Crean's coaching level

[The Lens]

Not only has TC done, and is doing, what no one else could, he's twice as good at what he does than we are at what we do.  He's a motivator, he's a winner, and he's chosen to pour himself into this program, and we should be grateful.  It's not just the wins, but it's the way they play and the way our guys handle themselves.  I'm proud of these guys, and because of TC, what one might hope to get back from an alma mater we're getting in spades.    

I agree to an extent.  I just think and I know a lot of others who feel this way, that he leaves a lot on the table.  Double Digits conf wins but rarely any conf tourney runs, 8 post season tourneys but only 3 times did he get out of the 1st round and except for @Xavier in the 2000 NIT, he was always favored in the 1st round.  I guess if you were looking for a pro comparison, Marty Schottenhiemer would be it.

For the past 5 years since the FF we've had big wins in Nov & Dec and glowing articles written about us by Bilas, Katz, Davis et al and to date the best finish is a 2nd round loss.  The end of the season never seems to live up to the hype of the early season.  

[mugrack]

Santo blows, Cubs blow, George Thompson blows, Crean is the man.  Stop living in the past.

[ChicosBailBonds]

I am on an email group of old MU alum, including some ex-players.  The resentment against Crean by many in this group is palpable.  Essentially, in my view, the complaints comes down to 1) he's not a good bench coach, especially late in the game; 2) he offended George Thompson; 3) he's not genuine.  Of course, I think some of it is he's not McGuire.  I tend to agree that he's not the best bench coach, but I think the other two are complaints from the "old" against the "new".  Frankly, in my view, weak outside shooting during the year and free throws against Gtown express MU's season.   Anyway, Crean cannot make the shots and/or free throws.  As an "old" alum, I'm like Crean.  But then, maybe I'm not "in the know".

I'd be interested in observations of others.

I've had the "pleasure" of working with some of these older alums at times and I find them an interesting breed.  This is the same group that ran Majerus out of town, the same group that pissed off O'Neill, the same group that pissed off Deane and the same group that craps on Crean. The same group that whined about the Blue and Gold fund until the cows came home and didn't want to accept the fact that times had changed, that the M Club had to go, that they had to pay for tickets, etc.  While these guys are still in 1977, the world kept spinning and moving forward but many of these guys didn't.

It's funny, but having grown up in So. Cal I saw the same thing with the Wooden folks.  It's just as bad now, if Howland doesn't get to the Final Four they will hang the guy.  Same thing cross town with Pete Carrol.  The guy has won like 90% of his games and grabbed two national titles in the last 5 years and fans are second guessing constantly.  Always someone pissed off somewhere whether it's the linebacker from 1976 who wasn't given the love or seats he "deserved" or someone else saying they would have run the halfback option instead of the sweep, etc.  It's one thing if the alums are crying to get rid of Paul Hackett or Bob Dukiet....but my God, you would think we had just missed our 3rd consecutive NCAA tournament by the remarks of some.

Some people never move on.  You would think after we totally tanked for basically 30 years that fans would be happy now, but as others would point out "we can do better".  Yeah, we "could" or we "could" do a lot worse.  Since we're in a better cycle now then we have been in since 1980, I find it odd to change course or even think about it.  I discussed this with Bill Cords the other day, who of course had to deal with these types for 20+ years.  To be fair to Bill, he didn't say a negative thing at all about this topic in particular or about the challenges of alumni, but we were talking just in generalities about the DO IT NOW OR ELSE society we live in.  How difficult it is to build a program and keep people happy in today's age.  How things have changed so much over the years and how some folks are never happy.  NC State comes to mind and Arizona State has benefited as a result.  I sometimes wonder if Crean would have been better off in a sense to go to the Sweet 16 that fourth year then the Final Four, as bad as that sounds.  The expectation it set has made it impossible for some to come to grips.

It takes longer at a school like MU in the butt cold, small school, difficult school, private, etc.  This is the best shape this program has been in since McGuire left, and that includes Hank Raymonds but some folks, especially the bluehairs, think it's 1977 still.  They don't realize the role of television today, the reduction in scholarships, Title IX, 345 DI schools vs 240, the NBA player jumping, etc.

But hey, it sounds like the Old Alums know what they're talking about, afterall they've managed to drive away other coaches and make life miserable for the ones that stayed.  Go figure.   I'd laugh if Crean or some future coach left and ended up taking another school to the Final Four or better while MU falls into obscurity like we were for much of the previous 30 years.

Careful what you wish for.  Of course this also begs the question if someone like Indiana or whomever did hire Crean away, exactly who are the experts then....older alums that apparently know how it's done and can do it better or one of the powerhouses in NCAA history hiring a guy that these alums reject?  Kind of funny in a way.

I honestly believe this has more to do with the fact that Wisconsin has finally put together a good program then anything else.  Some of these folks feel the sting of that and they can't tolerate it or bear it.  I suppose if I still lived there it would bother me, just like it freaks UCLA and USC people here out when the other one steps into their "domain".  These are good people, good alums, they mean well but move on already.

Risks are great but calculated risks are the name of the game.  Have people done the calculation?  Can they live with it if the calculation goes bad? 

[LovinCrowder]

I am on an email group of old MU alum, including some ex-players.  The resentment against Crean by many in this group is palpable.  Essentially, in my view, the complaints comes down to 1) he's not a good bench coach, especially late in the game; 2) he offended George Thompson; 3) he's not genuine.  Of course, I think some of it is he's not McGuire.  I tend to agree that he's not the best bench coach, but I think the other two are complaints from the "old" against the "new".  Frankly, in my view, weak outside shooting during the year and free throws against Gtown express MU's season.   Anyway, Crean cannot make the shots and/or free throws.  As an "old" alum, I'm like Crean.  But then, maybe I'm not "in the know".

I'd be interested in observations of others.

My first thought is....there will never be another Al McGuire.  He was a once in a lifetime....the sooner people realize how lucky the Marquette and college basketball community was to have him the better...and I think most people do realize it.

When I hear criticism of Crean, my first response is always..."ok, who is your choice then...who would you rather have?"  Inevitably, the list contains names of high mid-major coaches that have won some NCAA tournament games...Sean Miller is the recent flavor of the month.  There is not an MU fan anywhere that would not have wanted MU to have more NCAA success than we've had since our Final Four but, contrary to some, building a program is about more than that...believe it or not.

Just last week the graduation rates came out showing MU as one of the top programs in the tournament to graduate its players.  The kids we have on this team have always represented the MU community extremely well on and off the court.  How many arrests or incidents have there been with MU players since Crean has been here?  (Saunders never got to campus).  We have been to the Final Four in the last 5 years, now play in the Big East and built a $31M practice facility.  Watching the NIT game Florida hosted in the first round last week they were bragging about Florida's $12M facility....

We will most likely finish in the top 15 in national attendance this year....again.

By no means am I saying that Crean is directly responsible for all of this but those who think he has little-to-nothing to do with it is ignorant.

People need only to think of where this program was 9 years ago....it's been an absolutely remarkable turnaround.

He may not be the best bench or x's and o's coach in the country....so, who is?  Who cares?  We have a great coach and the state MU basketball is strong....the program is in great hands.

BTW, since MU has joined the Big East there have been three or four teams with more conference wins than MU...not bad is it? Oh yeah....and, if I recall correctly, we just won a game in the NCAA tournament 4 days ago and lost by 1 in overtime to the 8th ranked team in the country in the second round or we wouldn't be having this conversation.

I don't recall what Crean did to George Thompson?  If it was getting him off of MU radio then I'm in full support, he was awful to listen to...if it was something else then I don't remember.  All I know is that they had a George Thompson night at the BC a couple seasons ago from which I still have the t-shirt.

As far as him not being genuine....that's one person's opinion versus another.  He has done nothing but embrace the history and heritage of the MU basketball program and tried to build off that tradition.  Anyone notice the "Al" on the jersey, the name of the court we play on or the name of that $31M practice facility?  Anyone notice who is the Grand Marshall (or whatever it's called) for Al's run?  Of course, some will say, "oh, there's that self-promoting Crean again."  Give me a break.  I'm not sure what the previous players or "older" alums are looking for?  Were they happy with Mike Deane or Kevin O'Neill's profanity-laced tirades?

I'll gladly take my "chances" with a coach like Tom Crean who will continue to get better as a young coach that has already put us back on the national map than some flavor-of-the-month, mid-major coach that has won a game (or two) in the last couple NCAA's.

Whew, I feel better now...thanks.

I think this is a great post and I agree with everything that was stated here -  I would just like to add two comments:

1.  I love how he and Joanie gave big money (sorry I can't remember the exact amount off the top of my head) to the MU Men's Soccer program. 
2.  TC's name is mentioned every time a big-time basketball program is looking for a new coach.   That says something in itself............

[MUSF]

"I agree to an extent.  I just think and I know a lot of others who feel this way, that he leaves a lot on the table.  Double Digits conf wins but rarely any conf tourney runs, 8 post season tourneys but only 3 times did he get out of the 1st round and except for @Xavier in the 2000 NIT, he was always favored in the 1st round.  I guess if you were looking for a pro comparison, Marty Schottenhiemer would be it.

For the past 5 years since the FF we've had big wins in Nov & Dec and glowing articles written about us by Bilas, Katz, Davis et al and to date the best finish is a 2nd round loss.  The end of the season never seems to live up to the hype of the early season."

How has Jim B. done at Syracuse in that same time frame or Gary Williams at Maryland since his National Championship? I'm sure there are countless others I am forgeting. The point is, it is freakin hard to win in March consistently and only a few elite programs and coaches seem to do it consistently.

It wasn't too long ago that we had a coach in Mike Deane who told us that going to the tournament every year was too lofty a goal.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Basically, he's not a very likable guy and I would love it if he accepted another job.

Who do you want to get to replace him?  It seems some people complain a lot without offering any solutions.

We've never had a problem attracting coaching candidates...ever. Kevin O'Neill was one of the hottest assistant coaches in the country when he took over. Deane was something of a hot commodity. Heck, even Bob Dukiet was one of the most highly regarded coaches in the country.

We'd be fine if Crean left.

That is utterly laughable.  I saw the resumes of the candidates you talk of and the quality of candidates was abysmal at times.

Look at who our options were after Hank Raymonds...and you're telling me "ever".  Give me break.  The head coach at Texas San Antonio?  Or the guy at Arkansas Little Rock...that was our stellar talent pool?  After Dukiet, the list was also not good with us getting lucky to get a top assistant from a great program, but it wasn't like any veteran coaches wanted to come to MU.  After O'Neill, we jumped on an airplane to hire away Mike Deane from Dayton at the last second....I love Mike, but that's what you would call having a bunch of great candidates at our doorstep that we felt the need to compete with DAYTON....F'ing DAYTON!!!  

Come on PRN.   Some of the candidates were folks like Dick Versace for crying out loud.

We're beyond the days of hiring top assistants now and if we were to run out a guy like Crean, I doubt seriously a  lot of qualified head coaches would say "wow, guy makes 3 straight NCAAs and they can't wait for him to leave....SIGN ME UP....he wins the 3rd most games in the Big East over three years and he's deemed a poor coach and recruiter....SIGN ME UP FOR THAT"

Think about it.  As for recruiting, again....if our recruiting is so bad, then he must be a HELLUVA good coach because we sure do win a lot of games for having such inferior talent...how else can one explain it?  Or is it just luck?  Our recruiting needs to get better at the bigs position, no question.  But that's a position that is in short supply.

On ESPN Radio this morning Katz and Gottlieb made a great comment.  Duke has had 4 interior players transfer out in the last 5 years...ALL OF THEM McDonald's All Americans....ALL OF THEM not even starting at their new school.   Their point was that even Duke misses on bigs and obviously because someone is named a McDonald's All American doesn't mean squat either.  One needs to find the true gems because the can't miss guys aren't going to a MU and where they do go, they go for one year only before jumping to the NBA.

[MUSF]

"The biggest misconception about Crean is his recruiting. He has not been able to attract top level talent to MU. Our team is woefully undersized at every position other than point guard."

If Crean is not really a good recruiter then he is not a good coach...he is a great coach. If Crean can finish in the top 1/3 of the best conference in college basketball, get to a final four, and make the NCAAs 3 years in a row all without top talent, then we should want him around forever. Imagine what he could do with top talent.

[Virginia Warrior 77]

Basically, he's not a very likable guy and I would love it if he accepted another job.

Who do you want to get to replace him?  It seems some people complain a lot without offering any solutions.

We've never had a problem attracting coaching candidates...ever. Kevin O'Neill was one of the hottest assistant coaches in the country when he took over. Deane was something of a hot commodity. Heck, even Bob Dukiet was one of the most highly regarded coaches in the country.

We'd be fine if Crean left.

I take this to be a joke  - can't imagine anyone wanting to see the program hire Dukiet II or Deane II.  If Crean left, they'd end up hiring an Assistant at a top program looking for his first head gig, or a head coach from a lower level program looking to move up.

[MarquetteDano]

Reading this thread is quite humbling.  After seeing coaching debacles at Kentucky, N.C. State, et al I really thought we had a realistic community compared to those.   I now wonder if we are closer to them than I realized.

The guy has won, graduates players, no major scandals.  Yet people are saying they wouldn't mind to see him go?  Wow.  If he has a couple of losing seasons, I am coming nowhere near this board.  It would be ugly.  It is clear that there will be a large minority of people that will run him out of town just like those previous schools I mentioned.

I really thought we were more sane as a fanbase.  I guess not.

[SoCalwarrior]

Here we go again with perception versus reality.  One, two, three opinions does not make a majority.  Whenever someone voices their displeasure, disappointment or even hate, there are others that come on here and attribute those sentiments to the entire fanbase.  Generalizations burn both ways.  By all means, address the dissenting party or parties, but let's not hang the entire fan base, or the "older" alums, or this board, or those students. 

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Reading this thread is quite humbling.  After seeing coaching debacles at Kentucky, N.C. State, et al I really thought we had a realistic community compared to those.   I now wonder if we are closer to them than I realized.

The guy has won, graduates players, no major scandals.  Yet people are saying they wouldn't mind to see him go?  Wow.  If he has a couple of losing seasons, I am coming nowhere near this board.  It would be ugly.  It is clear that there will be a large minority of people that will run him out of town just like those previous schools I mentioned.

I really thought we were more sane as a fanbase.  I guess not.

Again, when I say I wouldn't be upset if he left, I'm not advocating dismissing him by any means. That's insanity! But if took another job it wouldn't bother me at all.

[The Lens]

Reading this thread is quite humbling.  After seeing coaching debacles at Kentucky, N.C. State, et al I really thought we had a realistic community compared to those.   I now wonder if we are closer to them than I realized.

The guy has won, graduates players, no major scandals.  Yet people are saying they wouldn't mind to see him go?  Wow.  If he has a couple of losing seasons, I am coming nowhere near this board.  It would be ugly.  It is clear that there will be a large minority of people that will run him out of town just like those previous schools I mentioned.

I really thought we were more sane as a fanbase.  I guess not.

Again, when I say I wouldn't be upset if he left, I'm not advocating dismissing him by any means. That's insanity! But if took another job it wouldn't bother me at all.

Amen.  And why do people always think we'd hire Deane II or Dukiet II, why couldn't we just hire KO II or TC II?

[MARQTTE]

After every single year, I am more proud to be an MU fan and more proud that Crean is our coach.  I support him 100%.

[Coobeys Oil Depot]

Reading this thread is quite humbling.  After seeing coaching debacles at Kentucky, N.C. State, et al I really thought we had a realistic community compared to those.   I now wonder if we are closer to them than I realized.

The guy has won, graduates players, no major scandals.  Yet people are saying they wouldn't mind to see him go?  Wow.  If he has a couple of losing seasons, I am coming nowhere near this board.  It would be ugly.  It is clear that there will be a large minority of people that will run him out of town just like those previous schools I mentioned.

I really thought we were more sane as a fanbase.  I guess not.

Again, when I say I wouldn't be upset if he left, I'm not advocating dismissing him by any means. That's insanity! But if took another job it wouldn't bother me at all.

Amen.  And why do people always think we'd hire Deane II or Dukiet II, why couldn't we just hire KO II or TC II?

It sounds so easy to do doesn't it?

[ChicosBailBonds]

Reading this thread is quite humbling.  After seeing coaching debacles at Kentucky, N.C. State, et al I really thought we had a realistic community compared to those.   I now wonder if we are closer to them than I realized.

The guy has won, graduates players, no major scandals.  Yet people are saying they wouldn't mind to see him go?  Wow.  If he has a couple of losing seasons, I am coming nowhere near this board.  It would be ugly.  It is clear that there will be a large minority of people that will run him out of town just like those previous schools I mentioned.

I really thought we were more sane as a fanbase.  I guess not.

You should have read some of the 90+ comments on Cracked Sidewalks board after the loss, some real gems from some folks.  Some were deleted, I'm sure some were Badger fans, but there is an interesting element out there as well.  Goes with the territory.  Everyone wants to get better, everyone wants to be a champion, everyone gets that.  It's like the person that wants to look better and has minor plastic surgery and then another surgery and then another surgery and pretty soon they look like hell.   I've seen it at the work level also.  Some hotshot VP comes in, decides he/she needs to "make their mark" so they lay off half the staff of their department as a way of saying "I'm in charge" and then hires a bunch of new hotshots.  Then 2 years later they realize the new hotshots didn't know crap and the folks they got rid of actually did the work and had all the institutional learnings.  Amazing.

Good luck to Crean or whomever the coach is longterm, especially dealing with some alums attached to a great guy, a legendary coach, but a man that is gone and hasn't coached since the Apple II was created.  Times have changed and if they haven't looked in awhile, we're a top 25 team year in and year out at a small school with a small athletic budget playing in pro city with an 800lb gorilla athletic program 90 miles west.  They might want to take a look at how good things are.

[MUSF]

Reading this thread is quite humbling.  After seeing coaching debacles at Kentucky, N.C. State, et al I really thought we had a realistic community compared to those.   I now wonder if we are closer to them than I realized.

The guy has won, graduates players, no major scandals.  Yet people are saying they wouldn't mind to see him go?  Wow.  If he has a couple of losing seasons, I am coming nowhere near this board.  It would be ugly.  It is clear that there will be a large minority of people that will run him out of town just like those previous schools I mentioned.

I really thought we were more sane as a fanbase.  I guess not.

Again, when I say I wouldn't be upset if he left, I'm not advocating dismissing him by any means. That's insanity! But if took another job it wouldn't bother me at all.

Amen.  And why do people always think we'd hire Deane II or Dukiet II, why couldn't we just hire KO II or TC II?

Because there are alot more Deanes and Dukiets out there than KOs and TCs. By the way KO II would be a step down from TC by any measure you want to use. In fact, any coach since Al is a step below Crean. Why not just keep Crean I around instead of hoping for Crean II.

[classof70]

Since I started this thread, I'd like to make a couple observations.  First, I'm glad to see the Crean support.  Second, the alums to whom I refer generally are pre-1977.  Really old alums.    Finally, there were some really thoughtful posts on this thread, something I wish we had more often.  There was simply less "yelling" and name calling; some real thought put into the posts.   I think it is reflective of how most people, after the emotion of a tough loss is set aside, like where the MU program is going and where Crean is taking it.  Thanks.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

Here we go again with perception versus reality.  One, two, three opinions does not make a majority.  Whenever someone voices their displeasure, disappointment or even hate, there are others that come on here and attribute those sentiments to the entire fanbase.  Generalizations burn both ways.  By all means, address the dissenting party or parties, but let's not hang the entire fan base, or the "older" alums, or this board, or those students. 

No, that can't be right. Anyone who questions the manner in which the program runs or the season goes is a "hater."

We're beyond the days of hiring top assistants now and if we were to run out a guy like Crean, I doubt seriously a  lot of qualified head coaches would say "wow, guy makes 3 straight NCAAs and they can't wait for him to leave....SIGN ME UP....he wins the 3rd most games in the Big East over three years and he's deemed a poor coach and recruiter....SIGN ME UP FOR THAT"

I wonder how it looks to outside people when the University, for its Athletic Director position, urinates on 60 candidates for the job, the entire University community in its dishonesty, and most importantly, the Deputy Athletic Director who himself was an applicant for the job. (And no, I don't blame Crean for that mess given that it's the way Wild chooses to run the entire University).

[MUSF]

"I wonder how it looks to outside people when the University, for its Athletic Director position, urinates on 60 candidates for the job, the entire University community in its dishonesty, and most importantly, the Deputy Athletic Director who himself was an applicant for the job. (And no, I don't blame Crean for that mess given that it's the way Wild chooses to run the entire University)."

If this looks so bad to people outside the university, then we will never be able to hire a coach as good as Crean. I'm sure nobody would want to come to MU under the Wild regime, so we better hang on to TC.

Did they stop teaching logic at MU?

BTW it is clear by your name that you are still bitter with the administration on the nickname issue, so clearly you are being very objective now.

[ChicosBailBonds]

Reading this thread is quite humbling.  After seeing coaching debacles at Kentucky, N.C. State, et al I really thought we had a realistic community compared to those.   I now wonder if we are closer to them than I realized.

The guy has won, graduates players, no major scandals.  Yet people are saying they wouldn't mind to see him go?  Wow.  If he has a couple of losing seasons, I am coming nowhere near this board.  It would be ugly.  It is clear that there will be a large minority of people that will run him out of town just like those previous schools I mentioned.

I really thought we were more sane as a fanbase.  I guess not.

Again, when I say I wouldn't be upset if he left, I'm not advocating dismissing him by any means. That's insanity! But if took another job it wouldn't bother me at all.

Amen.  And why do people always think we'd hire Deane II or Dukiet II, why couldn't we just hire KO II or TC II?

If we hired TCII then PRN wouldn't like him.      


So Cal, point taken on the fan base and painting with a broadbrush.  I guess I'm too close to it and had to hear to much of it point blank over the years so it burned an indelible mark.  Coming from a personal experience of going to MU from 1987-1992, well let's just say when I hear people bitching about only making it to the second round of the NCAAs it falls on deaf ears for me.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

"I wonder how it looks to outside people when the University, for its Athletic Director position, urinates on 60 candidates for the job, the entire University community in its dishonesty, and most importantly, the Deputy Athletic Director who himself was an applicant for the job. (And no, I don't blame Crean for that mess given that it's the way Wild chooses to run the entire University)."

If this looks so bad to people outside the university, then we will never be able to hire a coach as good as Crean. I'm sure nobody would want to come to MU under the Wild regime, so we better hang on to TC.

Did they stop teaching logic at MU?

BTW it is clear by your name that you are still bitter with the administration on the nickname issue, so clearly you are being very objective now.

Wow, ok I know I put this in the exact post that you've just posted, but I don't blame Crean for that mess. I also was not making a commentary on the competency of a new coach hire if Crean left ... I think we have Cords to thank for Crean, not Wild.

[Pardner]

In the past 7 seasons with his recruited talent, TC has a 70.2% winning percentage.  Nuff said...

But I will say more.  In the top on graduation rates while consistently ranked on the floor.  The team's graduation rate and athletic performance rankings are considerably higher than the rest of the university's academic performance I might add. 

I was struck when I was at the QWEST Center for the subregional how many people came up to me to talk about Marquette basketball.  Pointedly, it wasn't about how many wins we had or what a great X and O's TC is, etc., it was about how they admired how hard we play and how well run our program is by TC.  They were genuinely pulling for us to win because we were being successful in the right way.

I don't know too many successful coaches who weren't a little Type A.  Knight?  Smith? Coach K? Ditka? Lombardi?  Parcells?  Coughlin?  Majerus?  I do know that all these guys had their critics.  Success brings out the armchair quarterbacks.  I would rather hear the catcalls than the apathetic quiet at UWM.

btw, I am from the "old" alumni.  I will critique TC from time to time on here because I love talking MU and college basketball.   I love March so much I exile the female side of the family out of the country.  I doubt anyone would take any of my comments too seriously.  If you do, don't as TC and crew have already thought of it.  MU is very unique and special if you are a fan as it is year round focus.  We lost and now its on to next year, not baseball, soccer or football, but next basketball season.  We are in very good hands here with TC.  The guy has done a special job in the BE and getting us to the Dance three straight years.  And, he has a fist full of talent coming in doing it the right way and filling up the BC.  Continuity trumps, don't lose it.  TC is worth every penny

PS...while I don't like the "new" mascot, I secretly like the randomness of the Tigger outfit.  I don't get it, and I am not sure anyone else does either, but it is funny...in a very unconnected way.  New traditions are good, just so they are "Warrior Iconoclastic.".

[MUSF]

"I wonder how it looks to outside people when the University, for its Athletic Director position, urinates on 60 candidates for the job, the entire University community in its dishonesty, and most importantly, the Deputy Athletic Director who himself was an applicant for the job. (And no, I don't blame Crean for that mess given that it's the way Wild chooses to run the entire University)."

If this looks so bad to people outside the university, then we will never be able to hire a coach as good as Crean. I'm sure nobody would want to come to MU under the Wild regime, so we better hang on to TC.

Did they stop teaching logic at MU?

BTW it is clear by your name that you are still bitter with the administration on the nickname issue, so clearly you are being very objective now.

Wow, ok I know I put this in the exact post that you've just posted, but I don't blame Crean for that mess. I also was not making a commentary on the competency of a new coach hire if Crean left ... I think we have Cords to thank for Crean, not Wild.

My point is still valid.

If people outside the University view our administration as "dishonest," then why would a good coach choose MU over any other top school?

If we can't get a good coach to replace Crean, then why on earth would we want to let Crean go?

If you weren't intending to make a point about Crean in a thread about Crean, and instead were just lashing out at the University in general, then I appologize for misrepresenting your position. If that is the case, what is your point?

[4everwarriors]

How do you get on this e-mail list?

Favre retired and the sun came up the next day. If Crean bolts, we'd be just fine. Just think maybe we'll attract someone even more capable. I mean, is that even a possibility? Yeah, Tom's been here 9 seasons, but he's not the Second Coming. He'll be a much better coach at his next gig. Has been learning on the job here and slowly at that.
I agree with Rican. Talent level overall is subpar for a power conference like the BE. Maybe Tom's a better coach than I think. Has a knack for rubbing some the wrong way. Not believable when listening to him. Would make a great used car salesman, though. In summary, doesn't float my boat.

[Chicago_inferiority_complexes]

My point is still valid.

If people outside the University view our administration as "dishonest," then why would a good coach choose MU over any other top school?

If we can't get a good coach to replace Crean, then why on earth would we want to let Crean go?

If you weren't intending to make a point about Crean in a thread about Crean, and instead were just lashing out at the University in general, then I appologize for misrepresenting your position. If that is the case, what is your point?

I wasn't making a point about Crean.

The point is, and this agrees with Chico's post to an extent, instability within a program (or any organization) shuns potential outside hires because it exudes an attitude of unwelcomeness, incompetency.