Griffiths: Indiana coach Tom Crean classless in victory
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Assistant Editor
You win with class. You lose with class.
Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?
Apparently IU’s Tom Crean didn’t learn that, or at the very least, he forgot one of sport’s most important lessons.
Instead of loving every second of his team’s 72-71 thrilling victory over Michigan Sunday, Crean thought it was necessary to give Michigan assistant coach Jeff Meyer a piece of his mind immediately following the game’s conclusion.
“You know what you did; you helped wreck our program,” shouted Crean at Meyer. Here is ESPN video of the incident:
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Then, as Hoosier assistant coach Tim Buckley pulled him away, Crean had the kind of smirk on his face that suggests he put Meyer in his place.
In fact, all Crean’s little outburst did was take away from what should have been a joyous moment – certainly the crowning achievement thus far for the IU program under his watch. Instead of the media talking about the Hoosiers capturing their first outright Big Ten championship since 1993, they’re talking about the incident involving Crean.
That’s too bad. Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo, Jordan Hulls and all the IU players deserve much more than that from their head coach. They warrant all the accolades from such an achievement that four years ago would’ve been thought to have been next to impossible.
Instead as they prepare to defend their Big Ten regular-season championship in the conference’s annual postseason event this weekend in Chicago, they have to hear about the Kelvin Sampson past that turned the school’s tradition-rich program into a cesspool during his brief two-year stay.
Crean did his best damage control this morning during the Big Ten teleconference. He informed the media that he called Meyer prior to the Hoosiers departing Ann Arbor.
“We talked about some things, and I apologized,” Crean said. “In retrospect, I wish I would have never addressed anything in the heat of the battle.”
Coach, you don’t need to address the subject ever. By now everyone knows what Sampson did to the IU program and the mess you inherited.
If anything, Crean should be somewhat thankful how things turned out. Would he have gotten the IU coaching job if Sampson ran a clean program in Bloomington? No!
Remember, Sampson was a pretty popular figure at IU before the truth was discovered. He led the Hoosiers to back-to-back 20-win seasons, a 21-8 mark in the Big Ten, and got Eric Gordon to change his mind and de-commit from Illinois. IU fans applauded that recruiting coup.
Back then, Hoosier fans were fine with kicking Mike Davis to the curb and taking the win-at-all-cost mentality that came with Sampson.
If Crean wants to go off on somebody, it should be Sampson, not Meyer.
It was Sampson’s cheating that led to IU getting hit with “major” recruiting violations and Sampson getting banned from the NCAA for five years. Illegal phone calls were the crux of the issue the governing body had with Sampson, but players not going to class, players flunking lots of classes and drug use were common occurrences with Sampson in charge.
Although the NCAA threw the book at Sampson, Meyer’s violations were deemed as “secondary” and he was not punished.
Meyer even apologized for the role he had in the mess even though by the letter of the law, Sampson was his boss.
“I have from day one acknowledged the mistakes I made, and I’ve taken personal responsibility for the wrongdoing,” said Meyer during IU’s 2008 infractions hearing in Seattle. “I apologize to Indiana University for my involvement in the matter, however limited.”
Maybe Crean was unaware of Meyer’s public apology or maybe he forgot about it.
Who knows what prompted him to act like the fool he did as his team celebrated.
Michigan coach John Beilein wasn’t willing to talk about the incident today. He did commend Meyer for keeping his poise.
“I am not going to comment on another coach and another university,” Beilein said. “I will say Michigan will always win with class and lose with class.”
Crean better be careful, because he’s quickly getting a reputation for not being classy in victory or defeat.
Don’t forget, Crean seems to be the master of the blow-by handshake. He celebrates like a fan when his team wins, but barely gives the opposing coach the time of day in the traditional handshake after losing.
Crean has also stirred the pot with some of his comments on Twitter (i.e. earlier this season when he was upset about the Big Ten’s player-of-the-week honor). We already know that Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan isn’t too fond of Crean. After yesterday’s incident, you know Beilein can’t be too big a fan of Crean either.
You have to wonder if Crean wants to get the kind of reputation he seems to be shaping. Maybe he doesn’t care, but he should. What Crean needs to do is take a page out of Beilein’s book. Remember coach, you win with class and you lose with class.
