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Uh oh.
The prodigal son returns to the Big Ten. This is, to me, an absolutely brilliant hiring. Crean has the Big Ten pedigree, a very good track record so far as a head coach (Final Four), has coached top notch talent (Dwayne Wade), and is basically a death stare from them in our direction, saying "We've got your man." Recall that Izzo expressed disappointment last season about having to play Marquette in the opening round of the NCAA tournament because of his close ties to Crean. Guess what Tom . . . essentially twice per year minimum from now on and possibly three. I firmly believe that this may have instantly become the best rivalry in the Big Ten.
And may I just say . . . look at the head coaching talent in this conference now. By God this is something that should not be overlooked.
Established Studs
Tom Izzo (1 NCAA Championship, 4 Final 4's, 1 Elite 8, and 2 Sweet 16's)
Tubby Smith (1 NCAA Championship, 3 Elite 8's, and 5 Sweet 16's)
Thad Matta (1 NCAA Runner-Up and 1 Elite 8)
Bruce Weber (1 NCAA Runner-Up)
Bo Ryan (1 Elite 8, 2 Sweet 16's, and 4 Division 3 championships)
Tom Crean (1 Final 4)
Up-and-Coming
Matt Painter
Todd Lickliter
John Beilein
Also-Rans
Sorry, but Carmody and DeChellis have done nothing and, while I sympathize with Dechellis' loss of Claxton this year, really are not anything but dead weight in the Big Ten coaching ranks.
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