MVN: Most Valuable Network

#1

Posted by <img src="http://www.blogger.c, April 1, 2008 7:00 PM

yeah... good luck with that, lol.espnews: rick majerus to marquette

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#2

Posted by <img src="http://www.blogge, April 1, 2008 8:46 PM

Early grades on both -- Crean a done deal; majerus a rumor.Crean/IU -- B. Good guy, runs clean program, can recruit a player or two, has trouble recruiting depth. Not sure how he'll do in Indiana. Give Painter the edge there. Thankfully a weak Weber leaves Chicago area open still to Crean and Bo Ryan and others. Negatives: Not greatest Xs and Os guy. Not great in-game adjustment guy (Stanford game most recent exhibit). He can't be Ryan/Wisconsin (this year was an exception) or Izzo/Michigan State. Not sure why he's running from better conference to weaker Big Ten.Overall: Just nothing special about Crean. Solid guy. Will keep IU in top 4 of Big Ten, with an occasional title. Won't make a run at national title, which won't sit well with IU fans. Ultimately -- puts IU in pickle long-term. Unlike predecessors, they'll have no good reason to get rid of him but will be frustrated by his inability to take them to Final Fours and hang banners.IU -- Think there were better candidates out there. Namely, should have spent the money to get Xavier coach. Butler coach would have been risky but paid off long-term. Crean will only take them so far and that won't be good enough for IU fans.Marquette -- D- : Bad loss. Thankfully, they're in Big East now instead of CUSA, so there's some attraction to job. Getting Crean at time was a huge steal because of their conference and recent track record. Tough place to recruit to. Shouldn't have let Crean go, but know they were pumping lots of money into him so probably wasn't much they could do -- he was set on going. As always, better to have someone who wants to be there and still has the fire. Majerus rumor -- A if inaccurate; F if accurate: Hard to believe (but do believe Majerus is the one pushing the rumor as Big East would feed his ego, which is only thing bigger than his gut.) Would be HUGE mistake for Marquette. Majerus is done; old news and old school. His tactics simply won't work anymore on today's college kids. Read SI story on his Utah days -- and talk to those from his first go-around at Marquette -- for proof. Let him dither at St. Louis. That's where he belongs; mid-major school where he can get true believers (rather than skilled atheletes) and turn them into an occasional winner and NCAA tourney team. If they want blast from past, they're better off getting Kevin O'Neal who got canned by the ever-loyal Lute today. Oh yeah, O'Neal vowed never to step on MU campus again.MU: Should go get Butler coach. Quick. Don't have the cash to buy out Xavier coach, but maybe they can get a Jesuit discount. Otherwise, they're going to have to hunt for the hot assistant coach/recruiter in Big East who's ready to move up. Sleeper pick: Bruce Weber at Illinois. Clearly that relationship is nearing a mutual end. Weber is from Milwaukee and clearly has Chicago ties for recruiting. Allows Weber and Ill to part amicably. Saves some face for MU by getting Final Four coach (though not with his players) from reputable hoops school.Overall: Bad day for MU. Set back several years, if not longer, depending on who they hire.Bad for Wis-MU rivalry. MU finally agrees to play UWM -- UWM will win that game next year or year after.

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