Filed under: Indiana, Big Ten, Coaches
... make it slow and we'll come together fine. All we need is just a little patience ...
We're six games into Tom Crean's third season of Big Ten play as the Indiana basketball coach. The Hoosiers have not performed as well as most expected them to thus far in 2011, and many critics began to circle like vultures in early January. The past two performances may quiet them for the time being, but a remaining Big Ten slate that is likely to yield only a handful more wins could ramp things up from the skeptics heading into the summer.
It's just still so premature. In order to see this, one need only examine the special circumstances and what is potentially on the horizon.
Tom Crean took the coaching job at Indiana University April 1, 2008. What followed with the roster was nearly unprecedented in major college basketball. Defections, graduations and dismissals left Crean with just two returning players. Kyle Taber, who averaged 1.3 points per game as a junior, and Brett Finkelmeier, who brought back 1.6 minutes per game of experience. That was it.
Simply put, Crean was starting a program from scratch. In the Big Ten. You can talk about Indiana's history all you want; that doesn't mean anything. You can talk about how quickly John Calipari resurrected Kentucky, but he had Patrick Patterson to build around -- not to mention the recruits who came with him and the fact that he wasn't handcuffed by probation.
Really, the only recent situation even remotely comparable is what Scott Drew faced at Baylor. The events leading up to the coaching change were much different, but the rebuilding projects were similar. Actually, Drew had it much easier on that front. Baylor fans don't expect what Indiana fans do. Not even in the same ballpark.
Source: http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2011/01/21/tom-creans-progress-requires-patience/
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