Tom Crean Out At Indiana

[don356]

It will be Archie Miller or Chris Mack, both are underpaid and would take it. The pro guys are blog fodder and Alford already has a better gig. By the way, Alford thanks IU in advance for the raise.

 

[Matrim55]

It will be Archie Miller or Chris Mack, both are underpaid and would take it. The pro guys are blog fodder and Alford already has a better gig. By the way, Alford thanks IU in advance for the raise.

If UCLA doesn't make it to the Final 4 this year Alford will be on the hot seat, and will return next season with a worse team, a lower buy-out and a bunch of angry alums who are ready for him to leave. UCLA is a better job in a vacuum – I agree with you there – but it's probably not a better job for Alford in 2017 or 2018.

Archie Miller is a really good coach who gets the most out of his talent but a big part of the job at Indiana is recruiting, and even by Dayton's standards Miller's not particularly impressive there. The highest-ranked class he's ever gotten is 78th and most of his good pulls are from the DMV and Carolinas. He doesn't do much in the midwest.

I think they'll try to get Stevens or Donovan first, and when that doesn't work they'll kick the tires on Hoiberg. They'll make a run at Marshall, who is probably the best still-coaching-college candidate. If he says no I think Tony Bennett would be next in line. If he says no, then we get to this group:

• Chris Holtman (Butler)
• Chris Mack (Xavier)
• Archie Miller (Dayton)
• Chris Collins (Northwestern)
• Will Wade (VCU)
• Kevin Keatts (UNCW)

Mack is the best recruiter, and most proven of that group, but he's never gotten over the hump. Holtman is, I think, an excellent coach and he recruits Indiana VERY well, which matters a lot to the Hoosiers faithful (as it should). Collins has done the impossible in leading Northwestern to the tournament, winning in the Big 10, etc – it's stunning, really. He also recruits the hell out of Chicago and northern Illinois, which is just as important as Indiana from a practical standpoint, if not an emotional one.

Miller I mentioned above. Wade is, I think, an excellent up-and-comer but is less of a sure thing than the other guys on the list. Keatts, like Wade, has done really good work but his track record as a head coach is only a few years long.

I'd probably aim for Holtman, to be honest. He's legit.

EDIT: And fwiw if I was Georgetown I'd go hard for Keatts. And personally as a child of the '80s, when Georgetown, Indiana and UNC were the three biggest names in college hoops, I'd love to see both the Hoosiers and Hoyas get back to being top 15 teams every year. I hope they both make good hires because they're fun to hate.

 

[don356]

Nah, Alford has a lot more rope than you think. He's gotten them back into recruiting the top kids and that is what it's all about. They've got another great class of 2 or 3 5 star and a like number of 4's along with Ball's kids. They would not blow that up. Trust me.

Mack has a good recruiting class, and i suspect he would get some of those kids to follow him, one being Scruggs the guard from Indiana.

 

[Matrim55]

Nah, Alford has a lot more rope than you think. He's gotten them back into recruiting the top kids and that is what it's all about. They've got another great class of 2 or 3 5 star and a like number of 4's along with Ball's kids. They would not blow that up. Trust me.

No. I trust the folks I know amongst the alumni and in the athletic department there. If UCLA underachieves in this tourney, Alford's on the hot seat next year.

 

[Walker11]

No. I trust the folks I know amongst the alumni and in the athletic department there. If UCLA underachieves in this tourney, Alford's on the hot seat next year.

Hasn't Alford been landing studs consistently throughout his tenure at UCLA? And he has only seen things click with a transcendent talent in Ball, right.

I know the UCLA Internet fans on Reddit wouldn't lose any sleep if Alford leaves. And Zona fans are praying Alford stays.

 

[Matrim55]

Hasn't Alford been landing studs consistently throughout his tenure at UCLA? And he has only seen things click with a transcendent talent in Ball, right.

I know the UCLA Internet fans on Reddit wouldn't lose any sleep if Alford leaves. And Zona fans are praying Alford stays.

Yup. And FWIW his buyout currently is $10 million, but 13.5 months from now it's down to $2.5 million, which UCLA's boosters can find in their couch cushions.

He needs to get to the final four this year.

 

[intlzncster]

EDIT: And fwiw if I was Georgetown I'd go hard for Keatts. And personally as a child of the '80s, when Georgetown, Indiana and UNC were the three biggest names in college hoops, I'd love to see both the Hoosiers and Hoyas get back to being top 15 teams every year. I hope they both make good hires because they're fun to hate.

Only if we do too. Otherwise, I hope everyone else burns up in a dumpster fire.

 

[intlzncster]

Hasn't Alford been landing studs consistently throughout his tenure at UCLA? And he has only seen things click with a transcendent talent in Ball, right.

I know the UCLA Internet fans on Reddit wouldn't lose any sleep if Alford leaves. And Zona fans are praying Alford stays.

There's recruiting, then there's getting it done when it counts. If you win the recruiting award every year, but don't get to the FF, you're a bum by UCLA standards.

They haven't had a ton of good years in the past 20, but it's still a FF or bust school.

 

[intlzncster]

Yup. And FWIW his buyout currently is $10 million, but 13.5 months from now it's down to $2.5 million, which UCLA's boosters can find in their couch cushions.

He needs to get to the final four this year.

So basically he has to choose between maybe 1 year left at UCLA, and a potential 5 year rope at Indiana, at a significant salary level.

Given what you say, if I'm him, unless I kill this tourney, I probably jump.

 

[Matrim55]

So basically he has to choose between maybe 1 year left at UCLA, and a potential 5 year rope at Indiana, at a significant salary level.

Given what you say, if I'm him, unless I kill this tourney, I probably jump.

That's the exact calculation I'd make.

FWIW, in Howland's third, fourth and fifth years he went runners-up, Final 4, Final 4. Alford has now gone losing record (missed tourney) in his third year, and we're currently in his fourth. If he underachieves this March and then doesn't make it to the Final 4 in his fifth year, there'll be no 6th.

 

[storrsroars]

Dan Dakich was on fire on College Game Day just now.

paraphrasing here, but something like: "Indiana has to go back to having an Indiana guy. Crean was a horrible recruiter. Sampson was cheating all over the place. Davis was a disaster... nobody has been recruting Indiana."

He was basically saying Alford coming home would be the savior du jour of Indiana basketball.

 

[alexd]

Dan Dakich was on fire on College Game Day just now.

paraphrasing here, but something like: "Indiana has to go back to having an Indiana guy. Crean was a horrible recruiter. Sampson was cheating all over the place. Davis was a disaster... nobody has been recruting Indiana."

He was basically saying Alford coming home would be the savior du jour of Indiana basketball.

He even laid into Bobby Knight in his last years...talking about his not wanting to recruit Jacque Vaughn, Glen Robinson, Laef Rafrentz.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

He even laid into Bobby Knight in his last years...talking about his not wanting to recruit Jacque Vaughn, Glen Robinson, Laef Rafrentz.

When you put it that way, Bobby Knight looks like an idiot.

 

[don356]

Dan Dakich was on fire on College Game Day just now.

paraphrasing here, but something like: "Indiana has to go back to having an Indiana guy. Crean was a horrible recruiter. Sampson was cheating all over the place. Davis was a disaster... nobody has been recruting Indiana."

He was basically saying Alford coming home would be the savior du jour of Indiana basketball.

Dakich is right, and if Alford wants it, then i suspect he can have it. Mack though i think will be the backup. Ucla is not in the spot folks think they are. They can't afford to be turning coaches every 3 to 5 years. No one will take the job. They're not getting Cal, Pitino or Self, and Alford has taken them to two s16's and has been ranked #1 this year. It's like taking Smart from Texas, no quick fix. Who they going to get Abdul Jabbar?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

This is easy to sort out for Alford. Put out feelers through mutual contacts that he is interested in the job, get the offer, and then see if UCLA gives him an extension. He has a solid, not spectacular record, and he is probably at his peak value right now. He is making a mistake if he doesn't at least leverage the Indiana situation for an extension.

 

[Scoe]

How about Mike Woodson.

 

[intlzncster]

Dakich is right, and if Alford wants it, then i suspect he can have it. Mack though i think will be the backup. Ucla is not in the spot folks think they are. They can't afford to be turning coaches every 3 to 5 years. No one will take the job. They're not getting Cal, Pitino or Self, and Alford has taken them to two s16's and has been ranked #1 this year. It's like taking Smart from Texas, no quick fix. Who they going to get Abdul Jabbar?

Anybody would take UCLA man. It's on a shortlist of top destinations. It checks every single box there is, from important to trivial: pay scale, history, P5 conference, facilities, recruiting location, expectations/support, living location, coeds (for recruits), quality educational school (for recruits), exposure (for both), weather (for both).

Even if it's a 'hot seat' job, just build in a huge buyout to your contract. Then it doesn't matter. They either keep you to avoid paying it out, or you get PAID. Worth it in every sense.

 

[Matrim55]

You folks should read this. The IU fanbase does not want Alford: Where are all these Steve Alford to Indiana rumors coming from?

Holtman is my guess.

 

[Pudge]

It really isn't hard to land studs at UCLA. They exist right in the LA basin - LA County and then into Riverside and Orange counties. Occasionally, they pluck a Bakersfield, Fresno, Northern Cal kid. Then getting a filler from a National recruit. They work less hard than maybe all but UNC or Duke.

 

[kobe]

Chris Mack has recruited Indiana pretty well. Stole Trevon Bluiett out from under IU and also got 2017 top 30 recruit Paul Scruggs over IU. Now that is mostly the recruiting of Travis Steele so I wonder if he'd come along if Mack got the IU job or if Xavier would hire him to replace Mack.