Surprise: IU picks Crean

April 1, 2008
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Shortly after 4 p.m. today, ESPN reported that Indiana University is preparing to sign Marquette's Tom Crean, 41, as the school's next men's basketball coach.

Sources close to the IU coaching search this morning did not mentioned Crean as one of the top possible candidates. The most recent development should come as no surprise. Two years ago, IU hired another under-the-radar candidate; Kelvin Sampson.

Sources said IU was awaiting a letter of agreement from Crean and a press conference in Bloomington had been tentatively scheduled for Wednesday.

The announcement caught almost everyone by surprise, including Marquette players. Several of them told the Milwaukee press corps that they had not heard the news. One player called the development "real shocking." Sources close to Marquette said Crean, who has coached at the school for nine years, was set to meet with the Golden Eagles players later tonight to explain his decision.

If Crean is indeed the new coach, did IU make the right choice?
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  • seatsyflyApril 1, 2008 6:13 PM
    Well, if IU's choice is Crean, I wish them the best. As a recent MU graduate, I can tell you Tom Crean is a great recruiter, but not much of an Xs and Os guy. For four years I wathced Crean load the roster with talent at Marquette, and his offense, basically consisted of players running a three-man weave at the top of the circle. I would say in some ways, this has the potential to be a lose-lose for MU and IU. But who knows, I suppose Crean could flourish at old IU. I have to tell you, I am completely stunned by this announcement.
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  • stanApril 1, 2008 6:19 PM
    Unreal. I am excited. But Crean still has to prove he can take the next step. Well, I guess all that bull about Tom Izzo and Rick Pitino being interested, were just that ... bull!!! I wonder how Crean will be in terms of helping market the program and aiding with fundraising. But first, lets hope his motion offense is better than advertised.
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  • BertApril 1, 2008 6:28 PM
    It will be interesting to see which IU players show up at the press conference announcing Crean as the new IU coach. That could be a tell-tale sign. Hopefully, Eric Gordon will have the class to wait a day or two to announce his jump to the NBA. And hopefully Dakich will be retained as IU's director of basketball operations. He's a stand up guy, in a program with too few of those.
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  • MarshallApril 1, 2008 7:20 PM
    Didn't expect this decision, but it seems to be a popluar choice among college sports analysts and the guys over at ESPN......... Best of Luck to IU as they FINISH writing the end to the Sampson era.....
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  • SlevinApril 2, 2008 12:59 AM
    As an IU student I can tell you that the campus was also taken by surprise with this announcement, but greeted it with pleasure. Crean certainly seems to be a stand-up guy who will be accepted with equal warmth from the alumni and the students, and I think that is going to be extremely critical for IU with its current state of affairs. I think Crean will be able to get recruits to IU and restore some credibility to our program. His age, experience, and record seem to make him the perfect fit for IU, and I hope he can be the rock of our program for years to come.
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  • the tunaApril 2, 2008 12:56 PM
    look here seatsy youve got it right when u say tom can recruit, but can he get dominic james to start singing back home again in indiana, can he get ebanks to hold true to his commitment and can he get armon and ellis off of the payotee and on the court? and as far as xs and os goes you must have just missed dwayne wades years and years before d-wade when crean had his best squads. crean has an amazing offensive mind, when you have three guards on the court the three man weave will do u good cant really have the 6 nothin guys postin
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  • GrandioseApril 2, 2008 7:08 PM
    I watched Tony Bennett play for his father @ UW; disappointed he did not come to IU, I think he would have brought toughness and discipline back to IU basketball- this is the way he played. What does it say about IU when they are unable to get their top choice?

    Hey tuna- d-wade made Stan Van Gundy look pretty good too
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