25 wins for the third time under Tom Crean

[ChicosBailBonds]

3rd time with 25 wins.

Only Al McGuire had more 25+ win seasons (7 times)

Raymonds 0
Deane 0
Majerus 0
Deane 0
O'Neill 0
Hickey 0
Nagle 0

Crean and McGuire are the only two coaches to hit the 25 win plateau in a season

[The Lens]

Nice work TC...finally shut idiots like me up.

And don't worry I won't mention how all we had to do was quadruple your income, build you a 35 million dollar practice facility, give you an unlimited recruiting budget, start accepting Jucos or have a bottomless pile of cash for assistants' compensation.

Nice work!

[BrewCity83]

It's all worth it.  It takes money to make money.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Nice work TC...finally shut idiots like me up.

And don't worry I won't mention how all we had to do was quadruple your income, build you a 35 million dollar practice facility, give you an unlimited recruiting budget, start accepting Jucos or have a bottomless pile of cash for assistants' compensation.

Nice work!

Don't forget those first two 25 win seasons came before all that "stuff".

If you want to win...you better pay what it takes.  Unless you have a built in advantage like a Wisconsin, Kentucky, UCLA, etc where players just go there because of who they are or because they are the state school.

[The Lens]

Totally agree Chicos, money well spent....but don't try and temper expectations when we've done everything we've needed to do to be successful.

Let me just add, I am very pleased with how this season has gone.  But comments from TC vs Wesley in Monday's paper sum up how TC's hall pass is getting out of control.

But again, kudos to him for making it a fun weekend in March, that's all I ever ask for from the program.

[RawdogDX]

Nice work TC...finally shut idiots like me up.

And don't worry I won't mention how all we had to do was quadruple your income, build you a 35 million dollar practice facility, give you an unlimited recruiting budget, start accepting Jucos or have a bottomless pile of cash for assistants' compensation.

Nice work!

Don't forget those first two 25 win seasons came before all that "stuff".

If you want to win...you better pay what it takes.  Unless you have a built in advantage like a Wisconsin, Kentucky, UCLA, etc where players just go there because of who they are or because they are the state school.

Did you just compare wisconsin's recruiting to Kentucky and UCLA?  really?  Aren't they more at a Duke/UNC level?

[rugbydrummer]

Totally agree Chicos, money well spent....but don't try and temper expectations when we've done everything we've needed to do to be successful.

Let me just add, I am very pleased with how this season has gone.  But comments from TC vs Wesley in Monday's paper sum up how TC's hall pass is getting out of control.

But again, kudos to him for making it a fun weekend in March, that's all I ever ask for from the program.

DamonKeys, do you have a link to that article?  thx

[tower912]

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=728908

I can only assume he means this one.   I wonder if the Duke fans are complaining about K tonight, not having his team ready for Belmont.    What will it take for the haters to give up?

[Pakuni]

Totally agree Chicos, money well spent....but don't try and temper expectations when we've done everything we've needed to do to be successful.

Let me just add, I am very pleased with how this season has gone.  But comments from TC vs Wesley in Monday's paper sum up how TC's hall pass is getting out of control.

Explain further.
Perhaps I'm missing something, but I didn't see anything inappropriate about what he said re: Matthews.

[5YearsatMU]

Totally agree Chicos, money well spent....but don't try and temper expectations when we've done everything we've needed to do to be successful.

Let me just add, I am very pleased with how this season has gone.  But comments from TC vs Wesley in Monday's paper sum up how TC's hall pass is getting out of control.

Explain further.
Perhaps I'm missing something, but I didn't see anything inappropriate about what he said re: Matthews.

perhaps because you don't have an agenda?   

[ChicosBailBonds]

Nice work TC...finally shut idiots like me up.

And don't worry I won't mention how all we had to do was quadruple your income, build you a 35 million dollar practice facility, give you an unlimited recruiting budget, start accepting Jucos or have a bottomless pile of cash for assistants' compensation.

Nice work!

Don't forget those first two 25 win seasons came before all that "stuff".

If you want to win...you better pay what it takes.  Unless you have a built in advantage like a Wisconsin, Kentucky, UCLA, etc where players just go there because of who they are or because they are the state school.

Did you just compare wisconsin's recruiting to Kentucky and UCLA?  really?  Aren't they more at a Duke/UNC level?

My point is they have an easier time...the big state school in a one state school state (Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc) are always going to have an inherent advantage.  I'm saying they have an easier time then MU, but no...not on the level of UCLA or Duke.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Damon, I read the article then and read it again now, honestly I haven't a clue what you're talking about.  I really don't as it relates to that article.

Crean loves those guys, I can assure you.  Yeah, he also drives them hard because he knows how good they can be.  He wants them to win and he wants them to compete, when they don't he's going to lay into them.

No different then as parents we sometimes get on our kids if they slack off or get a grade we know they are capable of doing better.

Each to his own but as Rosiak said so clearly the other day, people are CRAZY if they want this guy gone.


I had a really nice conversation with Cords today at the rally and catching up on old times which I'll put on the blog later, but we talked about expectations from some fans and the reality of college hoops....check it out later.

[The Lens]

To a degree, yeah. It's how you finish," said Matthews, who left Madison Memorial High School back in 2005 with a Division 1 state championship.

"Do you win? Are you a winner? Can you get your team over the hump? Can you win in March? Can you make it to the big game? Can you win the big game? That's what it's all about. All the other accomplishments are great, but now this is the next thing. It's how well can we perform in the next thing, and that's the NCAA tournament."

Matthews isn't alone in his sentiment, either.

Some MU fans share a similar view, one painted by the great expectations that followed the Golden Eagles home from New Orleans after their amazing run to the Final Four in 2003.

Two National Invitation Tournament appearances and two first-round NCAA losses later, the pressure to advance heading into this week is palpable both inside and outside the program, albeit for entirely different reasons.

Yet MU coach Tom Crean believes boiling three seasons' worth of accomplishments to this point down to the results of two post-season games is neither constructive nor relevant to what he and his players are trying to accomplish this year.

"I think that's a young man that cares a lot about Marquette, cares a lot the program, but it has no bearing," he said when asked about Matthews' comments.


What does Tom mean it has no bearing?  I'm not saying there's a divide btwn him and Wes but rather btwn him and a lot of fans.

And Chicos, Bill fired a coach who won 100 games and then over saw an ath dept that gave the bext coach millions and millions of dollars in operating revenue and he's surprised expectations have crept up?

We used to have Paul Quinn tape games for us at Hegs to get scouting film, now we pay high 5 figures to a video coordinator.  How come the investment has changed but expectations cannot?

BTW, thanks to all for ignoring where I said I'm happy with the win.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

To a degree, yeah. It's how you finish," said Matthews, who left Madison Memorial High School back in 2005 with a Division 1 state championship.

"Do you win? Are you a winner? Can you get your team over the hump? Can you win in March? Can you make it to the big game? Can you win the big game? That's what it's all about. All the other accomplishments are great, but now this is the next thing. It's how well can we perform in the next thing, and that's the NCAA tournament."

Matthews isn't alone in his sentiment, either.

Some MU fans share a similar view, one painted by the great expectations that followed the Golden Eagles home from New Orleans after their amazing run to the Final Four in 2003.

Two National Invitation Tournament appearances and two first-round NCAA losses later, the pressure to advance heading into this week is palpable both inside and outside the program, albeit for entirely different reasons.

Yet MU coach Tom Crean believes boiling three seasons' worth of accomplishments to this point down to the results of two post-season games is neither constructive nor relevant to what he and his players are trying to accomplish this year.

"I think that's a young man that cares a lot about Marquette, cares a lot the program, but it has no bearing," he said when asked about Matthews' comments.


What does Tom mean it has no bearing?  I'm not saying there's a divide btwn him and Wes but rather btwn him and a lot of fans.

And Chicos, Bill fired a coach who won 100 games and then over saw an ath dept that gave the bext coach millions and millions of dollars in operating revenue and he's surprised expectations have crept up?

We used to have Paul Quinn tape games for us at Hegs to get scouting film, now we pay high 5 figures to a video coordinator.  How come the investment has changed but expectations cannot?

BTW, thanks to all for ignoring where I said I'm happy with the win.

If Crean was only paid $1 a season would you be happier?

I'm not really sure why people bring up salary.

MU has never paid a coach this much because no MU coach has really earned it like Crean. He went out and turned the program around (before his payday).

Before Crean, MU wasn't about to go spend 1.4million on a coach because they never had a chance at attracting a coach of this caliber.

This is college basketball, not retail.

If you want to feel like you are getting a great "value", go to the GAP outlet store and go crazy. You'll feel great.

[spiral97]

any place that captures the salaries for the various MU coaches in history?  checked the wiki but didn't find anything there.  just wonder how the salaries compare after factoring in inflation, etc.

[Pakuni]

What does Tom mean it has no bearing?  I'm not saying there's a divide btwn him and Wes but rather btwn him and a lot of fans.

And Chicos, Bill fired a coach who won 100 games and then over saw an ath dept that gave the bext coach millions and millions of dollars in operating revenue and he's surprised expectations have crept up?

We used to have Paul Quinn tape games for us at Hegs to get scouting film, now we pay high 5 figures to a video coordinator.  How come the investment has changed but expectations cannot?

BTW, thanks to all for ignoring where I said I'm happy with the win.

I think you're missing entirely Crean's point, or at least what I took Crean's point to be. My take on it was that he is saying that the accomplishments - or even legacy, is you will - of Wes, Jerel and DJ shouldn't be measured solely by tourney wins.

As paraphrased by Rosiak: "Yet MU coach Tom Crean believes boiling three seasons' worth of accomplishments to this point down to the results of two post-season games is neither constructive nor relevant to what he and his players are trying to accomplish this year."

Of course, you conveniently left out the rest of Crean's quote, which seems to validate my read on his remarks:

"We wouldn't be heading toward our third straight year in the NCAA tournament without what those three men have done. That's not the mind set that we want to have going in.

"The mind-set we want to have going in is one of confidence. We've got to stay strong in the sense of any outside expectations, pressures or conversations have absolutely nothing to do with your preparation and your ability to play when that jump ball is set for whatever time you play."

Tournament success should be a factor in measuring their accomplishments, but it shouldn't be the only measure. If they never win another tournament game, it shouldn't erase all the good things those three have brought to the program.

[mviale]

Did we win today?

[The Lens]

To a degree, yeah. It's how you finish," said Matthews, who left Madison Memorial High School back in 2005 with a Division 1 state championship.

"Do you win? Are you a winner? Can you get your team over the hump? Can you win in March? Can you make it to the big game? Can you win the big game? That's what it's all about. All the other accomplishments are great, but now this is the next thing. It's how well can we perform in the next thing, and that's the NCAA tournament."

Matthews isn't alone in his sentiment, either.

Some MU fans share a similar view, one painted by the great expectations that followed the Golden Eagles home from New Orleans after their amazing run to the Final Four in 2003.

Two National Invitation Tournament appearances and two first-round NCAA losses later, the pressure to advance heading into this week is palpable both inside and outside the program, albeit for entirely different reasons.

Yet MU coach Tom Crean believes boiling three seasons' worth of accomplishments to this point down to the results of two post-season games is neither constructive nor relevant to what he and his players are trying to accomplish this year.

"I think that's a young man that cares a lot about Marquette, cares a lot the program, but it has no bearing," he said when asked about Matthews' comments.


What does Tom mean it has no bearing?  I'm not saying there's a divide btwn him and Wes but rather btwn him and a lot of fans.

And Chicos, Bill fired a coach who won 100 games and then over saw an ath dept that gave the bext coach millions and millions of dollars in operating revenue and he's surprised expectations have crept up?

We used to have Paul Quinn tape games for us at Hegs to get scouting film, now we pay high 5 figures to a video coordinator.  How come the investment has changed but expectations cannot?

BTW, thanks to all for ignoring where I said I'm happy with the win.

If Crean was only paid $1 a season would you be happier?

I'm not really sure why people bring up salary.

MU has never paid a coach this much because no MU coach has really earned it like Crean. He went out and turned the program around (before his payday).

Before Crean, MU wasn't about to go spend 1.4million on a coach because they never had a chance at attracting a coach of this caliber.

This is college basketball, not retail.

If you want to feel like you are getting a great "value", go to the GAP outlet store and go crazy. You'll feel great.

The reason salary comes up is it shows investment.  My issue is we see a huge investment made but no benchmarks given.  TC lovers freak out when negatives like post season runs are brought up. 

I don't understand why we make 10 fold the investment but still have zero expectations?

I wish my boss was like that.

[Chili]

To a degree, yeah. It's how you finish," said Matthews, who left Madison Memorial High School back in 2005 with a Division 1 state championship.

"Do you win? Are you a winner? Can you get your team over the hump? Can you win in March? Can you make it to the big game? Can you win the big game? That's what it's all about. All the other accomplishments are great, but now this is the next thing. It's how well can we perform in the next thing, and that's the NCAA tournament."

Matthews isn't alone in his sentiment, either.

Some MU fans share a similar view, one painted by the great expectations that followed the Golden Eagles home from New Orleans after their amazing run to the Final Four in 2003.

Two National Invitation Tournament appearances and two first-round NCAA losses later, the pressure to advance heading into this week is palpable both inside and outside the program, albeit for entirely different reasons.

Yet MU coach Tom Crean believes boiling three seasons' worth of accomplishments to this point down to the results of two post-season games is neither constructive nor relevant to what he and his players are trying to accomplish this year.

"I think that's a young man that cares a lot about Marquette, cares a lot the program, but it has no bearing," he said when asked about Matthews' comments.


What does Tom mean it has no bearing?  I'm not saying there's a divide btwn him and Wes but rather btwn him and a lot of fans.

And Chicos, Bill fired a coach who won 100 games and then over saw an ath dept that gave the bext coach millions and millions of dollars in operating revenue and he's surprised expectations have crept up?

We used to have Paul Quinn tape games for us at Hegs to get scouting film, now we pay high 5 figures to a video coordinator.  How come the investment has changed but expectations cannot?

BTW, thanks to all for ignoring where I said I'm happy with the win.

If Crean was only paid $1 a season would you be happier?

I'm not really sure why people bring up salary.

MU has never paid a coach this much because no MU coach has really earned it like Crean. He went out and turned the program around (before his payday).

Before Crean, MU wasn't about to go spend 1.4million on a coach because they never had a chance at attracting a coach of this caliber.

This is college basketball, not retail.

If you want to feel like you are getting a great "value", go to the GAP outlet store and go crazy. You'll feel great.

The reason salary comes up is it shows investment.  My issue is we see a huge investment made but no benchmarks given.  TC lovers freak out when negatives like post season runs are brought up. 

I don't understand why we make 10 fold the investment but still have zero expectations?

I wish my boss was like that.

Are you one of the few boosters paying his salary?

[The Lens]

To a degree, yeah. It's how you finish," said Matthews, who left Madison Memorial High School back in 2005 with a Division 1 state championship.

"Do you win? Are you a winner? Can you get your team over the hump? Can you win in March? Can you make it to the big game? Can you win the big game? That's what it's all about. All the other accomplishments are great, but now this is the next thing. It's how well can we perform in the next thing, and that's the NCAA tournament."

Matthews isn't alone in his sentiment, either.

Some MU fans share a similar view, one painted by the great expectations that followed the Golden Eagles home from New Orleans after their amazing run to the Final Four in 2003.

Two National Invitation Tournament appearances and two first-round NCAA losses later, the pressure to advance heading into this week is palpable both inside and outside the program, albeit for entirely different reasons.

Yet MU coach Tom Crean believes boiling three seasons' worth of accomplishments to this point down to the results of two post-season games is neither constructive nor relevant to what he and his players are trying to accomplish this year.

"I think that's a young man that cares a lot about Marquette, cares a lot the program, but it has no bearing," he said when asked about Matthews' comments.


What does Tom mean it has no bearing?  I'm not saying there's a divide btwn him and Wes but rather btwn him and a lot of fans.

And Chicos, Bill fired a coach who won 100 games and then over saw an ath dept that gave the bext coach millions and millions of dollars in operating revenue and he's surprised expectations have crept up?

We used to have Paul Quinn tape games for us at Hegs to get scouting film, now we pay high 5 figures to a video coordinator.  How come the investment has changed but expectations cannot?

BTW, thanks to all for ignoring where I said I'm happy with the win.

If Crean was only paid $1 a season would you be happier?

I'm not really sure why people bring up salary.

MU has never paid a coach this much because no MU coach has really earned it like Crean. He went out and turned the program around (before his payday).

Before Crean, MU wasn't about to go spend 1.4million on a coach because they never had a chance at attracting a coach of this caliber.

This is college basketball, not retail.

If you want to feel like you are getting a great "value", go to the GAP outlet store and go crazy. You'll feel great.

The reason salary comes up is it shows investment.  My issue is we see a huge investment made but no benchmarks given.  TC lovers freak out when negatives like post season runs are brought up. 

I don't understand why we make 10 fold the investment but still have zero expectations?

I wish my boss was like that.

Are you one of the few boosters paying his salary?

Another one of my favorite arguements.  Does it matter?  Do I pay some? Yes.

HERE IS MY POINT.  We have increased investment in men's basketball ten fold, why is it bad to increase expectations? 

[mviale]

dude - we are playing in the BE and not the Great Midwest or Independent league.  Our investment is the same as any top 10 BE program and we make the tourney every year.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

To a degree, yeah. It's how you finish," said Matthews, who left Madison Memorial High School back in 2005 with a Division 1 state championship.

"Do you win? Are you a winner? Can you get your team over the hump? Can you win in March? Can you make it to the big game? Can you win the big game? That's what it's all about. All the other accomplishments are great, but now this is the next thing. It's how well can we perform in the next thing, and that's the NCAA tournament."

Matthews isn't alone in his sentiment, either.

Some MU fans share a similar view, one painted by the great expectations that followed the Golden Eagles home from New Orleans after their amazing run to the Final Four in 2003.

Two National Invitation Tournament appearances and two first-round NCAA losses later, the pressure to advance heading into this week is palpable both inside and outside the program, albeit for entirely different reasons.

Yet MU coach Tom Crean believes boiling three seasons' worth of accomplishments to this point down to the results of two post-season games is neither constructive nor relevant to what he and his players are trying to accomplish this year.

"I think that's a young man that cares a lot about Marquette, cares a lot the program, but it has no bearing," he said when asked about Matthews' comments.


What does Tom mean it has no bearing?  I'm not saying there's a divide btwn him and Wes but rather btwn him and a lot of fans.

And Chicos, Bill fired a coach who won 100 games and then over saw an ath dept that gave the bext coach millions and millions of dollars in operating revenue and he's surprised expectations have crept up?

We used to have Paul Quinn tape games for us at Hegs to get scouting film, now we pay high 5 figures to a video coordinator.  How come the investment has changed but expectations cannot?

BTW, thanks to all for ignoring where I said I'm happy with the win.

If Crean was only paid $1 a season would you be happier?

I'm not really sure why people bring up salary.

MU has never paid a coach this much because no MU coach has really earned it like Crean. He went out and turned the program around (before his payday).

Before Crean, MU wasn't about to go spend 1.4million on a coach because they never had a chance at attracting a coach of this caliber.

This is college basketball, not retail.

If you want to feel like you are getting a great "value", go to the GAP outlet store and go crazy. You'll feel great.

The reason salary comes up is it shows investment.  My issue is we see a huge investment made but no benchmarks given.  TC lovers freak out when negatives like post season runs are brought up. 

I don't understand why we make 10 fold the investment but still have zero expectations?

I wish my boss was like that.

Well,

I don't think anybody believes that tc shouldn't be held accountable.

I'm just not sure that salary is the silver bullet you are looking for.

If my boss gave me a raise (let's say twice the pay), should he expect twice the performance?

No.

If my boss cut my pay in half, can I only do half of the work?

No.

Salary is not a good indicator or benchmark to set goals against... especially in the volatile business of being a basketball coach.


MU has made a significant investment in the basketball program... but I would say Crean is more apart of that movement rather than simply a beneficiary as you imply.

If MU didn't get Crean and have good success with him, they wouldn't be paying him (or any other coach) 1.4million dollars.

Also, if you want to judge Crean by his salary, you will have to look at the value of MU hoops since he arrived. He is still adding much more value to the program than he could collect in salary. Just go over to converse.com and check out the MU homepage.