UCLA coach Steve Alford says he’s not focused on openings

“He’s done a lot of great things, and he’s stuck with the program through some hard times”.

Getting rid of Crean one year removed from a Big Ten title feels like a quick hook.

The day after Indiana’s season ending loss went without any news from the school on a vote of confidence nor a a decision for change in its men’s basketball program.

On the same day that IN coach Tom Crean was sacked, Alford, the UCLA coach and former Hoosiers star wouldn’t address whether he might be a candidate for the job, evading directly answering whether he would take a call from his former school when the season ended.

The beginning was as ideal as going 6-25, 10-21 and 12-20 can be.

Crean replaced Kelvin Sampson in 2008 with the program in the midst of an NCAA scandal.

Crean’s recent stretch also looks pretty good when compared to his Big Ten coaching brethren. Ultimately, Crean’s 166-135 record at IN wasn’t enough. 1 and 2 teams in the country, taking down Kentucky on Christian Watford’s unforgettable buzzer-beater and Ohio State. He took UCLA to two Sweet 16s in his first two seasons, and he has a national championship-caliber team headed into the NCAA tournament this year. From 2012 to 2016, IN won two Big 10 titles outright and advanced to three Sweet 16s.

Izzo brought Crean back to Michigan State in 1995 to be a part of his first coaching staff with the Spartans and, together, the two partnered to build what would eventually become MSU’s 2000 national title team. Beyond that, consistently contend for those championships and make Final Fours.

Basically, Crean is responsible for the best run IN has had IN the last 25 years, and they just fired him. IN methodically pecked its way back into the game and tied it 24-24 on Blackmon’s layup. After nine long, often arduous seasons, it was time to move on. In 2013, they went 29-7 and were a No. seed, but they lost in the Sweet 16. IN fell apart and finished 18-16, including a home loss to Nebraska and a one-and-done showing in the NIT.

Crean’s teams won two Big Ten titles in his nine years at IU. The 6-foot-6 senior hit back-to-back 3-pointers, then added a jumper on the following possession to stake the Illini to a 10-4 lead with 16:52 remaining in the first half. And things got off to a promising start, as the Hoosiers knocked off Kansas and North Carolina in the non-conference and ascended as high as No. 3 in the polls. Injury-riddled IN was perhaps college basketball’s biggest disappointment this season, finishing at 18-16 after a first-round loss Tuesday night IN the NIT.

There are fair excuses for most of Crean’s shortcomings, with the apparent lack of an effective gameplan against Syracuse being unexplainable.

“Ultimately, we seek more consistent, high levels of success, and we will not shy away from our expectations”, Glass said.

Crean is still capable of being a successful coach at a good job, as was the case at Marquette. The lows were lower than the highs were high. Down the road, however, Crean should be remembered for the success coming more frequently than the disappointments.

Just as March Madness was tipping off.IN chose to launch another type of March Madness.