A few minutes ago on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning, Andy Katz reported that Tom Crean is third in line for the Kentucky head coaching job.
Katz expects UK to explore options with Billy Donovan quickly, and if he declines the offer the Wildcats will move on to Rick Barnes. Katz was unsure if Barnes would do anything more than listen to an offer. After that, Katz figures the offer comes to Crean. Katz further indicated that of these three candidates, Crean is the only one who would not turn down an offer.
We'll see. The 5,600 UK fans online in one of their Rivals forums are not paying much attention to Crean at this point. 5,600 fans on during the off-season -- examining every aspect of the program.
See what MU fans are saying about this.
The folks at Lexington Herald-Leader see things differently than Andy, "The longer the process takes, the more Crean seems to slip. Final Four scuttlebutt had Crean seeking more control of the program than UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart would feel comfortable granting."
Who knows, but given the complete control Crean enjoys at MU this would not be surprising.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Andy Katz reports that Crean is on Kentucky's list
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33 comments:
Who cares. Let's develop a coach independent program. This is getting old and boring. Marquette has been more than fair and gracious to Tom Crean. Why loose any sleep on it. We will get an excellent coach if Crean decides to leave.
I don't think Crean is third on that list. Witht he exception of 1 run with a superstar he has a horrible track record in the big dance. Kentucky will go after a coach that has a record of winning and that coach is NOT CREAN. He will be at Marquette until the MSU job opens. That being said, if he is offered a job there for some reason he will take it in a second. I would assume he would be there less than 5 years because of his bench coaching ability. The fans will go nuts~!!
I keep trying to ignore the story but can't. It's like crack cocaine.
I do think Crean will go there, however, realize what he has at Marquette (control, money, BCS conference, success, fans, not as much pressure as KY, etc...) and either not be offered the job, or lose interest.
I really do think him and Izzo have a hand-shake deal on when Tommy will be leaving. He HAS to have some idea. That MSU job will be Crean's last hurrah I think, unless Izzo stays on for another ten years.
I agree with "Who cares." $1.65 million for 1 NCAA run? Too bad the Creighton and Butler coaches are off the board: at least they can game-coach. I too doubt Kentucky would take Crean, but we can always hope.
Creighton's ex-coach? Dana Altman? Why would we want someone with a 2-7 NCAA tourney record? He had NBA talent in Kyle Korver and didn't did squat with it. Arkansas can have him. NCAA seems to be the litmus test for the haters and if that's the case why would you want a coach that obviously can't win when it matters in Altman? Losing Crean would be devastating to the MU program in the long term.
It think the last sentence of the previous post should be "could" not "would". You are assuming Marquette cannot get as good a coach as Crean. Crean is very good and I do not want to lose him. But I think Marquette is in a much more powerful position to hire on an excellent coach who is ready for prime time exposure and a big time college basketball program. We know salary won't be an issue at Marquette.
Say Goodbye to the Crean era...and let's face it, he will not be easily replaced. All recruiting inroads made are now gone, instantly.
MU becomes a second fiddle in recruiting wars with UW, Illinois, ND, even Depaul, as they all have consistency.
And while TC has rebuilt the MU program, you have to admit that if offerred, the UK job is top of the heap and he has to take it.
On the other hand, with the right coach, this group of Warriors could do some amazing things next year (See Weber taking over at Illinois 3 years ago.
Hope he stays, good luck if he goes...
Actually we don't know if salary will be an issue. His salary is largely paid for by one major donor that has a solid repoire with Crean.
There is no guarantee that money is there for "the next guy".
One would think, but there are no guarantees.
Hate to see Crean go because I've really been looking forward to seeing our crew of sophomores play after they've had another year to get better. Especially if the freshmen bigs can help the Ooze inside.
If Crean walks out the door, we have no idea how many current of future players will choose to re-evaluate the program.
If he does go, we do have assets that we didn't have years ago: a real practice facility, legitimate memebership in an elite conference (thanks to 20 wins in 2 years) and a refresh on what had become a dusty glory days.
As the "Vulnerable" post on the home page pointed out, I'm a bit frightened by the fact that I personally have no idea who might be on our target list should Crean go.
Any ideas? Seems like Cords must have had a "list" given the number of times this has come up.
Crean has done nothing more than an average job. His recruiting after the Final Four has been inconsistent. The JUCO issue is becoming too frequent and unproductive. Also, I don't believe for a minute that his assistant coaches leave because of his success.
Every off season he "allows" the same "rumors" and this has to effect the program.
Xavier is doing a bang up job in BB even though they have had quite a coaching turnover.
We need a good AD at this point.
I have gone from supporting TC to having increasing reservations.
If he doesn't go to UK, all those coaches that recruit against him will be able to (finally, honestly) point to him and tell kids don't go with MU, Crean won't be there much longer, just look at how loud he denied UK.
You're either committed or you're not, Tom. Speak up. You own this program.
I would love to see a new coach in here. Crean has done a decent job at MU. Most importantly, he has reduced the average age of the passionate MU fan exponentially.
The reason I'd like to see a new coach is I'd like these young fans to experience an MU program that's not run by a complete egomaniac with ZERO people skills. And make no mistake, his complete lack of people skills is the reason he's still at Marquette.
Time will tell!
"Crean has done nothing more than an average job."
That takes the cake so far for the 2007 Dumbest Statement of the Year award. There are so many things wrong with that statement that I won't even go into detail on.
In second place would be wanting a new coach so young fans can enjoy a coach with better people skills, even though the same poster says he's done a great job growing the fan base (and that Crean has "done a decent job"). Wins/losses, final fours be d@mned! Jim Boeheim, Jay Wright, Billy Donovan. Those guys are just screaming personality. They need to go too, so the young fans can truly enjoy being around the coach, otherwise nobody has any fun. Question - Did you "enjoy" the Tommy Amaker era at Michigan and appreciate where his congenial personality got them?
Crean's done "decent" by taking MU to the final four, making them an annually ranked team in the NCAA tourney, getting the school into the Big East, helping to get the Al McGuire center guilt, and winning 66% of his games. By that standard, I hope whoever follows TC is "above average".
"Zero people skills"? Doesn't it take people skills to get PEOPLE to play for you?
People like Novak, Wade, Diener, James, Matthews, McNeal, Mkwabe?
Sounds like another poster that misses his drinking buddy Mike Deane after Turners. Wah wah.
Xavier has done no better than Marquette the last four years despite playing in a much easier league and having their own state of the art building on campus to play in.
2007 24-8
2006 21-10
2005 17-12
2004 23-10
Now it looks like Altman is going back to Creighton and TC had already turned down the Arkansas job. per the espn article..."Altman was believed to be at least the Razorbacks' sixth target. Arkansas officials reportedly offered the job to Texas A&M's Billy Gillespie, Kansas' Bill Self, Southern California's Tim Floyd, Memphis' John Calipari and Marquette's Tom Crean, who each turned the job down"
These threads suggest that the enthusiasm that Crean once enjoyed is becoming more difficult to sustain for various reasons, which are recurring. I'm quite sure that almost all of us would like to be realistically upbeat. Unlike the women's program which seems to be making consistent progress the much better supported men's program seems to be static.
"........the much better supported men's program seems to be static."
Give me a break. Marquette moves to the Big East from C-USA (where the program struggled in back-to-back seasons) and proceeds to win 20 games in its first two seasons in the new league. One of only three programs to do that -- oh, and MU started three sophomores, a freshman and a junior last season. Oh, and MU won 10 games while playing the 2nd toughest league schedule.
Meanwnile, attendance spiked dramatically, national TV appearances nearly tripled, recruiting has become more consistent and MU will be an early favorite to finish in the Big East's first division once again.
Sorry, what was that about a program being static?
That's ridiculous.
We're spoiled by success right now and too many folks don't realize it.
NY Warrior, I believe that MU season tickets are up 70% under Crean. 70%.
People, you may not like Crean for a multitude of reasons, but for God's sake, at least make your arguments on sound assessments based on facts that don't contradict your points.
I think you should eliminate the anonymous posting here as the same idiot is posting each time in an effort to make it look like the masses.
"Static?" What a retard. All-time attendance record at Marquette for season average was set in 2006-07, the season that just ended.
Good Lord people are stupid. Poor babies want to have their beers with Mike Deane at Turners so they feel upset they aren't in the coach's inner circle. Wah wah wah.
Attedance up 70 percent?? Are you serious? That is an absolute joke! MU has ALWAYS enjoyed tremendous support. There were some down years in average attendance, but to suggest that season tickets are up 70 percent is just plain wrong. Crean has had zero effect on attendance. If Sister Jean were coaching against some of these Big East opponents, we'd see an attedance bump.
reading comprehension lesson:
"I believe that MU season tickets are up 70%"
Season tickets.
Seems about right given the burgeoning Blue and Gold fund and associated points requirements
MU's average attendance has risen from 9,971 (1999-2000) to 15,345 (2006-07)....that is a 54% increase in overall attendance
I dont have season ticket numbers, but I'd imagine they out-pace the increase in overall numbers because of the point system as noted by Mr. Anonymous above.
Regardless -- MU hoops attendance is up a whopping 54% in the Tom Crean era.
I think he might have meant that Season Tickets have gone up 70% in price in those years, which is nearly accurate. With the mandatory donation and price increases, it's about 2x.
I don't have the exact number in front of me, but it's funny (?) to think that 1 season of watching DJ play costs twice what it was to watch one season of DWade.
Yea, but now you have a sweet collection of bobble heads.
In response to NY Warrior's point about a rise in attendance. He must actually live in NY and not get the opportunity to attend games. There is NO WAY MU averaged more than 15K this season. Absolutely NO WAY. You can believe it if you want, but it's just plain not true. For most of the pre-conference schedule, as well as the Rutgers and Seton Hall games, the Bradley Center was a morgue.
Except for 1992 and 1998 through 2001, MU has been in the top 25 in attendance in the country. This is a community that supports Marquette basketball if they're competing even a little bit. If MU is lousy, like in 2004 and 2005, people will not come.
In 2005 -- just two years off a Final Four appearance, Marquette boasted two home state stars in Diener and Novak. The team averaged less that year than the 1990 team which was a Dukiet recruited bunch.
Marquette's saw a huge spike in attendance during Wade's two seasons. Other than that, the Crean era has been greeted with a collective shrug. Put exciting players on the court and people will come.
If you believe last year's numbers, than you also believe that MU set a single-game attendance record (by a single person) during the PITT game this year. How could that be with GameDay taking up seats? That wasn't even in the top ten of top crowds in the last 20 years. Not even close, really.
This has to be some of the most bizarre collection of the comments I have ever read. Those who criticize Crean I think don't have a fair recollection of history. Attendance is up...giving us up...admissions are up...much of which has to do with the reemergence of the program since Crean took over. Basketball is an extremely important part of life at Marquette and Crean has done very, very well nurturing that both on the court and off. Be careful not to fall into the grass is always greener on the other side of the street type arguments.
"The team averaged less that year than the 1990 team which was a Dukiet recruited bunch.'
---
That was the first year of the Bradley Center. A violin concert with 5 year olds would have drawn 12,000 to the BC that year.
While I too am often astounded by the difference between announced attendance and butts in seats .. these last two BE years, the lower bowl (read: season ticket seats) have shown up very consistently, even for OOC cupcakes.
There's a couple reasons for this .. MU being in the Top 25 has helped, but I think a big reason is the ticket price increases. Just a few short years ago, a lower ticket at the BC ran you $15. Now it's $30, but most likely $60 for your pair.
While going to watch MU thump Morgan State may not have much value, you think twice about flushing $60 down the toilet. True, the number of actual owners sitting in seats is most definately low, as they're given away like candy nowadays. But before, they'd just be chucked. No doubt, even for the cupcakes, a MU game at the BC is a spectacle. Clearly, the number of children at OOC games is octuple the amount at BE games.
Bottom line: While still there, the difference between announced and actual attendance has shrunk considerably in the past 3-4 years, especially for the lower bowl.
jce - OK, 1990 was the first year of the BC. What about 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, and 99 all of which were years in which we drew more than 2005.
With Crean at the helm in 2005, how could we have had such low numbers?
It's time to put Anonymous and Murff on attendance duty. They can run around and count the seats.
LOL
According to figures on the internet, Marquette averaged 13,900 in 2006. The only years that they drew more since the BC opened were 1994, 2003 and 2004. And they are constantly in the top 25 nationwide in attendance.
hey anonymous 2:09pm
Yes, Game Day took up seats---the Pep Band's seats, that is. Oh wait, and the Pep Band then took up . . . student seats. So, in reality, Gameday did not take up any seats that hadn't already been earmarked for the Gold Rush. Yes, this probably lowers the actual attendance number, but it sure didn't prevent other people from coming.
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