So the mystery about the firing of Indiana basketball assistant coach Roshown McLeod remains.
Is there a reason to worry?
It’s too early to tell.
All we know for sure is that coach Tom Crean jettisoned McLeod just a few days before the start of the Big Ten tourney. More than likely, the Hoosiers’ season will end by the weekend. Their 10-20 record does not suggest a conference tourney title, and the automatic bid to the NCAA tourney, is imminent.
So what was so crucial that McLeod had to go now?
Crean kept things vague when discussing it during the Big Ten coaches’ teleconference.
“You can’t focus on timing,” Crean said. “You focus on what the right decision is. That’s the way that it is. That’s the decision I made. It’s all about moving the program forward. It’s about putting the program first. That’s the focus I’m going to have. Now we just do the things we need to do to continue to get better in the short term and work to improve in the long term. That’s the extent of it right now.”
Crean didn’t provide any more details on Monday night’s radio show. Basically, he said he needed to make a change, that he wasn’t going to be indecisive, that the decision had been made and that it was time to focus on the team and recruiting.
McLeod’s major roles were working with the big men and recruiting in the South and the East Coast. He had not excelled in either area.
“The bottom line with any decision is to do everything to put the program first,” Crean said. “This will help the program move forward as we get ready to compete this week.”
Maybe it was philosophical differences. Maybe McLeod wasn’t a good fit. Or, maybe, it was something to worry about.
For now, we’re once against left with spring intrigue.
When it comes to IU basketball, it seems, some things never change.
Instead of labeling it as "spring intrigue", you should label it as "none of our business."
ReplyDeleteAnd what is the final sentence about, "some things never change."?
ReplyDeleteFor how many weeks has Crean said the 'Bigs' aren't getting the job done and changes will be made?! Hence...a change has been made. And the recruiting has left a bit to be desired for the '11 & '12 verbals. If we can get the LOI's from Carlino and Etherington, with the addition of other solid students/talent, we'll be making progress.
ReplyDeleteMany have been hoping that Creen would get rid of this coach, he hasn't lived up to expectations. Now let us hope his replacement is very good at what he is asked to do.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good thing, congratulations to Coach Crean for making this difficult decision. It's never easy to fire someone. Looks like the team did ok on Saturday without Mcleod and we all know the problems with big man development and east coast recruiting.
ReplyDelete