Written by Ryan Palencer at The Comeback
This all sounds very familiar.
Clear deficiencies with the Indiana basketball program raise the question: Will another trip to the Big Dance — even with a “road team” seed (meaning road jerseys are worn in the first round as a lower seed) save the coach’s job again?
Last season, Indiana struggled during various stretches, just as it has early in this campaign. IU limped into the tournament, but getting there instead of being re-routed to the NIT kept Crean from receiving the pink slip.
During Crean’s time in Bloomington, the Hoosiers have defined mediocrity. Now in his eighth season with Indiana, Crean has been to the NCAA Tournament three times. The first two trips did result in runs to the Sweet 16 with Cody Zeller and Victor Oladipo. However, outside of those teams, last season was the only time a Crean-led Hoosiers squad reached 20 wins.
With a weak bottom half of the Big Ten this season, 2016 could be a second straight season marked by 20 wins and a bid to the Dance. However, despite another strong recruiting class, Indiana appears to be heading toward mediocrity again. The Hoosiers will struggle to be better than last season.
This leads to recognizable questions regarding the extent to which Crean must show improvement… and whether the status quo is enough to keep his job.
Under Crean, Indiana has struggled defensively over the past couple of seasons. The chemistry on that end of the floor is lacking, and players are not always helping each other. Similarly, players do not seem to be on the same page on the offensive end.
Much of this comes down to Crean’s ability to build a team. There is no questioning that he can bring in top recruits. However, he seems to struggle to draw in players who have the ability to play together as a team. The Zeller-Oladipo team had that ability, and that was when Indiana was a national contender. However, those two seasons were clearly the exceptions which prove the rule.
Such a reality leads to the question of whether Crean is still the man for this job.
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