re: Possible coaching candidates

IMHO CBB has someone on speed dial who understands what this hire means. Auburn is on the upswing,and that means it will help their total program.
We don't need a safe hire. We need a swing for the fence hire. And while that doesn't automatically guarantee success it shows that the AD is doing all he can.
And as many say, we have to get behind whomever we hire. At least give him the support he needs to have a chance for success.
There is a coach out there who will come to Bama and make our basketball team relevant again. Here's to finding him.

What is your source or reasoning? You have 11 posts and most of them are claiming Crean to Bama. Not saying you're wrong just curious. Can't blame me for not taking what you say as fact.

The rumor has been out there for weeks, even before Grant was fired. I thought it was just some crazy rumor floating around. Then you hear Crean is on the hot seat at IU and they are ready to fire him but he gets a gift from the committee in the form of a ticket to The Dance so they can't let him go just yet. Then Grant gets canned when, by all indications, he was getting another year. Meanwhile, there's the incident with Crean being heckled at his kid's game and his radio show last night where he practically said goodbye on the air. I think Crean is pushing for the job hard from the other side because he wants out of Bloomongton at all costs and the Bama job is probably the best out there from a dollar standpoint at the moment. And the cherry on top of the sundae? Tom Crean is represented by CAA Sports, which happens to be the firm that employs Jimmy Sexton. With Sexton's clout in Tuscaloosa, you don't think he could make a call to Battle to solve his problem of needing a basketball coach?

This is not my favorite candidate by far but all the pieces of the puzzle fit together nicely. It will be spun as Bama poaching IU's basketball coach, what a coup! When in reality, it's Crean getting the hell out of Dodge while he can and Bama being a very convenient and lucrative landing spot. I would go in a different direction but I hope that if I'm right, he can be successful at Bama. We need him to be.

As far as Prohm goes, I'm starting to get a little irritated at continually hearing his name bandied about for this job as some slam dunk guy. That was Grant's description too and how'd that work out for us? Just what exactly has Steve Prohm done in his oh so brief career? Well, he has ties to Bama and God knows we are addicted to the good ole boy method like a crackhead. And he's had a good record at Murray State. Well he should have as they are the 800 LB gorilla in that league. And he has one tourney appearance in 4 years. Yep, and three upset losses in the OVC tourney to knock him out of the tourney the other three years. And the one appearance was in his first year...with the previous coach's roster. All that adds up to me to a disaster in the making if we hire this guy. At a time when we can ill afford to mess this up. He should be on the bottom of the list in the "if desperate, call" category, not at the top.

I'm sure most of you have read this. But, I like this part:

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Grant had lost the fan base. To win it back, to reignite the program's pilot light, Battle has a plan. According to people close to the program, it's an ambitious plan. It's go big or go home. Find a coach who's won and won big, a coach who's proven himself over time, a coach whose name will resonate with casual fans as well as roundball junkies. Don't let the naysayers tell you this coach is out of your league or your price range or that coach wants no part of a basketball program at a football school.

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Coaching Search

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I'm sure most of you have read this. But, I like this part:

quote:
Grant had lost the fan base. To win it back, to reignite the program's pilot light, Battle has a plan. According to people close to the program, it's an ambitious plan. It's go big or go home. Find a coach who's won and won big, a coach who's proven himself over time, a coach whose name will resonate with casual fans as well as roundball junkies. Don't let the naysayers tell you this coach is out of your league or your price range or that coach wants no part of a basketball program at a football school.

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That sure sounds promising...let's hope he follows it through.

You think Izzo is pushing Crean to Alabama?

From Crean's Wiki page (I know wiki is a joke, but anyway):

Izzo and Crean became such good friends that Crean lived in Izzo's house and Izzo was an usher in Crean's wedding. According to Crean at the time,

And also this from Izzo:

"Am I a little frustrated with it? Yeah, I am. Do I think he's a hell of a coach? Yes, I do. Do I think he's got to make adjustments just like I do and everybody else? Probably," Izzo said. "But I'm telling you the guy can coach, the guy can recruit, and he built my program [Crean was a Michigan State assistant from 1995-99 then left to become the head coach at Marquette]. He helped me build my program. My program wouldn't be as good as it is if it wasn't for Tom Crean. I mean that. I really do."


LINK

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and his offenses can be fun to watch.

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This is number two on my wishlist behind winning.

My top 4:

1. Howland or Miller; Howland is the veteran coach that could assemble a top staff and help our guys develop into better ball players. He is a defense-first coach (not sure if that's a + or -) and should have our guys playing a tougher brand of basketball. Miller could promote the program, develop our shooters and due to his age and enthusiasm should be an excellent recruiter.
3. Marshall; another slam dunk hire that I see as a mix of Howland and Miller, but perhaps less likely to come. He has a good thing going in Wichita and is probably a bit more rooted to that area for now.
4. Crean; I'm warming up to him. Never been a big fan of the way his teams play, but he does have an impressive resume and has had some success recruiting the south.

I'm not sure that any other hire would generate much excitement/optimism from me, unless Battle hires somebody that I thought was out of our reach. As mentioned above I am also concerned with the staff the new coach will bring in. Assistants aren't discussed as frequently in basketball, but they do a lot behind the scenes to develop the players. Would be nice to throw some money at TR to convince him to come back as an assistant.

@CecilHurt: For all the buzz, I haven't heard anyone official at Alabama mention Tom Crean.

@SethDavisHoops: FWIW I spoke w someone close to Tom Crean. Says there's zero truth to rumor he is pursuing Alabama vacancy. Bama has not reached out either.