Background: Former Indiana coach Tom Crean works as an ESPN analyst. "Crean won two conference titles during his nine seasons with the (Indiana) program, posting a 166-135 record while bringing the Hoosiers back from crippling NCAA sanctions".
Philosophy: Get better. This is detailed in a program manifesto.
"Mistakes such as misspelling of names is unforgivable."
Application: summarized in the next section...
1. From PickandPop.net
"As a head coach, you can’t allow yourself to get away from getting your team better every single day."
"Most important part of cutting: finishing your cut."
"Your first step is only as good/quick as your ability to push the dribble out."
"Get away from the ball ("give it room to breathe")."
"Put big giant traffic cones in the corners so your players can visually see a target there."
2. From MensBasketballHoopScoop via CoachingULive 2013
"Your 1st dribble is your scoring dribble - don’t waste it."
"On your 1st dribble your eyes must be up in order to read the defenders as well as your teammates actions."
"Don’t dribble - Drive the ball."
Video: All of us need competence in many areas, like X's and O's. But Crean shares what separates excellence from good.
Words: Academics, competitiveness, detail, energy, focus, fundamentals, intensity, love the game, passion, respect, work. "What is your brand?" "You have to figure out what matters." Coach Saban would say, "clear the clutter."
This is old shell drill, post defense video. Watching the first couple of minutes sets the tone. He may have modified his philosophy with the evolution of perimeter shooting dominance. But he emphasizes communication. Yesterday, I reminded my players at halftime that talk "energizes, engages, and intimidates."
Excellent players want to be coached hard. "When we realize what we don't know, that's when we get better."
Tom Crean summarizes as a outstanding communicator, ethical, detail-oriented, focused on doing the right thing. After a tough start cleaning up IU, he succeeded in a tough conference at a university demanding more than success.