Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke
LUconn wrote:Did you see Crean's face? He was definately just trying play himself up. IU fans probably ate it up. Not that he needed to do that for them to worship him but I definitely think that was some artificial drama to pile on to him being an IU defender and savior. Kinda lame.I agree he was playing for the cameras and it was sort of off putting. I mean that whole Oladipo thing could be done in the locker room. Although that kid is a stud and I believe one of our more astute posters pointed that out early in the year and was ridiculed for it.....
"When I got there, the vision was to kind of be the Brigham Young of evangelical higher education; to compete at the highest level. We were fortunate to have success early, build a foundation of trust on campus. We moved through the ranks, continued that and grew with it. It was a great place for our family."
And a great era for Liberty basketball. Meyer's 1995-96 second place Big South team preceded a 23-9, first place team in 1996-97, one that was selling out to 6,000 fans and seemingly primed for future success. He became the school's all time winningest coach, earned Virginia SID coach of the year honors after leading the school to the biggest turnaround in NCAA history (from 5-23 in 1990-91 to 22-7 a year later, the program's first season in the Big South) and had become a fixture in the community.
Meyer left no stone unturned on the recruiting trail, traveling to Nigeria to land future first team all-conference selection Julius Nwosu and later Peter Aluma, who became the school's all-time leading shot blocker and later played professionally.
"We had it going," Meyer said. "But it's happened to a lot of coaches, and it happens at a lot of places - the bottom line, in my first meeting with the President and new athletic director (in 1997), it was really evident to me they had a plan for the future. I was not going to be part of that for whatever reason.
"When it happens to you, as wrong as you think the process is, you think it's the worst thing in the world that can happen. As I look back on it, it's the best thing that could have happened for my family and me - I look at it that way. You turn life's negatives into positives and move forward. That's what we've tried to do, try to take the high road the whole time and not be vindictive or resentful in that whole transition process."
That's a great story man. What a great article too. Jeff's career has been a blessing to him and his family. ballcoach15 wrote:Crean, Cream or whatever his name is should be suspended by the NCAA for his actions. It's time the NCAA started cracking down on dirtbag coaches.I might agree with that if Crean hadn't already handled it and quickly. He called Meyer before he got on the team plane back to IU, before this became an 'issue' and I'm not sure what else he can do.
flameshaw wrote: It is not hard to find a good person to coach. The trick is to find a great person who can win as a coach.I don't agree with the first sentence, but I understand what you're trying to say.
NotAJerry wrote:Interesting. Meyer was moved out at LU after half the team got kicked out for an incident at Lynchburg College. Since then he's been on two very dirty coaching staffs at Mizzouri (Snyder) and Indiana (Sampson), both of which got sanctioned for recruiting violations. It seems he's either very unlucky or he's at least a part of the problem in each of those situations.
Why would someone with that history be welcomed back?
SCAR wrote:As for the Liberty situation, Meyer was not fired. He was given sort of an ultimatum that he needed to win the Big South championship as we had just lost the last 2 tournament finals. He felt that he couldn't do it with the core of his team being dismissed for disciplinary reasons so he resigned with pay and was given a position as Assistant to the Chancelor which was basically a job in name to keep him on salary. He used that time to find another position which he did as an assistant with Gregg Marshall at Winthrop where he won 3 straight Big South Championships before going to Butler and getting them to the Sweet 16.
JK37 wrote:I'm not dismissing what he did because it was inexcusable. What was good was that before it blew up and became an issue he apologized. Normally, people wait UNTIL it is an issue then apologize. I thought it was great he handled his blunder that way. And would expect nothing less than complete class from Meyer.flameshaw wrote: It is not hard to find a good person to coach. The trick is to find a great person who can win as a coach.I don't agree with the first sentence, but I understand what you're trying to say.
The pressures and demands of the industry change far too many good people. It's sad to watch. But it doesn't justify behavior of this nature. Crean acted like an idiot. Sadly, too many IU fans are proud of him.
PH, I think your IU glasses may be shading your perception here. Crean had a choice before he acted. He looks borderline psychotic walking away from it, like the whole thing was planned. I know Coach Meyer to be a man of integrity, and the example he set not only be walking away but also by even accepting Crean's call and apology is something I'm not sure I could do in that moment.
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