Busy day in the world of coaching yesterday…
1. Tom Crean is a good hire for Indiana. He’s an enthusiastic hard worker whose guard-oriented philosophy should resonate well with Hoosier fans who have grown accustomed to outstanding backcourt play over the years. Frankly, given the mess that former coach Kelvin Sampson created, I’m surprised the school was able to find someone as proven at a high level as Crean who was willing to take the job. The school and its fans should be thrilled.
2. The situation at Indiana got even more complicated with the news, just hours before the Crean story broke, that guards Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis had been kicked off the team by interim head coach Dan Dakich. Seems like odd timing, and even though the players may have deserved it – both are repeat offenders who allegedly skipped scheduled appointments with the coaching staff and then failed to show up to run the laps they were assigned as punishment.
Their fates now rest in Crean’s hands, and here’s hoping he gives them another shot. They were betrayed by Sampson mid-season, forced to finish the year under a lame-duck coach who they didn’t sign up to play for. It doesn’t excuse their behavior, but they are still kids, after all.
It may be in Crean’s best interest to bring them back, too. If Eric Gordon goes pro, as expected, Bassett and Ellis would be the only remaining starters.
3. As sorry as I am that things didn’t work out for Sean Sutton at Oklahoma State, I’m equally as relieved for his physical well-being. Former Wisconsin and Washington State coach Dick Bennett may have had the most entertaining, sour countenance during games, but I’ve never seen a coach look as downright unhealthy as Sutton routinely did. He’d sweat through his suit, and I remember at least a couple of instances where it appeared he had to catch himself from fainting on the sideline.
Sutton’s resignation raises the interesting question of whether it’s a good idea for assistants to be appointed as head coaches before the current boss hangs up the whistle. Sean Sutton served under his dad, the legendary Eddie Sutton, for 13 years as an assistant, and was tabbed as the “head coach designate” before the 2003-2004 season. Sean hadn’t ever been a head coach anywhere before taking over for his dad two seasons ago, and it’s hard not to wonder if he wasn’t prepared for the enormous pressure he faced following in Eddie’s footsteps.
Tony Bennett – Dick’s son – has succeeded so far at Washington State under a similar arrangement, and Pat Knight seems to possess the demeanor to navigate any rough patches at Texas Tech, where he follows his famous father. But coming into a major D-One coaching job without any head coaching experience – particularly when you’re asked to carry on in the footsteps of a living legend – seems like it would leave you ill-suited to handle the pressure.
And1 The whole situation at Arizona this season has left me with a bad taste about a coach I’ve always admired. It was certainly fishy that Lute Olson took an indefinite leave of absence not long after bringing on Kevin O’Neill – who has plenty of head coaching experience – as an assistant. It got even more suspect when Olson later announced that he wouldn’t return during the 2007-2008, and was cryptic about the reasons why (it was later revealed that he was going through a divorce).
Now Olson is back, and announced that O’Neill will not return for the final year of his two-year contract, despite O’Neill’s very recent comments to the contrary. Olson’s private life is his own business and he certainly doesn’t owe the media or the general public anything (although as an employee of a state university, don’t the taxpayers pay his salary?), but I hope he’s been more forthcoming with his players during this whole ordeal. Those kids have trusted their futures to him, and deserve more than what he’s given the rest of us.
