I love Tom Crean.
I think he's a good coach and I think that he will get this Indiana program turned around sometime soon. Last night may have been a step in the right direction, as his Hoosiers held Illinois to just 17 second half points in a 52-49 win. Making the win all the more impressive is that it came with Maurice Creek and Verdell Jones, both of who are currently sidelined with knee injuries.
Crean -- and Indiana fans -- have every right to be excited. But this?:
I love the fact that Crean is excited. I love that he clearly cares quite a bit about this program. I love that he is willing to go into the middle of a pack of students to thank them for their support.
But isn't this a sign of how far the Hoosier program -- the same program that has won five national titles -- still has to go? A win over what now appears to be a mediocre Illinois team would set off this kind of celebration?
Bobby Knight hates it.
He's probably sitting at home saying that he could do a better job than Crean. He gets his players to shot fake.
(video via The Dagger)
Friday, January 28, 2011
Is a win over Illinois worthy of this kind of celebration? |
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3 comments:
As an alum that went through the Davis and Sampson years, I disagree. At first I didn't want the fans to rush the floor, but after I thought about it I was ok with it. Those kids have never seen any kind of a winning team in their time there. Assembly Hall was full of frustration that needed to be released. I'm not saying this is a program changing victory by any means, but I think you could see some of the weight come off Crean's back after the buzzer sounded. He has busted his ass trying to turn this program around, and now it's time to reap some of the rewards.
As an alum that was there during Knight's tenure and then seeing the struggles under Davis and Sampson the program definitely has the right to celebrate a little. If you haven't seen a game at Assembly Hall then you are missing something special. IU's fans deserve a winning program and Crean is bringing them back to prominence. No other university designates as much seating for the students. There are no luxury boxes and the wealthy season ticket holders are intermixed with the general admission buyers. Everyone is there because they love IU. The fans are some of the best in the country and they deserve to celebrate with the coach. It's just different here.
We can debate this amongst ourselves but it really doesn't matter. Assembly Hall isn't owned any more by us old folks who are used to IU winning all the time. It's owned now by young kids who haven't seen IU win, and they're going to have fun and do what they do, no matter what we think.
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