choice among those four in part because coach Tom Crean called him at 11:01 a.m. on a June day, one minute after recruiting calls could be made.

"I wanted to be your first call," Crean told Wade. "And I want to be your first call because this is how important you are to Marquette and our future.'. . . That carried weight with me; it meant a lot."

"The moment of truth for me occurred during my parting interview with coach Crean," Wade writes. "In his early thirties, Tom Crean wasn't a bad-looking guy, with his great head of dark hair and hip glasses. Smart and energetic, he was physically fit and notably tan in an athletic, outdoorsy way – even though frankly, I saw that he was terrible as an actual player . . . . His most noticeable trait, however, was an intense power of observation. Like he was capable of reading your mind."

Crean told Wade he was committed Wade even if he could not qualify with his ACT scores.

"Later I found out that Coach C probably didn't have the right to say that and he had to go back to the school to make sure that he could stand by that," Wade writes. "No matter, I was sold all the same."

Wade says the third and final time he took the ACT, the score was lower than the other two. He cried when he told Crean about the third score. Crean cried too. Twice in fact.

"At last I heard him take a determined breath," Wade writes. "His energy and tone changed. Now he was the coach, making a call after a tough loss. 'Look, here's what we're going to do. You're coming here and we'll stay with everything as planned. The only difference is you won't be able to play in the games or travel. But you'll do everything else. You're on the team."

Crean "emerged as the father figure I needed at the time," Wade says.

But Crean was demanding.

"At different points, he pushed so hard I was seriously ready to go home," Wade writes. "Then, of course, I realized there was nuthin' to go home to. But that didn't change the backing vocal track inside my head – This man is crazy!"

Wade recalls his awkwardness at a practice before the start of the 2001 season when he told Crean about Siohvaughn's pregnancy.

" 'Whatever happens, whatever you decide, I'm here and we'll get through this together,' " Crean told Wade. "Didn't tell me what to do or how to do it. Just that he'd be there to go through it with me."

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Of course they considered him a supreme a-hole before today. This self aggrandizing BS is just another example (in a long, long list) of why he is what he is. That you think this was an "off handed guess" and that you think 7,000 is "pretty close to accurate" when the real number is 10,000 proves that you have no idea who TC is and that you are really bad at distinguishing the difference between gross exaggeration and accuracy.

THIS ☝️☝☝
And the fact the article was then changed is further testimony to what a loser the guy is.

[wadesworld]

Dwyane Wade, let's hear from him directly.

The competition was Michigan, DePaul (who made the NCAA tournament while recruiting Wade), Bradley, Illinois State, and others.

Wade was 9th rated HS player in Illinois, which isn't great.  His test scores were bad, Michigan backed off though they could have continued to pursue him (no Big Ten rule preventing them from taking a partial qualifier).

That left Depaul, ISU, MU, and BU.

Here's what Mr. Wade had to say in his book, Crean sold him on MU and committed to him.  No falling into a lap, Wade committed to a coach and school (from his book):

Wade said MU was his first choice among those four in part because coach Tom Crean called him at 11:01 a.m. on a June day, one minute after recruiting calls could be made.

"I wanted to be your first call," Crean told Wade. "And I want to be your first call because this is how important you are to Marquette and our future.'. . . That carried weight with me; it meant a lot."

"The moment of truth for me occurred during my parting interview with coach Crean," Wade writes. "In his early thirties, Tom Crean wasn't a bad-looking guy, with his great head of dark hair and hip glasses. Smart and energetic, he was physically fit and notably tan in an athletic, outdoorsy way – even though frankly, I saw that he was terrible as an actual player . . . . His most noticeable trait, however, was an intense power of observation. Like he was capable of reading your mind."

Crean told Wade he was committed Wade even if he could not qualify with his ACT scores.

"Later I found out that Coach C probably didn't have the right to say that and he had to go back to the school to make sure that he could stand by that," Wade writes. "No matter, I was sold all the same."

Wade says the third and final time he took the ACT, the score was lower than the other two. He cried when he told Crean about the third score. Crean cried too. Twice in fact.

"At last I heard him take a determined breath," Wade writes. "His energy and tone changed. Now he was the coach, making a call after a tough loss. 'Look, here's what we're going to do. You're coming here and we'll stay with everything as planned. The only difference is you won't be able to play in the games or travel. But you'll do everything else. You're on the team."

Crean "emerged as the father figure I needed at the time," Wade says.

But Crean was demanding.

"At different points, he pushed so hard I was seriously ready to go home," Wade writes. "Then, of course, I realized there was nuthin' to go home to. But that didn't change the backing vocal track inside my head – This man is crazy!"

Wade recalls his awkwardness at a practice before the start of the 2001 season when he told Crean about Siohvaughn's pregnancy.

" 'Whatever happens, whatever you decide, I'm here and we'll get through this together,' " Crean told Wade. "Didn't tell me what to do or how to do it. Just that he'd be there to go through it with me."

High school rankings within a state are meaningless.  He was a top 100 recruit who had 2 offers from "high major" teams, both from the same conference.  Hmm.  His 3rd best offer was Illinois State.  Hmm.  Pretty rare for a top 100 recruit to have that little interest.  I wonder why...

[bradley center bat]

Tom Crean took a student base that did not care about MU hoops at 200 student season tickets to over 3,000 student season tickets. That standard is still holding true today, thanks to Tom Crean.

[MerrittsMustache]

Crean is a world class d-bag, but he also put Marquette basketball back on the map. He reinvigorated the program. He took the team to a Final Four. He brought us Dwyane Wade. He brought in one of the best recruiting classes in the school's history. He brought in Buzz. He then left for one of the most highly-coveted coaching positions in the country. I can't fault him for that. He was obviously far from perfect but he did more good for MU basketball than anyone since Al.