Fascinating read on Tom Crean ...

[Mark Miller]

This kind of stuff makes you shake your head and wonder ...

Like him or not, nobody deserves some of the stuff Tom Crean has been put through at Indiana.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...sy-being-crean

[Goose85]

I always cheer for Crean's team because of what he did for MU basketball in his 9 years here.

I can't believe a college professor would do that with his kid in class. Unbelievable.

[dw3dw3dw3]

Interviewed for Kansas in 2003, don't remember that tidbit anywhere.

[TulsaWarrior]

Some college professors get there rocks off by playing "Center of the Universe" and show contempt for their students. The Indiana prof would have known better if he was a mature adult rather than a narcissistic tweet.

[Markedman]

Could be just a matter of semantics but I'm pretty sure IWB said Crean talked to Illinois after Self took the Kansas job?

[CaribouJim]

Could be just a matter of semantics but I'm pretty sure IWB said Crean talked to Illinois after Self took the Kansas job?

That was my recollection as well.

Can't believe it has already been 7 years - geez.

[IWB]

First off, talking to people and interviewing are different things, I want to make that clear. The years that Buzz was happy he talked to everyone that called. Didn't mean he was interested, didn't mean he was being interviewed. There was one in particular that he talked to a couple of times. Told me he had no interest, but he had to play the game because of who they were. Didn't want to burn bridges. Then, when that school finally hired someone, they asked him who should be on their staff. Buzz made a recommendation and that coach was the first assistant hired.

Again, interviewing and talking are two different things.

Kansas - I never really did get confirmation that he interviewed with Kansas. Either way, that situation was over before it started because Self took that job immediately.

Illinois - He did not 'interview with them'. Their people contacted him. He was interested, so told them how much it would take. That was the end of that. (at the time Crean was making more than Illinois' football coach).

The only other one I knew he was actually interested in was Ohio State. I believe he actually met with them, but that was the same result. Too much cash.

With Indiana, they went after him a few years prior when Sampson was hired, but he was not interested. He loved it at MU. When they came calling again after Sampson was let go, he again said no, then called them two days later and said he was interested.

[MUfan12]

When they came calling again after Sampson was let go, he again said no, then called them two days later and said he was interested.

After his coaching job against Stanford, I'm surprised Indiana took that call.

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

We owe a lot to Crean, no doubt about that as he did tremendous things for our program. There are some idiots out there (irrational fans, professors, etc) that do and say stupid things that impact not only the coach but the coach's family, no doubt about that.

But I have to say, I don't really feel bad for him despite this articles attempt to make me feel that way. He took the Indiana job because as he said "It's Indiana" implying it's special and that you can win big at the school which if history is any indication he is correct. However with that school pedigree you also receive the constant pressure cooker because people expect results and rightfully so. Say what you will about the situation Sampson created or the Butler program or Purdue program but I think even Crean would admit he has not lived up to his expectations for Indiana basketball. Heck he could've stayed at Marquette and probably accomplished the same feats (conference title, S16, a few tourney appearances). The best thing he did was structure the contract with lofty buyouts. Had he not done that, my guess is he'd not be the coach at Indiana.

[Nukem2]

After his coaching job against Stanford, I'm surprised Indiana took that call.

TC did a lot of things well, including game prep. Unfortunately in-game adjustments were generally not his forte. That Stanford game was a very good example. Most of us really hated how his departure went down, but TC surely did a lot for the MU program.