So far, this has been handled awfully by TC

[TVDirector]

ok, so he was the big(ger) $$$$
and he truly thinks IU is the dream job blah blah

but for years Crean has espoused the wonderful aspects of MU, MU hoops, Milwaukee, etc..
if he has SO much respect for the tradition, etc., why has he chosen the slimey way out??

tell IU-
yeah, sure, I'm in..
but let me tie up a few loose ends here first--- I'll appear at IU soon, in a few days.
talk to the student/athletes.
call the recruits.
huddle with assistants and administration.

HELP the transition and HELP keep the tradition that he so firmly said he believe in on track.

talk to the media-
'how could I pass this up??'... MU is great, has been great to me...
a plum job, etc."


the current scenario smacks of classless and thanklessness.

no one is denying his next step up, if he believes IU is in fact that.
or the $$$$$$$$ he's getting to take over what is currently a mess and will be for several years.

but he does owe his current employer, fans, players, recruits, associates, assistants etc a bit more than he's shown so far, in my opinion.

and that is what irks me most at this time-- how this all is coming down.

good luck MU....
this may very well be a make-or-break time for this program.

[Tribby]

I feel the same way. When I first heard he was leaving for Indiana, my first thought was, "Well, good for you Tom, best of luck." After seeing how things have unfolded the past 12 hours, that bittersweet feeling has turned to outright disgust. Maybe it's the stages of coping, but the fact is, he's not showing us the respect that we showed him for nine years.

[Tugg Speedman]

I'm as upset as anyone about Crean leaving.  I guess I'm more pragmatic; these things happen.

Regarding Crean handling of it.  Please tell me how one handles such a situation properly?  Please cite one example of all of human history where it was handled properly?  Tell me how that example shows the proper way for a coach to quit.

[Big Papi]

I could really care less about TC's actions.  Rarely are these things handled where no one gets hurt.  My bigger concern is how the AD is handling this right now.  He better not have been blindsided by this but by blindsided I mean he better have thought through what he was going to do if TC left.  No matter how you slice it, everyone knew there was a decent chance that TC was going to blow out of here.  His name has come up every year for these gigs so hopefully the AD has talked to the assistant coaches, set up a chain of command that involves talking with players and recruits, has a short list of coaches and has already put out feelers on those coaches.  We really can't afford to turn this into a 3 week search.  Swift action should be taking place but in order for it to be swift the AD needed to lay out the ground work ahead of time which any competent AD would.

[esotericmindguy]

Granted I'm not an old timer, but I don't see how the Indiana Job is a step up???  The big ten is on its way down and Indiana hasn't been relevant in 20 years.  Without Bob Knight, a hall of fame coach, Indiana is just another Big Ten team.

[Big Papi]

Its the perfect job for him and if he wants to try to win championships.   Its just easier to recruit players at Indiana than Marquette.  State school, more funds, easier academics, hoops is king and has tradition.  All you have to do is look at talent like Eric Gordon.  Do we really have a shot at talent like that unless they are right in our backyard and even than it is very difficult.  Crap on the Big 10 and Indiana, Indiana can easily go back to being a giant.

[Tribby]

I'm as upset as anyone about Crean leaving.  I guess I'm more pragmatic; these things happen.

Regarding Crean handling of it.  Please tell me how one handles such a situation properly?  Please cite one example of all of human history where it was handled properly?  Tell me how that example shows the proper way for a coach to quit.

The top post in this thread is how to handle this situation properly. Is that asking too much? Maybe. But if Crean believed all the stuff he said about loyalty, about building a program, about truly caring about Marquette University, then he wouldn't have skipped town without tying up loose ends here first. It's like taking a new job and quitting that same day, without two weeks' notice. Sure, you can do it, but it makes you a jagoff.

If he thinks IU is a good career move, then fine, I wish him well. But do it with a little class.

[bma725]

Granted I'm not an old timer, but I don't see how the Indiana Job is a step up???  The big ten is on its way down and Indiana hasn't been relevant in 20 years.  Without Bob Knight, a hall of fame coach, Indiana is just another Big Ten team.

Indiana was a premier school before Knight was ever there.  National Championships, Big 10 championships, National Coaches of the Year, Hall of Fame coaches etc.  They were one of the Elite decades before Knight.  In fact Knight was brought in to restore the program to the glory it had previously had, much like they are trying to do with Crean now.

[TVDirector]

I'm as upset as anyone about Crean leaving.  I guess I'm more pragmatic; these things happen.

Regarding Crean handling of it.  Please tell me how one handles such a situation properly?  Please cite one example of all of human history where it was handled properly?  Tell me how that example shows the proper way for a coach to quit.

um, its called 'integrity'... perhaps, 'class'.
we're not talking about CEO of Countrywide Bilking Mortagage Co--- we're talking about MU, TC and the continuance of the MU Hoops legacy and his own as an individual.
believe it or not, even his leaving teaches his student/athletes something.
as a person of values who supposedly valued the opportunities offered to him by MU, he ought have spent a bit of time mulling the handling of this- not necessarily the decision, if that is truly what he wanted- but the obligation he has to his 'kids' and the program he rebuilt and employer that gave him that chance.

maybe I'm an idealist-
but I don't think it's too much to ask in this instance.

[jaybilaswho?]

  All you have to do is look at talent like Eric Gordon.   

eric gordon was not an indiana recruit... he was a sampson recruit. Gordon committed to Illinois, but once Sampson was named coach at IU, gordon followed.  Hopefully we wont see this happen to us.


I dont really care that Crean is leaving. Sure i would rather keep him for his recruiting abilities and to keep the current recruits here, but we can get a better in-game-mind. I dont like this fallout, I dont like the uncertainty of how this deal went out, I dont like the backstabbed feeling I get from this whole thing. Why leave a team with a legitimate shot, to go to a school in self-destruction mode? Does he really feel that he has to "prove" himself by building up another program out of dispair?

[billf]

Why leave a team with a legitimate shot, to go to a school in self-destruction mode?

Money talks.

[Pakuni]

  All you have to do is look at talent like Eric Gordon.   

eric gordon was not an indiana recruit... he was a sampson recruit. Gordon committed to Illinois, but once Sampson was named coach at IU, gordon followed.  Hopefully we wont see this happen to us.

That's not exactly correct. Gordon loved everything about Indiana except Mike Davis. Had zero interest in playing for him. The second Davis was fired, Gordon was ready to change his mind.

As for how Crean handled this, I don't see how he could have done it much differently.
He never denied he was leaving, only to be on a plane out of town a few hours later, i.e. Thad Matta.
He didn't leave it to assistant coaches to tell the players, i.e. Dennis Franchione.

There's simply no way of doing this without hurting some feelings. Those of you expecting otherwise are asking the impossible. It's ridiculous to suggest he should spend a few days in Milwaukee soothing everyone who might feel bad about this. Like it or not, he is now an employee of Indiana University and he has a gargantuan task ahead of him there. Honestly, I don't think he "owes" us anything. What he owed us was his best effort to make MU basketball a successful program. I think he gave us that.

In a week or two, MU will hire a new coach, hopefully a head coach from a successful mid-major program. And when that coach comes aboard, chances are he will do things much the same as Tom Crean. And when he does, I highly doubt any of you will be here talking about his lack of integrity and how disgusted you are by his actions.

[79Warrior]

Granted I'm not an old timer, but I don't see how the Indiana Job is a step up???  The big ten is on its way down and Indiana hasn't been relevant in 20 years.  Without Bob Knight, a hall of fame coach, Indiana is just another Big Ten team.

Not sure I feel better about that. If IU is not a step up, then we really are chopped liver.

[Canned Goods n Ammo]

I'm as upset as anyone about Crean leaving.  I guess I'm more pragmatic; these things happen.

Regarding Crean handling of it.  Please tell me how one handles such a situation properly?  Please cite one example of all of human history where it was handled properly?  Tell me how that example shows the proper way for a coach to quit.

I agree.

It happens.

I'm guessing it wasn't an easy decision like some are speculating... and I'm guessing coach did the best he could to inform MU and the players.

I'm sure he could have done better... but at the end of the day this is how the world works.

[TVDirector]

sad but too true.

[TJ]

In a week or two, MU will hire a new coach, hopefully a head coach from a successful mid-major program. And when that coach comes aboard, chances are he will do things much the same as Tom Crean. And when he does, I highly doubt any of you will be here talking about his lack of integrity and how disgusted you are by his actions.

That's one of the worst parts of all this for me.  I'm going to be pissed at our next coach for pulling a Tom Crean on his current school.  I'm sure I'll get over it and be on board behind the new coach, but one of my first reactions will definitely be to feel bad and stuff like that.  I hate the current climate where it's supposed to be okay for all of this crap to happen all the time.

[MUsoxfan]

Granted I'm not an old timer, but I don't see how the Indiana Job is a step up???  The big ten is on its way down and Indiana hasn't been relevant in 20 years.  Without Bob Knight, a hall of fame coach, Indiana is just another Big Ten team.

Indiana was a premier school before Knight was ever there.  National Championships, Big 10 championships, National Coaches of the Year, Hall of Fame coaches etc.  They were one of the Elite decades before Knight.  In fact Knight was brought in to restore the program to the glory it had previously had, much like they are trying to do with Crean now.

I think you're embellishing IU accomplishments a bit.    Before Knight, they had two NC's ('40, '53)...only one other coach of the year (unbelievably when they won the tourney)....and a handful of Big 10 titles.

They're a fine program, but they've spent the last 8 years and will spend the next 30 trying to find the next Knight and I really think that's an impossible task for them.   Any coach should know it's a no-win situation for them.  $$ talks though

[spiral97]

on the plus side... the b-ball practice rider on MU's personal insurance policy just got a rate reduction