often than not, disappointed. I am sure that those who hired new coaches in 1972 thought they were hiring a great coach, but only IU lucked out getting RMK. Duke, I'm sure, hoped they had hired a great coach in 1980, but for 5 years they weren't so sure. My point is that no one is 100% prescient when they're hiring a "great coach". Those who, in hindsight, are "great coaches" are not available for hire, or are not suitable for whatever reason (I don't think Pitino Sr., Jim Boeheim, John Calipari, Larry Brown, Jim Calhoun -- all "elite" coaches with at least 1 NCs -- would be suitable for IU; and those who might fit -- the Dick Bennetts, Tom Izzos, Coach Ks, Brad Stevens -- are content where they are).
I agree that, so far, Crean has proven to be a "good coach", not a "great coach". But you can't just order up a "great coach" the way you can call for pizza. That Crean appears to play by the rules, has a good perspective on academics, tries to recruit good kids (he missed on the Class of 2012, with the exception of Yogi, but he is responsible for the Collin Hartmans, the Thomas Bryants, the Yogi Ferrells, the Victor Oladipos, the OG Annoys, the Juwan Morgans). So, he had bad years in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, but I'd rather entrust IU's fortunes to a "good coach" who works hard, and is honest, than the supposed "great coach" that the fan-experts who feel "entitled" to an "elite" coach want to hire. Being an "elite" program is not simply having "elite" expectations, it's also having faith in an institutional decision, like IU in the early 70's, like Duke in the early 80's. If this is settling for "mediocrity," so be it, I'm settling for "mediocrity."
I agree that, so far, Crean has proven to be a "good coach", not a "great coach". But you can't just order up a "great coach" the way you can call for pizza. That Crean appears to play by the rules, has a good perspective on academics, tries to recruit good kids (he missed on the Class of 2012, with the exception of Yogi, but he is responsible for the Collin Hartmans, the Thomas Bryants, the Yogi Ferrells, the Victor Oladipos, the OG Annoys, the Juwan Morgans). So, he had bad years in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, but I'd rather entrust IU's fortunes to a "good coach" who works hard, and is honest, than the supposed "great coach" that the fan-experts who feel "entitled" to an "elite" coach want to hire. Being an "elite" program is not simply having "elite" expectations, it's also having faith in an institutional decision, like IU in the early 70's, like Duke in the early 80's. If this is settling for "mediocrity," so be it, I'm settling for "mediocrity."
