Crean & Crimson!

IU introduced Tom Crean as its new mens' basketball coach today. After watching parts of his press conference all I can say is "Wow!"

Crean is the brother-in-law of new Ravens' head coach John Harbaugh. Both come across as great motivators and bring an incredible amount of passion and energy to situations that desperately need them. With the recent hires of Crean, Harbaugh, and Andy McPhail/Dave Trembley, all three of my teams are finally headed in the right direction.

There are two things I really like about Crean. First, he has a true respect for the tradition of Indiana basketball. He talked today about watching the '76 Hoosiers as a 10 year old in Michigan. He also talked about going to a Bob Knight clinic and being absolutely mesmerized. He understands and embraces some of our quirky traditions, like the candy-striped warm-ups.

The second thing I really like, and it is somewhat related to the first, is he strongly believes in doing things the right way. That means playing by the rules and graduating players. He said today that all 23 players he had at Marquette that stayed 4 years graduated. If I'm going to donote money to IU I want to know that the scholarships it funds are truly being used to gain an education.

The only thing he doesn't bring is the motion or Princeton offense. But if that's the only downside, I'm OK. It may take some time, but I am confident that IU FINALLY has found the man to lead IU basketball down the right path for years to come. After so long, I am again feeling good about the direction of IU basketball!