Nearly 1500 IU students, professors and Hoosier faithful attended Tom Crean’s annual ‘lecture’ to the fans. It is a tradition that dates back to Bob Knight and it was something that coach insisted on continuing when he arrived on campus. It is a time for him to discuss offseason training, strengths and weaknesses, and to show the student body his passion for Indiana.
The night began on a light note. The guy introducing Crean gave the audience a long-winded overview of coach’s career accomplishments. Crean noted, “I am going to hire you as my public relations man. I think you covered everything I have done my entire life except these last two years.”
Coach Crean began his speech gauging the audience on their favorite television show from Jersey Shore to Real Housewives of Atlanta.
This past year, Crean said he spent more time then ever studying and analyzing two great coaches, former Indiana coach Bob Knight and the late John Wooden. “I’ve studied more Bob Knight and more John Wooden than any other coach.”
“We will chase perfection and along the way catch excellence.”
Indiana basketball won 10 games last year, improving upon their six win season in his debut season.
He stressed the importance of three things from the outset. His players must be mentally prepared, ready to compete, and make everyday matter. The team must unite and play together to be successful on the court. “We cannot win with division. We must truly play together,” coach stressed emphatically.
Tom Crean also spent some of his lecture fighting the critics and haters if you will.
They like Indiana being down. Our opponents don’t want it to come back up. They have been beaten by Indiana so much in the past, that they like where we are.
Due to NCAA rules, coach obviously can’t touch on recruiting too much. He said he is certainly looking for mentally tough guys, ready to work harder than they’ve ever worked before to restore this program to glory. He emphasized that not only is the basketball program, but also “the school keeps growing, growing by leaps and bounds. Don’t think for one moment I don’t stress that Indiana is the southern most Big Ten school. 93 degrees in late October, are you kidding me.”
Hoosier Hysteria will be on October 15th, and Crean cannot wait to get started.
Coach also stressed the importance of practice and how much the players gain from just being in the gym. He repeated a statistic once again this year, that “for every game that players in other countries play, they have six practices.” Whereas here in the U.S., AAU players may play two or three games a day and save their energy.
Crean noted that a couple days ago he had the players vote on who they believed is the best player on the team. By far, Verdell Jones received the most votes, clearly an indication of his offseason conditioning which included another 15lbs to his thin body.
As for the three things where he believes the team needs to improve the most: decision making, defending at a high level, and rebound at both ends. He also indicated the importance of a player being able to create on his own and for those around him. Crean said Maurice Creek was the best at creating and it was a huge loss when he went down.
His speech was an hour and seven minutes long and aspiring nonetheless.
I want to be at an Indiana that is ready to win championships again.
Before getting started, Coach Coach Crean played the video below, which was made by one faithful Hoosier fan.