Tom Crean Radio Show Recap

This evening, Tom Crean held his first radio show of the 2014-15 Indiana basketball season, and he had much to discuss. The show began with a discussion of Devin Davis's condition. Crean sounded very emotional and choked up as he discussed Davis, who he said was having an "up-and-down day." He discussed the emotions of dealing with Davis, along with breaking the news to his family. In addition, Crean discussed being at the hospital with Davis, and the good feeling of accomplishing milestones getting his voice, memory, and steps back. Obviously, there's still a long road of recovery ahead for Davis, but Crean's words were encouraging, and like anyone would in his situation, he seems shaken up about the incident.

In the next segment, Crean discussed the suspensions for players on the team. We had learned immediately prior to the radio show that sophomores Stan Robinson and Troy Williams would be suspended for failing drug tests. During the show, Crean made it official. While he did not specifically mention the words " failed drug tests," he said that Stan and Troy had made poor decisions over the summer, and as a result, they would be suspended for the first four games. Prior to this, Crean had discussed "a couple of poor choices" that Emmitt Holt had made while out with Davis, and specified that Holt would also be suspended for four games. What wasn't specified was whether these four games include the two exhibitions, or if it meant the first four games of the regular season. This matters, because the third regular season game for the Hoosiers is against SMU, who has been ranked 20^th in the preseason polls.

After another break, Crean talked a little about on-court stuff. He mentioned that Max Hoetzel had been dinged up in practice while trying to do a "tomahawk jam" on Hanner Mosquera-Perea, but didn't seem too concerned about the extent of the injury. He also stated that Jeremiah April was "making strides" on the court.

Then, the craziness really began as the phone lines were opened. After a show of support from the first caller, the next caller was from Tell City and had worked under athletic trainer Tim Garl. He asked Crean, "How do you respond to fans like me, that place blame on your shoulders?" (UPDATE: this was a legitimate caller, unlike the ones that followed.) Crean responded that his shoulders were fine, and that the caller was more than welcome to put the blame on him. Another called claimed to be from Park City, Utah, then asked a question different than what the screeners had anticipated. Host Don Fischer reprimanded the caller for lying about this, then went onto the next one. The next caller was even more cynical, and asked, "Why does Tom Crean still deserve his job?" The live audience at the show booed him, and Fischer admonished the caller and cut off questions shortly afterwards.

One thing I've wondered while writing quite a few of the IU football game recaps, especially after the unexpected loss to Bowling Green or Nate Sudfeld's injury against Iowa, is where the team goes from here. Unfortunately, this same question now applies to IU basketball, despite the first exhibition being only three days away and the regular season starting on November 14^th. These past three days have been tumultuous for Indiana basketball, and I have a feeling that the strife is not quite over in Bloomington.