Tom Crean bringing back the good ‘ole days

Written by Coach Peterman

I have coached at the NCAA Division 2 (Southwestern Oklahoma State University), NAIA (USAO), and JUCO Levels (Blinn College and Carl Albert State College) as well as high school. I just felt that fellow coaches especially young coaches need to constantly work on their “game”. Just like the basketball players that we coach. We as coaches need to improve ourselves. That is my story and why I do this blog.

July 30, 2012

Tom Crean has brought Indiana Hoosiers basketball back to the limelight, after being out of it for a while after Bob Knight left. Knight won three national championships during his long tenure at Indiana, and now Tom Cream is seeking to bring back that kind of glory to his team and school on the national stage. He may just be able to do it sometime in the near future, too. Without a doubt he’s one of the best college basketball coaches to emerge in the last few years, and we will be hearing more about him for years to come. He has won the admiration of his peers and of basketball experts throughout the country with the way he has improved his team and the famous wins he has been able to be a part of on the basketball court. The Indiana Hoosiers have been thrust back on the national stage by a coach who knows how to identify talent and how to get talented players to join his program. Once he found great players, he then put them together to create a team to be reckoned with and which made big waves with some well-publicized victories. If you want to improve yourself as a coach, you should watch and model what great coaches like this are doing, today.

To get into the mind of a coach like this, you should be on the lookout for some Tom Crean quotes. You can find him online and you will find many websites talking about him, today. He’s turned heads because he turned his basketball program around dramatically, but it was all intentional. Some people are expecting him to lead his basketball team to a national NCAA title challenge in the coming season. Whether that actually happens remains to be seen, but it’s sure to be an interesting season for Indiana Hoosiers fans. One of the main things that makes Tom Crean successful is his love and admiration for his own players. He can often be heard encouraging them publicly and helping to give them the confidence that they need to become better players and believe in themselves. This is a great coaching tactic and one that every coach should take to heart. The more you believe in your players, the better they will perform for you as your inspiration will rub off on them and make them want to impress you as well as prove your words right. Motivation and inspiration are two important qualities to emphasize in your own coaching, and you would be unwise to underestimate their power.

Tom Crean uses a strategy that helps his best players shine and makes it so his less skilled players have an advantage over more talented teams. What he does is put a lot of defensive pressure on other teams all the way up the floor. This wears down less conditioned teams and forces good players into making more mistakes. He also encourages his team to get down the floor fast and fast break as much as they can. Taking advantage of attacking opposing defenses in this way gives his team the advantage.

If you want to get a hold of Tom Crean plays just watch a game of the Indiana Hoosiers and see what they do. You will see the pressure and the up-tempo philosophy. Its one that has it’s clear advantages. Coaches like Tom Crean really should be modeled as much as possible. Teams that are always playing up-tempo naturally develop into better conditioned teams so that by the end of the game, they will have more energy than teams that aren’t used to playing at such a fast pace. It’s a clear upper hand that can deliver more wins to your team, if you choose to apply it. Depending on your personnel, you should strongly consider doing this with your team. Pressing and fast breaking can be a plan of action utilized by most coaches, and is most effective when done throughout the game, frequently.

To be the best you can be at coaching, modeling yourself after someone like Tom Crean is a start. He works hard and with great intensity. He appreciates his players and everyone involved who is supporting his program. He has a winning philosophy and even when his team wasn’t as skilled, he had them believing that if they just put in a couple years hard work, they will get to where they want to be in the end. If you want to be like Tom Crean and other successful coaches, take your coaching very seriously and never quit. Teach your players persistence and fill them with confidence so they can reach their true potential sooner rather than later. Guys like Tom Crean also never stop learning and know they still don’t know it all, even after tasting some awesome success.

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