Fascinating read on Tom Crean ...

[MUWhistler]

O'Neil was a great yet his departure was completely classless.

After O'Neil had his press conference in Tennessee, he showed up in Heggarty's that same day, still wearing the orange tie that he had on at the press conference. Everyone was going up to him and thanking him for beating Kentucky and getting us to the Final Four. I kept yelling from the back to get out of an MU bar! Especially while wearing the other team's colors!

[WearGold]

After O'Neil had his press conference in Tennessee, he showed up in Heggarty's that same day, still wearing the orange tie that he had on at the press conference. Everyone was going up to him and thanking him for beating Kentucky and getting us to the Final Four. I kept yelling from the back to get out of an MU bar! Especially while wearing the other team's colors!

A Final Four in the O'Neil era would have been great, but the Kentucky win in 1994 got us to the Sweet 16; although it was the farthest MU got in the tourney since, I believe, the title run in 1977.

[Goose85]

A Final Four in the O'Neil era would have been great, but the Kentucky win in 1994 got us to the Sweet 16; although it was the farthest MU got in the tourney since, I believe, the title run in 1977.

O'Neil did a great job when here, and put MU back on the map. Unfortunately I think some things he was told would be happening at MU never materialized when he was coaching here, so I understood why he moved on. Like Crean and Buzz, I appreciated what O'Neil did for the program despite his leaving and taking some parting shots.

[MUWhistler]

A Final Four in the O'Neil era would have been great, but the Kentucky win in 1994 got us to the Sweet 16; although it was the farthest MU got in the tourney since, I believe, the title run in 1977.

Sorry. Mistyped that. You are correct. Got us to the Sweet 16.

[unclejohn]

As someone mentioned, Crean knew the job was dangerous when he took it. Fans are crazy, and some of this stuff is clearly uncalled for. Picking on a high school kid is just mean, and if the professor knew that Crean's daughter was in his class, so is the April Fools joke.

To Ix4 fans, I would say that Crean is who I told you he was. He runs a clean program, his players have to go to class. His recruiting and coaching are hit or miss. He recruited some players who were not as good as he thought, panics when there is an empty spot on his roster, and has a lot of players transfer. Coaching, his teams sometimes look like a well-oiled machine and sometimes look like they just woke up. So there is something for fans to complain about when his recruits turn out to be busts or head cases and his team plays terribly.

But I think what hurts Crean more than anything is that there is just an unlikable quality about him. As the article noted, he comes across as a used car salesman. In interviews he is typically either spouting cliches or sucking up. He does not come across as sincere. Add to that the fact that I have witnessed a few incidents of Crean just treating people like dirt and heard of a several more. You can afford that if you are winning all the time. Hey, for all his good points, Bobby Knight pulled some stuff that was just out of line and would not be tolerated from someone who had not won a couple national championships. So when criticism arises, there are not a lot of people out there who remember what a nice guy Crean is or how kind he was to them. There are reporters who remember how he kept them waiting while they were on deadline, waiters he was rude to, and others who just do not like the guy.

[MUWhistler]

O'Neil did a great job when here, and put MU back on the map. Unfortunately I think some things he was told would be happening at MU never materialized when he was coaching here, so I understood why he moved on. Like Crean and Buzz, I appreciated what O'Neil did for the program despite his leaving and taking some parting shots.

I don't mind coaches leaving. I have changed companies 4 times in my career. Why would I think that anyone else would be different? He got a new job. That's great. Good for him and hope it works out well. You want to go have a drink to celebrate, go do it downtown. Don't do it on campus. That's just rubbing our nose in it! That was my beef with how he left.

[CaribouJim]

Here is my Mount Rushmore of MU men's b-ball coaches: Al...KO...TC...Buzz. Al was the only one who was really universally loved, but his spectacular "exit" was a tad different than the other three!

[BLT]

A Final Four in the O'Neil era would have been great, but the Kentucky win in 1994 got us to the Sweet 16; although it was the farthest MU got in the tourney since, I believe, the title run in 1977.

Hank's 1979 team lost to DePaul in the Sweet 16. DePaul made the Final 4 that year with what would have been Al recruits.