The last three men's basketball head coaching hires made by Indiana University have been decided amidst uniquely imperfect and flawed circumstances. As the university and its premier athletics program embark on the post-Tom Crean era, the program is better positioned to make a sound, if not splashy, coaching hire than it has been in decades.
Admittedly-unprepared assistant coach Mike Davis had the unenviable job of replacing legendary coach Bob Knight after Knight was fired in 2000. Then, Davis resigned during the 2005-06 season and IU hired Kelvin Sampson from Oklahoma, where he had made countless impermissible calls to recruits. Like Davis, but under completely different circumstances stemming from NCAA violations, Sampson was forced to resign from his position Indiana before the end of the season in 2008, leaving Dan Dakich as the interim coach. Sampson was handed a five-year show-cause penalty while Indiana received a three-year probation in addition to self-imposed sanctions. Then, enter Tom Crean.
While firing a head coach is never easy for any of the parties involved, Crean leaves Indiana in great position to take the next step forward under the direction of the right head coach. It was as clean of a break as it could have been under such circumstances and Indiana has positioned itself as the best job opening in college basketball this offseason.
The program doesn't have any NCAA violations or APR issues hanging over its head, unlike the beginning of Crean's tenure. Crean also had to build his roster from scratch during his first season in Bloomington. That won't be the case next season.
While there's almost certainly roster changes on the horizon, whether it's Thomas Bryant and/or OG Anunoby declaring for the NBA draft, underclassmen transferring or any of the team's rising seniors choosing to graduate this spring and play elsewhere next season, the next coach will not have a team completely devoid of talent. Josh Newkirk will be a fifth-year senior point guard. Rising junior Juwan Morgan, assuming he stays at Indiana, is a capable two-way starter willing to do the dirty work down low. Freshmen Devonte Green and De'Ron Davis both showed promising flashes this season of bright futures ahead of them.
Indiana is just one season removed from a Big Ten regular season title and Sweet 16 appearance, so while the Hoosiers haven't made a Final Four in 15 years or won a national championship in three decades, the program has a solid foundation from which to build.
Indiana University Director of Athletics Fred Glass is the clear point man in the school's coaching search and his apparent sole decision-making voice could prove to be invaluable considering the vociferous factions that have developed as different segments of fans and donors identify various candidates for the job. IU is also using the search firm Parker Executive Search, which can be helpful in vetting candidates and creating a layer of plausible deniability during negotiations.
A bad hire this offseason could prevent Indiana from reaching its goals of Big Ten championships and deep tournament runs in the near future. Glass has announced the program's expectations loud and clear. For the sake of his reputation, as well as that of the program, the school and the fan base, Indiana can't botch this coaching search process.
Luckily for Indiana, it has as strong of a foundation and infrastructure to make such a decision as it has had in decades.
Admittedly-unprepared assistant coach Mike Davis had the unenviable job of replacing legendary coach Bob Knight after Knight was fired in 2000. Then, Davis resigned during the 2005-06 season and IU hired Kelvin Sampson from Oklahoma, where he had made countless impermissible calls to recruits. Like Davis, but under completely different circumstances stemming from NCAA violations, Sampson was forced to resign from his position Indiana before the end of the season in 2008, leaving Dan Dakich as the interim coach. Sampson was handed a five-year show-cause penalty while Indiana received a three-year probation in addition to self-imposed sanctions. Then, enter Tom Crean.
While firing a head coach is never easy for any of the parties involved, Crean leaves Indiana in great position to take the next step forward under the direction of the right head coach. It was as clean of a break as it could have been under such circumstances and Indiana has positioned itself as the best job opening in college basketball this offseason.
The program doesn't have any NCAA violations or APR issues hanging over its head, unlike the beginning of Crean's tenure. Crean also had to build his roster from scratch during his first season in Bloomington. That won't be the case next season.
While there's almost certainly roster changes on the horizon, whether it's Thomas Bryant and/or OG Anunoby declaring for the NBA draft, underclassmen transferring or any of the team's rising seniors choosing to graduate this spring and play elsewhere next season, the next coach will not have a team completely devoid of talent. Josh Newkirk will be a fifth-year senior point guard. Rising junior Juwan Morgan, assuming he stays at Indiana, is a capable two-way starter willing to do the dirty work down low. Freshmen Devonte Green and De'Ron Davis both showed promising flashes this season of bright futures ahead of them.
Indiana is just one season removed from a Big Ten regular season title and Sweet 16 appearance, so while the Hoosiers haven't made a Final Four in 15 years or won a national championship in three decades, the program has a solid foundation from which to build.
Indiana University Director of Athletics Fred Glass is the clear point man in the school's coaching search and his apparent sole decision-making voice could prove to be invaluable considering the vociferous factions that have developed as different segments of fans and donors identify various candidates for the job. IU is also using the search firm Parker Executive Search, which can be helpful in vetting candidates and creating a layer of plausible deniability during negotiations.
A bad hire this offseason could prevent Indiana from reaching its goals of Big Ten championships and deep tournament runs in the near future. Glass has announced the program's expectations loud and clear. For the sake of his reputation, as well as that of the program, the school and the fan base, Indiana can't botch this coaching search process.
Luckily for Indiana, it has as strong of a foundation and infrastructure to make such a decision as it has had in decades.