Loading ...IU to announce Crean hiring at 11 a.m. press conference Wednesday
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by Doug Wilson | Tuesday, April 1, 2008 - 6:01 pm UTC
UPDATE (6:45): IU plans to announce the Crean hiring at a 11 a.m. press conference. The university may issue a press release on the announcement tonight. (9:25 p.m. update/correction): The time of the press conference has been corrected now that IU has announced it will be at 11 a.m. We were previously told it would be an hour earlier.
The Associated Press has also confirmed the selection of Crean through IU trustee Phil Eskew, who said Crean has signed a letter of agreement to coach the Hoosiers.
We don’t have contract details yet, but it appears that IU will sign Crean to a long-term contract that will make him one of the best paid coaches in college basketball. In 2006, Marquette gave Crean a contract extension through the 2016-17 season for a $1.65 million per year salary.
UPDATE (6:42): The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reached a Marquette player Tuesday afternoon who had just heard that Crean was leaving to become head coach at IU.
The player told Journal-Sentinel reporter Todd Rosiak that he’d just learned of the news. Another had no knowledge that Crean was apparently preparing to leave for Indiana.
“Not right away I don’t,” said the player when asked if he had a comment. “It’s real shocking.”
It’s believed Crean was scheduled to meet with his Golden Eagles players later Tuesday to explain his decision.
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UPDATE (6:12): The H-T has now received a second confirmation that Tom Crean will likely be named the next basketball coach at Indiana. This one comes from within the Marquette program.
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The H-T has confirmed that Tom Crean will be named Indiana’s next basketball coach. A press conference is expected to be held Wednesday to announce the decision.
Crean, 42, has averaged 20 wins a year in nine seasons at Marquette. His teams made eight postseason appearances including the 2003 Final Four.
This season, the Golden Eagles had a 25-10 record. They lost to Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Coming into this season, Crean had a .657 winning percentage. He previously was an assistant coach at Michigan State and Western Kentucky.
We’ll provide further information on the Crean hiring tonight.
Sounds good, FUTURE IU = “CREAN BEANSSSSSSSS!!!!” “Crean Eggs and Ham!!!” and “Creaner’ then Kelvin”!!
“Crean and bare it” more like it.
This is a great hire and I’m am very pleased as an alum. Not quite the fire power of Calipari but he has none of the “issues” that seemingly followed Coach Cal. Crean will be here for 20 years and will do a great job. He is very similar to Miller except with a little more seasoning at Marquette and a final 4 on his resume. Plays a fun, yet tough minded defensive style too. We backed into this one big time but the tide has turned. Welcome to the Hoosier Nation Coach Crean!
Let’s go “Crean and Crimson”! I bet he can run a “Crean program”. Maybe even take a few of the loudmouth schools to the “Creaners” next year.
OK…enough with the word play. If he is coach there will be plenty of time for innovative headlines with wins and losses….
“Hoosiers Crean House in effort to rebuild for future”
McRobbie had said he wanted someone with Final Four experience so I would think Crean may have been the real target all along.
Don’t doubt the Australian’s melon (McRobbie’s brain)
FABULOUSSSSS CHOICE. I DON’T THINK IT GET’S ANY BETTER THAN THIS.
WOW! THIS SAD CHAP WHO HAS BEEN A FUNK THE LAST FEW DAYS IS NOW JUMPING AND SCREAMING THROUGH THE HOUSE!
GO IU WE GOT THE “CREAN” OF THE CROP!
Coach, get your butt up to Ebank’s house ASAP!
Next year’s team can be better than this year’s like wisconsin improved over last year.
Doug, any idea when and where the press conference will be? I think Clinton is supposed to be having a rally there in the afternoon. Any chance they bump him?
EXCELLENT CHOICE!! If nothing else, Crean is a guy up to a challenge with the possibility of sanctions looming. Now it is time for Crean to talk to Bassett and Ellis and everyone else and see if they can start fresh with a “crean” slate. Ditto on the trip to Ebank’s house. I’ll pay the gas money!!!!!!!
Excited about going to next years games again! Funny, I just realized I was no where near this excited at any point since Sampson was introduced.
GO HOOOOOSIERS!
Could’ve been a lot worse, and this is a good way to stop the bleeding. Please tell me that Crean sends Dakich packing and hopefully he’s allowed to discuss the possibility of extending an olive branch to Ellis and Bassett.
Bassett and Ellis are gone.
I think he will recruit like crazy.
Great news! First order of business: get Ebanks, Armon, and Jarmarcus back on board!
Now he is the equal of his brother-in-law (Jim Harbaugh) at Stanford. Both are coaches at Universities where academics matter and athletic success follows with hard work.
I DREAM OF CREANIE!!!!
Dakich, if the dismissal of Ellis and Bassett was ruled solely by you and they don’t come back, I will (really really want to) harm you.
THIS. IS. AWESOME!!!
It feels like I’m forgetting something…
Oh, right: Get rid of Rickity Slickity Teflon No-Stick “I’m not a fan of the job you’ve done” Greeny-Greeny-Greenspan!
I am extremely happy with this hire. You won’t find a more well spoken, respectful, gentelman than Tom Crean. And with IU and the type of athlelte that he can get here, he will be a BIG winner! GO HOOSIERS!!!!
Crean can just reinstate bassett and ellis right.
I HIGHLY doubt Ebanks is coming back to IU. If you guys go to rivals.com they say there is a huge possibility he could be headed off to Memphis or Texas (it’s on the front page).
Great Hire!!! It’s reported that he will be flying in on Fuzzy’s plane at 8:52pm to Bloomington.
THANK YOU, COACH CREAN !!!
If this is true then maybe Greenspan isn’t a complete moron. I would hope all the talk about Montgomery and Kruger was just absurd speculation because Crean should have been a top three candidate from day one. Miller, Bennett, Crean. The guy has been successful at a school with no football funding in the Big East no less. Hoosier nation needs to exhale and get back to supporting IU instead of bashing every nit picking thing. I’m not really concerned if Bassett or Ellis don’t return. Just keep Crawford and get Ebanks and Hollaway to recommit.
GO HOOSIERS!!!
DON’T FORGET WE STILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH NCAA RULES COMMITTE. I THINK MILES BRAND IS NOT THRU WITH US YET
Welcome to Bloomington Coach Crean!
Hopefully we can get Crean’s recruits for the year and have them come to Indiana instead of Marquette. He’s got a few good players that could boost the program =)
Rivals.com says Holloway was considering Marquette so does that mean he will keep his commitment to come to IU? Hope so
Someone find out about the plane landing. Is this info accurate. I would seriously drive over for a reception if the time is known.
Love it. Couldn’t be happier.
Doug – I’m sure it will come up, but please make sure to ask about retaining Ray McCallum on staff at the presser. He’s a great coach and his son is off the charts as a basketball talent and ambassador for recruits.
Kenny G,
We’ll make sure to do so. We’ll also find out the status of Dan Dakich and where he fits in with all of this.
Zak
VERY, VERY pleased! As a 40 year-old fan, have not been this excited about a coach really, since BK. I was always a Sampson fan, but not with the baggage he brought.
and… “Crean and Crimson”… lol… LOVE it!! nice posts on here!
The insanity ends! Maybe the BRC knew what they were doing…. they apparently over-ruled Greenspan when he wanted Kruger!
A new and exciting era has begun!!
I wonder if Bennett takes the Marquette job?
Can we rename the IU pep band’s brass section “The Creanhorns”?
Builds (maintains) a clean program. Solid recruiter. Be careful what you wish for, however. MU will miss him, but IU fans might get tired of his offense and his team’s lack of focus on some nights (this coming from an MU season ticket holder). He’s done a great job in the deepest league in the country, but his team’s have regressed the last three years. I’m happy for him, and I think IU’s getting a solid coach. But an upper echelon coach deserving of top dollar? Wait and see.
Don’t forget, that Final Four team featured three current NBA players, including an NBA Finals MVP (Dwyane Wade)….but it was also five years ago.
Bottom line: Crean positioned MU as a top 20 program, and that’s fantastic. IU fans expect more than that, though. I think he’ll have a bit more relaxed recruiting standards to operate under, which should work to his and IU’s favor.
Best of luck Coach, and thanks!
Great hire. Maybe not the top tier like Pitino or Pearl and maybe not a young up and coming star but if you look at what he has done you have to like this hire.
He has a gift for finding talent, is a really strong recruiter, is great with the media and more importantly he builds his program as a family with the parents of the players being involved.
The fact he is a young 40 something who has been around for awhile with Big Ten experience is icing on the cake. I bet you will hear a lot of quality coaches tag this as a great hire.
Doug and Chris, Espn.com is now reporting the presser to be at 11 A.M.
Again, great hire. I know the team will not play like a bunch of “Crean-puffs” from now on.
Good grief, this hire is great for the local economy. Just think how many T-shirts can be made!
By the way, all, I am a marketing and e-business MBA in Charleston, SC looking to move to Bloomington (I am from Knox County in Indiana).
As you can tell, I am a lifelong Hoosiers nut…any suggestions on the best part of town to buy a house? Or the best place to work (my other half) other than via my own company that will move with me?
Go Crean…even with sanctions looming I would still be willing to buy season tickets to see how he does. The road just got wider and brighter!
Besides “Crean and Crimson”, I think all the “cute” names are gay and stupid.
Laffy…don’t be such a downer. Rejoice as the program begins its ascension back from absolute zero (Kelvin Sampson) with this hiring.
I was really hoping to get the X-man, Sean Miller, but I’m fairly happy with this hire given the current state of the IU Basketball program. Tony Bennett can go to LSU and Sean Miller can stay at Xavier, but when IU is hanging another championship banner in 4 years…the joke will be on them for not stepping up to the plate when they had the opportunity. GO HOOSIERS!!!!
I don’t care what anybody says I still want my “Creaner than Kelvin”TM<– that’s right, I trademarked it! But I want my T-SHIRT PRINTED A.S.A.P! (I get 70% of the profit)
Just a good news story out of Bloomington. It has been too long a time coming. Sorry Basset and Ellis, you chose to be young and dumb at the wrong time. Lots of other kids do it, and pay the consequences. You get to as well.
Leave them off the team TC, and if pressed tell the world that all bad decisions have consequences, phone calls or disrespecting authority.
Good luck.
I think this is a perfect marriage. been a while since this Hoosier fan has felt this good about the future. This includes when we were 17-1 and ranked in the top 10 a few months ago.
“GO CREAN” The ECO friendly coach.
IU OldSchool,
I love it!
Dynasty…that better be a real TM legally filed or someone will take you to the Creaners for the intellectual property (seriously).
I am biting my tongue. No ad hominem attack.
Let’s face it, if Crean is 30 and 5 in four years then he will be the coach at I.U.. If he is 19 and 13 he will not. Good night I Crean.
This is just a thought. Does everyone remember what day it is today?
PC- I think this is for real… and what a relief.
you guys are killing me!
Dynasty – love the “Creaner” shirt idea, and the false trademark too! so… if you alter a trademark symbol 25%, can you use that too? heck, I’ll buy one – pirate or not!
I’m digging the old school vibe already myself.. but why is he ECO-friendly? did I miss something? thanks!
The story is on nbc. The better question is: why on earth would you name a new coach on april fool’s day?
A real april fool’s would be: Knight returns. Or even better: miles Brand returns to I.U.
What has Crean done that Mike Davis hasn’t?
Answer-nothing.
One FF run, and then no tourney or early exits.
Very weak hire who will not ever get IU past the second round.
Never.
Eco facts:
Crean will: ReUse the candy stripe pants
Crean will: Conserve phone calls
Crean will: Run a Crean program
Crean will: Stop smog belching Boilermakers
haha thanks Eric, I’ll try to send the idea to the printers! woo! lol
As James C. said, we’re going from “absolute zero” (which is zero degrees “KELVIN”)
I THINK THE PLAY WAS ON GO GREEN. ECO’s are always saying go green. Here it is GO CREAN
The thing I find hard to believe is that Kitchell and Benson have not commented on the hire of Coach Crean yet. Maybe the Committee forgot to ask those “experts” their opinion. Benny, can I have your tickets??
Welcome to B-Town, Coach Crean. GO HOOSIERS!!