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- Please no inappropriate usernames (remember that there may be youngsters in the room)
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- 3/17/19 UPDATE -- We've updated the permissions for our "Football" and "Commit to the G" recruiting message boards. We aim to be the best free board out there and that has not changed. We do now ask that all of you good people register as a member of our forum in order to see the sugar that is falling from our skies, so to speak.
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I agree with this. Year in and year out how much more basketball talent comes out of the state of GA vs Indiana. I hope he puts some fire and fun out on the floor. We've seen it in football. Winning leads to recruits. Well that and money, but let's stick to winning not paying lol
If he stays here 9 years and takes UGA to three sweet 16s, they will name the arena after him. The more I think about this hire, the more I like it.
Thanks for all the inside info, and welcome!
One thing I'm curious about here, what do you mean by weird substitution patterns? We're coming from a coach in Fox who liked to play way too many players and pull guys when it seemed like they were getting a rhythm. I'm hoping he doesn't do that kind of thing. There's a delicate balance between building depth and experience and shuffling players in and out so that your team never gets a rhythm. As well as not playing your top shooter (Crump) enough.
sorry if you only wanted 2 post 1 and done...but if your so inclined...How did He do at recruiting his top in state kids?...i realize its a diff time and the midwest is not atlanta....but if you would elaborate a bit on shotgun recruiting...we don't really need a top x and o guy here...we just need to keep some of our top talent in state...So how Crean can work with particularly the atl aau scene will determine a large part of his tenure in athens..... for instance .... just look at nba $salarys from the atl celtics alone...... and the brands and everything involved with the good guys as well as sharks surrounding all that $. crean has to navigate those waters...or hire the guys that can and do....the last guy we had here just ignored it for the most part ..exception was Jonas.(an assistant)
Unfortunately, doesn't sound like that's going to change for you. He would pull a guy after he nails 2 three pointers in a row, killed the rhythm. And, sometimes it seemed like a line change in hockey rather than a substitution in basketball. He did use a ton of players. One thing that bugged me (and I'm a supporter) is that he didn't use the bench as motivation/teaching tool. He's also big on deflections as a stat. However, I've heard he spent a lot of time the last 1.5 years with the Patriots and other professional teams, supposedly learning how to coach better (be in command of the players). Really hope it pays off. IU fans are a salty lot- they act like he made us a perennial cellar dweller.
I'm big on deflections too. Ever since MJ and the Bulls made it a big deal.
Crean is big on finding the diamond in the rough (Victor Oladipo, OG Anunoby, D Wade) type players. His odd personality seemed to rub many coaches at the AAU level the wrong way, and IU lost a lot of in state guys. But, to be fair, they went to higher profile schools. One thing that I will say is that he refused to participate in the pay-for-play stuff, and I know we lost a few because of that (which I am all in favor of- I like to avoid the grey areas of recruting). He had a love for East Coast recruiting, seemed to fit his style a little better. He tended to offer too many scholarships, hoping that the next 2 star would turn into a stud. We have a term for the results of this, called Creaning. When a kid would be a sophomore/junior and Crean had a new "project", chances are, the kid who hadn't panned out may be encouraged to go elsewhere. It happens all over, but fans here took exception. He would be well-served to get an assistant from the area who know the ins-and-outs of your AAU scene. Fire away with the questions, I can talk basketball all day lol
So, in a few words, why did he fade the last few years at IU? (EDIT) ->: Were the players turned off to the Creaning, and didn't want to put out for him? Was it mainly poor recruiting as you've identified? Did he rub the players or coaches the wrong way with other things, comments, idiosyncrasies, etc. Something had to be the basis/bases of the fall off.
One big thing that players complained about was the lack of set practice times. He would text them a few hours in advance and tell them to be at practice. He's just a very intense (but charismatic!) guy. He's a pants-hitcher-upper, Diet Coke chugger (I mention these, because our fans actually took issue with them). He didn't play the game of AAU ****-for-tat, which made a lot of coaches look elsewhere. But, he can do a lot with a little, doesn't necessarily need 5* guys. I feel that the pressure of being at IU was too much, since our fans want to be back to #1, yesterday. I'll check back later to see if I can answer anything else!
It was said today that before accepting the job, Crean hadn’t been in Athens since the 1990s. Wow, I hope he likes it here (who wouldn’t?). @OutsideLookingIn, is he able to recruit consistently or just one star at a time? Also, does he have the energy to out work he other coaches in our league. That’s one of the things we’ve gotten spoiled with about our football coach - he’s putting in long hours to win. Will Crean do the same?
Does seem odd that anyone would uproot their family and move to a place they have not seen in 28 years. Happy for the change and hope it works out. Can't remember if I've ever heard a coach mention Georgia basketball and national championship at the same time. Do love dreaming...
As far as energy, lol, absolutely! I laugh because he's pretty maniacally driven. He's a workhorse to be sure on that. Crean has been a positive energy around Bloomington in so many ways, I'm sure he'll bring the same to Athens. TBH, I'm not familiar with the "climate" of recruiting in GA, but he's got a knack for finding 3 and 4*s that fit what he's doing. It's hard to say about consistency, since so much is coming to light now for the shoe/school pay. IU was in the dregs of NCAA sanctions due to Kelvin Sampson, Crean kept IU compliant and above board, so he's as clean as can be expected. That said, it may have caused him to miss out on some of the bigger names. But, players like Zeller, Thomas Bryant, Yogi Ferrell, etc. that wanted to play for a clean coach at a respected program (and their parents had a lot of say in that) continued to come in. Not sure if I actually answered, lol!
I believe that Ainsley (his youngest) is the only kid that still (technically) in the household. Megan has graduated college, and Riley is an aspiring MLB-player in training.
-EDIT- Didn't mean to say it's not odd, just wanted to point out that his 2 oldest are pretty much grown
So send him suspenders! Just so he wins. It's time... Go Dawgs!
How long would it take for you to move to a new job that paid 3.2 million a year. I could be there this afternoon.
Long enough to find the car keys!
After the way he was treated by a lot of morons here, I'd be gone in a heartbeat. His son played basketball for Bloomington North High School- the rival school (Bloomington South) chanted "Tom Crean sucks" a couple of years ago during a game. People had put For Sale signs in Crean's yard. As an April Fool's "joke", a professor told a class at IU, with Megan Crean as a student, that Crean had been fired. the class cheered. Both of these were in 2015, but the stupidity of some fans never ceases.