April 1
Marquette's Crean to take over at Indiana
Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Indiana University has reached an agreement with Tom Crean to become its next men's basketball coach, according to the Indianapolis Star.
IU trustee Phil Eskew confirmed the hiring to the newspaper and said the Marquette coach has already signed a letter of agreement.
"I'm anticipating he will be introduced Wednesday as the new IU basketball coach," Eskew told the paper.
Crean, who compiled a 190-96 record over nine seasons with the Golden Eagles, recently completed his ninth season as coach at MU, leading the team to a 25-10 record last season and the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they fell to Stanford.
Crean, a former Michigan State assistant, also led Marquette to the Final Four in 2003, the first time since 1977 that the school reached the national semifinals.
The hiring comes on the heels of a tumultuous season for the Hoosiers, in which former head coach Kelvin Sampson was forced to resign amid NCAA violations and was replaced by Dan Dakich on an interim basis.
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March 22
GETTING INSIDE
While the Marquette Golden Eagles will undoubtedly do lots of second-guessing in the offseason regarding the way their NCAA Tournament experience ended, there was still an awful lot to look back upon and be proud of.
A third straight season of double-digit victories in the Big East. A school-record 11 Big East victories. Their first appearance in the Big East Tournament semifinals. Their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2003.
All positive signs of growth for a team that has no reason to expect any dropoff in 2008-2009 — a good sign, considering the Big East Conference once again is expected to be among the strongest in the nation.
Coach Tom Crean, having notched his third 25-win season in his nine-year tenure at Marquette, should expect to have his guard trio — Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews — back for their senior seasons. However, McNeal might well decide to at least test the draft waters just as James did last spring.
And while the Golden Eagles graduate two of their most experienced and biggest players in C Ousmane Barro and F Dan Fitzgerald, they'll also welcome a four-man recruiting class that provides help at every position. That's not to mention welcoming a fully healthy Trevor Mbakwe, who should be in the mix as a starter up front after recovering from knee surgery last November.
Those players should help balance out a guard-heavy team that just didn't have the size and bulk needed to compete with the best teams in the Big East during the season and Stanford in the NCAA Tournament.
NOTES, QUOTES
FINAL RECORD: 25-10 11-7 Big East
WHAT WENT RIGHT: The Golden Eagles had a style of play, and they stuck with it. That meant pushing the tempo at every opportunity, creating havoc defensively with their guard play and generating points off the resulting turnovers. The development of a number of players, most notably sophomore F Lazar Hayward, bodes well for the future.
WHAT WENT WRONG: A lack of talent and numbers up front ultimately doomed MU. It fared poorly against teams such as Louisville and Connecticut because it didn't have the long athletic players to match up. It also struggled rebounding in those situations. A lack of consistent perimeter shooting also led to problems against zone defenses.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think we can build on it. It's so hard to put perspective on last year when you just ended a half-hour ago, but I love their character." — coach Tom Crean, on the Golden Eagles' future following his team's NCAA Tournament loss to Stanford.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THE GOOD NEWS: Barring any unexpected defections, Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews should all be back, giving MU the most battle-tested backcourt in the nation. Each of the returning post players, especially Hayward, displayed promise and should continue to develop. Adding signees such as 6-foot-11 Chris Otule, 6-foot-7 Joseph Fulce, 6-foot-4 Nick Williams and 6-foot-3 Tyshawn Taylor will provide an influx of talent, depth and versatility.
THE BAD NEWS: The Golden Eagles are still lacking a bona-fide, blue-chip post player, and probably will be for the foreseeable future. There also isn't a reliable perimeter shooter in the projected starting lineup, and probably the best one returning — G David Cubillan — is a role player who closed the season in a horrible slump. Barring some tremendous improvement in the offseason, both shortcomings could ultimately keep MU from taking that next step.
KEY RETURNEES: Jerel McNeal may test the NBA waters but likely will return. The same goes for Dominic James, who used up his chance after his sophomore season. Wesley Matthews should be improved. If Lazar Hayward improves even more in the offseason, he could be a first-team all-Big East performer. Trevor Mbakwe will make an impact once he's fully recovered from knee surgery. Among the incoming recruits, Tyshawn Taylor could make the biggest impact as a combo guard, and Joseph Fulce on the wing as a defender.
ROSTER REPORT:
—Junior G Jerel McNeal was simply unstoppable over the last two weeks of the season, and finished leading the Golden Eagles at 14.9 points per game — a full two points more than Dominic James. He also wound up shooting 45.6 percent, which was amazing considering how badly he was struggling from the field midway through the season. He's clearly MU's best all-around player.
—Injuries doomed James' junior season. He was off to a good start in the non-conference portion, then wrist and ankle maladies changed the way he played and affected him mentally. At his best, he's a penetrating lead guard who sets up his teammates and attacks the basket. At his worst, he's a bad jump-shooter who struggles with decision-making. MU saw both sides this season and needs much more of the former next season.
—Sophomore F Lazar Hayward was twice the player he was as a freshman — both statistically and confidence-wise. He was spotty down the stretch and needs to work on improving his play with his back to the basket, but overall Hayward was a revelation for MU this season. His threat as an inside-outside player is a great weapon for coach Tom Crean.
—Junior G Wesley Matthews has been the forgotten man among MU's "Big Three" over the years, and his shortcomings — inability to finish around the basket, turnovers, spotty shooting — were the reasons why. He closed the season strongly, though, with back-to-back big games in the NCAA Tournament. That should bode well for his confidence as he returns for one final hurrah at MU next year.
2007-8 Big East Conference Basketball Standings
(Through March 29)
Conference Overall
School W L Pct W L Pct
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Georgetown 15 3 .833 28 6 .824
Louisville 14 4 .778 27 9 .750
Notre Dame 14 4 .778 25 8 .758
Connecticut 13 5 .722 24 9 .727
West Virginia 11 7 .611 26 11 .703
Marquette 11 7 .611 25 10 .714
Pittsburgh 10 8 .556 27 10 .730
Villanova 9 9 .500 22 13 .629
Syracuse 9 9 .500 21 14 .600
Cincinnati 8 10 .444 13 19 .406
Seton Hall 7 11 .389 17 15 .531
Providence 6 12 .333 15 16 .484
DePaul 6 12 .333 11 19 .367
St. John's 5 13 .278 11 19 .367
South Florida 3 15 .167 12 19 .387
Rutgers 3 15 .167 11 20 .355
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/ revised April 1, 2008
