Indiana Fires Tom Crean

After nine seasons with Indiana, head basketball coach Tom Crean won two Big Ten titles and qualified for four NCAA tournaments in the past six seasons, advancing to three Sweet 16s.  But to Indiana Athletic Director Fred Glass, that just isn’t enough.

Glass announced Thursday that Indiana needs a “change in leadership,” ending Crean’s tenure with the Hoosiers and beginning a new coach search for Glass.

Indiana to Tom Crean this morning
https://t.co/z8XOgdakgt

— Cats Coverage (@Cats_Coverage) March 16, 2017

 While With Indiana

Crean was hired as head coach of the Hoosiers in 2008 after his previous coaching career at Marquette University. He filled the shoes of former head coach Dan Dakich.

For Crean’s first season, freshman Eric Gordon left early for the NBA and stellar forward DJ White graduated.

Two players transferred along with two players kicked off the team by Dakich were not allowed back.

Crean’s roster only consisted of two walk-ons, basically starting from scratch.  That unattractive roster damaged recruiting, leading to a three season losing record…the worst in school history.

Progressively improving, Crean had a strong turnaround for the 2011-2012 season with a winning record of 27-9 and a Sweet 16 appearance.  He was the first Indiana coach to beat a no. one, two and five ranked teams in one season.

His strong rebuilding earned him the mid-season Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award, the Sporting News Big Ten Coach of the Year award and the ESPN.com National Coach of the year award.

The Spiral Down

The 2013-2014 season slipped compared to his earlier progress with a 17-15 record ranking eighth in the Big Ten.  This was followed up by the 2014-2015 season of 20-14 and ranking seventh in the Big Ten.

Last season picked back up for Crean when the Hoosiers won the Big Ten and he was once again named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

With inconsistency, the Hoosiers missed the NCAA Tournament this season for the fifth time in nine years, finishing with a 18-16 record.  This ultimately led to Glass’s decision.

Home game attendance suffered with balconies basically barren and athletic donors’ seats empty.  He even suffered occasional booing when announced at the final home game against Northwestern.