Listen to audio of Tom Crean’s appearance from earlier this afternoon on The Dan Dakich Show (via 1070 The Fan) in the embedded media player below:
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(Photo credit: IUHoosiers.com)
+ Former Indiana interim and assistant coach Dan Dakich discussed the Gary Harris recruitment during a couple of segments of his radio show on 1070 the Fan this afternoon. While Dakich initially said he wasn’t ready to make a prediction on Harris’ destination just yet, he later added that Harris would “probably” pick Indiana. The reason? Indiana is making it difficult for kids to say no. Dakich cited Indiana’s recent success on the recruiting trail as a big reason that it could be tough for Harris and his family to say no to the Hoosiers.
+ ESPN announced networks and times for the 13th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Indiana at NC State will tip at 7:15 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, Nov. 30 on ESPN2.
+ The NCAA Division I Leadership Council has come to a consensus on five potential recruiting rules changes according to this release. Eamonn Brennan has a solid breakdown on what the changes could mean over at ESPN, but here’s a quick look at the five changes according to the NCAA’s release:
- A start date for official visits beginning after the men’s basketball championship in April of the junior year.
- Deregulating the type of communication between coaches and prospects (including text messaging and other forms of electronic communication).
- Allowing unlimited communication after Aug. 1 before the junior year in high school.
- Permitting evaluations at certified nonscholastic events on two weekends in April, with some restrictions.
- Permitting some contact at a prospect’s educational institution in conjunction with an evaluation, with some restrictions and requirements.
+ Jarred Reuter, who picked up an offer from Indiana earlier this summer, will transfer and is re-classifying to 2015 according to his father, Rob.
+ If you missed it, Luke Winn of SI.com took an in-depth look at the transfer behaviors of top 100 recruits and how it relates to de-commitments. The interesting conclusion: “A player who attended multiple high schools was almost twice as likely to decommit from a college than was a single-HS recruit.”
If you’re not following us on Twitter, you might have missed the link I tossed out last night to a podcast of Don Fischer’s weekly appearance on The Dan Dakich Show.
This segment is a must-listen each week for IU fans as Fischer and Dakich offer candid analysis. A lot of interesting stuff, but nothing more so than the following:
Dakich: This is the wrong thing to say, OK, but this is what real coaching is. When the season’s over, there’s gonna have to be a couple of these guys make a decision on whether or not they want to stay here. And there might actually be a couple of them that the decision’s going to be made for ‘em. There’s too much fragility, mentally, among some of these guys and you know what? Some of them aren’t freshmen. There’s not freshmen and at some point, you know what, hey, we’re paying about about 30 grand a year to come here and do this and if everything’s so fragile, maybe the MAC’s for you, not the big time.
Fischer: (Laughs)
Dakich: I mean, truthfully.
Fischer: (Laughs) No, the reason I’m laughing Dak is because now I don’t have to say it.
Dakich: Well, it’s true. (Laughs) Hey, every game, big life, big stage, Big Ten, right?
Fischer: That’s right. (Laughs)
Dakich: It’s a big stage, Indiana basketball.
Fischer: That’s exactly right and the frustration level is at probably an all-time high in the sense of how this coach and his staff are looking at it right now, I can tell you that.
Dakich: The problem is, nowadays, then the guy goes to the paper: “well, Crean kicked me off.” Yeah, well, tough.
According to a report by Rick Bozich of The Louisville-Courier Journal, former Indiana interim coach Dan Dakich is joining ESPN as a television analyst.
Dakich currently hosts The Dan Dakich Show on ESPN 1070 in Indianapolis (and it’s expected that he’ll continue this job), played at Indiana from 1981-1985 and served as an assistant coach under Bob Knight for 12 seasons.
Although Dakich’s role hasn’t been formally announced, speculation is that he’ll work Big Ten games and also do some work in the studio:
My people at ESPN say that his role has not yet been defined, but I’d expect to see Dakich work some Big Ten games because he knows the league well. There is an opening there with Steve Lavin leaving to coach St. John’s. I would expect he will also work in the studio.
Like the move for Dan and for ESPN. He did a stellar job in the studio last year for the Big Ten Network and is an avid supporter of our efforts here at Inside the Hall. It won’t be easy to fill Lavin’s shoes (if that’s indeed the spot he’s taking), but Dakich will certainly add a great deal of knowledge and insight to ESPN broadcasts.
For no reason in particular, there is an old Lincoln quote rolling around in my head today (Abraham, not continental). It comes from a message to Congress that was a precursor to the Emancipation Proclamation, when Lincoln penned the words “the dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present.”
Now, I’m still not entirely sure what that means, but it’s been rolling around in my head for the last few hours, so I just thought I’d get it out there.
Like most (if not all) of you, I watched at least some portion of the sound beating IU took at Wisconsin on Saturday. I was unable to watch from stem to stern, but I got the gist — not enough offense, not enough defense, not enough points, not enough hustle, not enough of anything for anyone to really find positives in anything but the final buzzer and those brief moments when it slipped from your mind that there was a game yesterday at all.
Now, it’s been suggested, in this space and in others, that I, specifically, am too easy on Tom Crean, too forgiving of the Hoosiers’ plethora of shortcomings as this season slowly turns the way of last.
But the truth is, folks, I understand. I really do. I understand how hard it is to watch this team play, and struggle as it does. There’s a standard Indiana fans expect, and it’s not being met.
And I know that for many of you, that standard isn’t measured solely with banners or wins-per-season averages, but simply with hard work, teamwork and commitment. The majority of you have (at least, I think you have) bought into what Tom Crean is selling — the rebuilding, baby steps approach that celebrates every move forward this team makes, and forgives most of its regressions.
But water will always boil when succumbing to intense heat, and so fans will become displeased when they see performances like the last three IU has managed. I’ve seen part or all of Northwestern, Ohio State and Wisconsin, and this time, I’ll agree with you, Hoosier Nation, your complaints are valid.
Indiana all-stars and IU signees Jordan Hulls and Derek Elston appeared on the Dan Dakich show on 1070 The Fan Tuesday afternoon. You can listen to the audio at the links below:
