The Indiana Hoosiers are firing men’s basketball coach Tom Crean, the program has announced.
Tom Crean fired by Indiana, ending a tenure that had too many low points
Crean’s run in Bloomington is over after nine years.
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Crean spent nine seasons in Bloomington and coached IU to a 166-135 record. He made the NCAA tournament four times, which, unfortunately, means he missed it five times. Crean’s tenure at IU will come to an official end after a 12-point loss to Georgia Tech in the NIT on Tuesday, but it felt for most of the season like his status was tenuous.
Crean consistently fielded great offensive teams for the Hoosiers. They finished in the top 30 in adjusted scoring efficiency in five of the last six years, including four times in the top 10. Crean either recruited or developed a handful of great college players: Yogi Ferrell, Christian Watford, Victor Oladipo, and Cody Zeller come to mind.
His IU teams were always interesting but not always good. Defense was a consistent weak point early in his tenure, then good for a few years, then bad again for the last three seasons. Despite having regularly elite offenses, the defense held Indiana back.
The peak for Crean in Bloomington was undoubtedly 2013, when the Hoosiers reached No. 1 in the polls and stayed there for all of February. They were a popular national title pick heading into that March’s tournament, but they went out with an 11-point loss to Syracuse in the Sweet Sixteen. That was a wall Crean couldn’t breach, with losses in that round ending three of his four tournament seasons.
When Crean’s teams were good, they were really good
Aside from that 2013 season, Indiana won the Big Ten regular season title outright last season. Three of his four tournament teams were legitimate contenders to make deep runs. Assembly Hall was loud and full in those years.
A handful of Crean players cycled through to the NBA: Zeller, Oladipo, and Noah Vonleh were big-time draft prospects. Ferrell has found a home with the Dallas Mavericks this year. Nobody will question that Crean got and produced good players.
But he didn’t do quite enough — not at a place like Indiana. The Hoosiers are not nearly what they used to be. They have five national titles but none since 1987. That means there’s both a high standard and a deep hunger for consistent excellence.
Crean gave IU tastes of that, but not enough of it. The high points weren’t enough to outweigh the low points, and that’s why he’s gone.
The school said it wouldn’t use a search committee while it looks for Crean’s successor. A top Indiana recruit said on social media Crean’s uncertain job status was a reason he’d delayed his commitment.
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