Jim Crews Deserves Some Serious Appreciation

[Cowboy]

-I would love to know the exchange between Crews and MM on the bench in the last 2 minutes on Thursday

[DoctorB]

Yes, Roy: I consider getting kids to play "hard defense" a function of good coaching.

In addition; the game plan and the set-up against Clarke completely frustrated Butler. Yes, on that particular night -- Stevens got his you know what handed to him, coaching-wise.

Boy, when things go bad, it's all on the coach; when things go right it's about a couple kids choosing to play hard. Sort of like laying QB in the NFL. Give the coach a little credit.

How about this for a question; if we DO win A10, and/or make a Sweet Sixteen run, or even farther: then what do you do? fire the coach???

just wondering ....

[Westy03]

Yes, Roy: I consider getting kids to play "hard defense" a function of good coaching.

In addition; the game plan and the set-up against Clarke completely frustrated Butler. Yes, on that particular night -- Stevens got his you know what handed to him, coaching-wise.

Boy, when things go bad, it's all on the coach; when things go right it's about a couple kids choosing to play hard. Sort of like laying QB in the NFL. Give the coach a little credit.

How about this for a question; if we DO win A10, and/or make a Sweet Sixteen run, or even farther: then what do you do? fire the coach???

just wondering ....

This would be a nice problem to have. If this happens I think you would have to hire him

[JMM28]

The question you have to ask : Is Jim Crews a coach that can lead you to a national championship?

History would say no. I don't know if he has the recruiting chops. I could see him as a lead assistant on a nation title team. I just don't think he has the pizazz needed for a head coach.

[MB73]

I cannot understand how some of you are thinking. It is so clear, again:

1. If we get in the C7+, then cha-ching, we will be in a much better conference and circumstances than the A-10, TV revenue, etc, and will need a strong new coach and will be able to attract one, a lot of very good coaches will be interested in SLU. It will be national media news, speculation about the hot SLU job.
2. On the other hand, if we do not get in the C7+, then the A-10 minus X-B-D & Temple will be a disaster, and we will spend years & years trying to find somewhere decent, and it is unlikely we will find a conference as attractive as the C7+, so Crews (if he wants it) will be as good as it gets.

In the meantime, appreciate Crews, he is doing a fine job under the circumstances.

[moytoy12]

Yes, Roy: I consider getting kids to play "hard defense" a function of good coaching.

In addition; the game plan and the set-up against Clarke completely frustrated Butler. Yes, on that particular night -- Stevens got his you know what handed to him, coaching-wise.

Boy, when things go bad, it's all on the coach; when things go right it's about a couple kids choosing to play hard. Sort of like laying QB in the NFL. Give the coach a little credit.

How about this for a question; if we DO win A10, and/or make a Sweet Sixteen run, or even farther: then what do you do? fire the coach???

just wondering ....

That would put us in a pickle. I've been tough on Crews, some deserved, some not. He deserves credit for getting our guys prepared. Our players deserve credit for executing the gameplan. The same equal split of blame should accompany losses, but we fail to do that (myself included).

All that being said, I do not think he should be our permanent coach.

[Taj79]

I don't see a lot of "Crews' stuff" on the court frankly. I see a lot in terms of the continuation of what Majerus installed. I admit to not being smart enough to see the changes or variations, if any, in the warp speed of college basketball. But if there was ever a "ight" time for tragedy, it would seem to be better handled if you have a population heavy in the returning guys who've been there before. Both Crews and Whitesell were there last year. This is Cody's and Cory's fourth year in the program, Mitchell's fifth, and McCall, Jett and Loe all have three. Evans has three. Can you imagine what this would have been like if Majerus had been here only a year or two?

Crews was abrasive at best in his time at Evansville. He went to a job where he failed (Army) which was also in no way a step up from the Valley. He and Majerus go back to the second dream team so he repaid or did a favor. Now,he finds himself running autopilot on HOF coattails. I don't know for certain but someone here said he does not like recruiting, none of the old dinosaurs like what the scenery is out there in today's high school/AAU entourage world. Getting a kid from Tipton, Indiana likely speaks volumes about that kid's character and "Hoosier-like" qualities but as for playing at the highest levels, I don't know.

Unlike some of these small-minded boosters mention above, I want a a program that goes to the Dance 50 to 70% of the time. One that if it doesn't make the Dance, is all but a lock for the NIT. No CBI. No college.insider (maybe on our worst years). I want Saint Louis mentioned in the same breath as Gonzaga, Butler, and Xavier are now. When I ask myself "Do I see Jim Crews being the face of that program and leading the charge?", the answer is an emphatic "NO."

If we continue to win, all the pundits and talking heads on TV will advocate the hiring of Crews. It's what they do. Eventually, when someone wakes Knight up to what an old player and coach of his is doing, he;ll likely carry the banner and all the Diggers and Dickies and Greenbergs and Pearls will lock stuff i behind the general. If I'm Chris May, I want to hire the guy my career will now ride on. He didn't do that with Majerus and he certainly didn't do it with Crews.

[slu72]

I think it's fair to say JC's handled this situation well. Wisconsin had a similar situation a few years back with Bennett and Soderberg. Bennett left the team for an illness, I think, and Brad took over a team that went to the final 4 the previous season. Brad led them to the dance leaving UW in an awkward position, ie how do you fire a coach that just got you into the dance? They didn't hesitate and fired him, simply because they had a better candidate to lead the program forward.

SLU will find itself in a similar situation if we make the dance. Some of the factors that will come into play will be; what conference will we be in, what about the feelings of the returning players who will have been in basically the same system for 3 full years and there is enough talent returning that a 3rd straight dance appearance is very possible, what is the quality of other coaching candidates, what does Crews have in the recruiting pipeline, etc.

Hopefully, May is already deep into this kind of analysis. I used to think that if JC took us to the dance he should be rewarded with the job. I don't this way anymore. The school has to be as tough as UW was with Brad, and the big question becomes is there somone out there who is more qualified than JC to lead this program into the future. We can't let the emotional high of making the dance be the deciding factor. We really can't let the returning players make the decision. We simply have to hire the best man for the job. It may well be that's JC, but I don't think he's the man. Unless, of course he's got a bunch of 3-4 stars willing to sign with him in the spring.

[trader rick]

First post. season ticket holder since 1987. My New Years predictions in order. 1 WE BEAT BUTLER. OFF TO A GOOD START.2.FINISH 2ND IN THE A10 3. WE WIN 2 GAMES IN THE DANCE. 4. ANNOUNCEMENT THAT WE ARE PART OF THE NEW CONFERENCE. 5. COACH CREWS ANNOUNCES THAT HE IS NOT A CANDIDATE FOR THE HEAD COACHING JOB. 6. NEW COACH IS HIRED. NO IDEA WHO IT WILL BE.

[cheeseman]

When the situation first happened in August about RM I was willing to say Crews was the best option given the circumstance. I watched him early on have trouble getting back in the saddle of head coach - I agree he has made progress and thank goodness for the team's sake he has. Brad Stevens even said that the Jim W coached Loyola teams where always the best prepared for Butler - he was giving credit to Jim W not Crews. When Jim W was passed over for the interim job what was the first thing he did - he applied for the asst job at St. Johns. He did not get it but that shows he is gone next year anyway. Crews came as a favor to RM when Jensen bolted unexpectedly - he stayed on for this year - who knows maybe as a favor to RM since RM surely knew things were not going health wise for him. Some have posted that Crews does not want the job - if this is true then this whole post is moot. As far as him getting us in the dance and going to the Sweet 16 - well that is big if. Right now we are not in the dance - we are one of the last 4-6 teams out. So unless he continues to coach his ass off we are looking at the NIT unless we just cave in. How the team plays today against Dayton will be huge but recruiting is the key - after next year, we are depleted and if we wait to find out that Crews can not recruit then we are dead in the water. We have to get someone with a recruiting track record and Crews does not have it. If we were IL State or SWMO then hiring Crews if the team does decent this year would be fine but not for the aspirations most of us have. I am grateful for Crews taking the reins but lets not Peter Principle him - it will be to late then.

[RUBillsFan]

First post. season ticket holder since 1987. My New Years predictions in order. 1 WE BEAT BUTLER. OFF TO A GOOD START.2.FINISH 2ND IN THE A10 3. WE WIN 2 GAMES IN THE DANCE. 4. ANNOUNCEMENT THAT WE ARE PART OF THE NEW CONFERENCE. 5. COACH CREWS ANNOUNCES THAT HE IS NOT A CANDIDATE FOR THE HEAD COACHING JOB. 6. NEW COACH IS HIRED. NO IDEA WHO IT WILL BE.

Welcome to the board Trader Rick. That button to the left of the A on the keyboard is called "Caps Lock" if you hit it again then you can type lowercase.

All kidding aside, I'm hopeful that your predictions continue to come true.

[Quality Is Job 1]

Hiring Jim Crews long term is the equivalent of hiring Brad after Romar left. It'd be easy, cheap, and a recruiting disaster. Brad could coach good players as we saw, he just couldn't recruit them......

I think it's fair to say JC's handled this situation well. Wisconsin had a similar situation a few years back with Bennett and Soderberg. Bennett left the team for an illness, I think, and Brad took over a team that went to the final 4 the previous season. Brad led them to the dance leaving UW in an awkward position, ie how do you fire a coach that just got you into the dance? They didn't hesitate and fired him, simply because they had a better candidate to lead the program forward. SLU will find itself in a similar situation if we make the dance. Some of the factors that will come into play will be; what conference will we be in, what about the feelings of the returning players who will have been in basically the same system for 3 full years and there is enough talent returning that a 3rd straight dance appearance is very possible, what is the quality of other coaching candidates, what does Crews have in the recruiting pipeline, etc. Hopefully, May is already deep into this kind of analysis. I used to think that if JC took us to the dance he should be rewarded with the job. I don't this way anymore. The school has to be as tough as UW was with Brad, and the big question becomes is there somone out there who is more qualified than JC to lead this program into the future. We can't let the emotional high of making the dance be the deciding factor. We really can't let the returning players make the decision. We simply have to hire the best man for the job. It may well be that's JC, but I don't think he's the man. Unless, of course he's got a bunch of 3-4 stars willing to sign with him in the spring.

When the situation first happened in August about RM I was willing to say Crews was the best option given the circumstance. I watched him early on have trouble getting back in the saddle of head coach - I agree he has made progress and thank goodness for the team's sake he has. Brad Stevens even said that the Jim W coached Loyola teams where always the best prepared for Butler - he was giving credit to Jim W not Crews. When Jim W was passed over for the interim job what was the first thing he did - he applied for the asst job at St. Johns. He did not get it but that shows he is gone next year anyway. Crews came as a favor to RM when Jensen bolted unexpectedly - he stayed on for this year - who knows maybe as a favor to RM since RM surely knew things were not going health wise for him. Some have posted that Crews does not want the job - if this is true then this whole post is moot. As far as him getting us in the dance and going to the Sweet 16 - well that is big if. Right now we are not in the dance - we are one of the last 4-6 teams out. So unless he continues to coach his ass off we are looking at the NIT unless we just cave in. How the team plays today against Dayton will be huge but recruiting is the key - after next year, we are depleted and if we wait to find out that Crews can not recruit then we are dead in the water. We have to get someone with a recruiting track record and Crews does not have it. If we were IL State or SWMO then hiring Crews if the team does decent this year would be fine but not for the aspirations most of us have. I am grateful for Crews taking the reins but lets not Peter Principle him - it will be to late then.

I'd like to piggyback off of some of the points made in these three posts. Some of you who are calling for Coach Crews to get the job IF the Billikens make and do well in the NCAA Tournament are failing to take into account that there's a difference between coaching a team and running a program. The question is not what Coach Crews can do with this team but whether he can run a winning program. Even if the Bills were to win the 2013 National Championship under Crews, this is Rick Majerus's program. Would Crews be able to demonstrate that he is committed and able to sustain a highly successful program? I'm not saying that he can't, but his track record doesn't suggest (to me) that he would be able.

[Billiken75]

I heard a Rick Majerus interview about 3 years ago. He was asked who had the best basketball IQ in the nation. Without hesitation, he said Jim Crews. I had to google search to see who he was.

There has been a decided change in how Crews has publicly coached this team. He now looks like he has firm reigns on the team and the response is quite positive. I believe our coaching staff is putting together great game plans and the team is working hard to work that plan.

I applaud what Crews is doing as HC. For a team to survive the loss and death of a HOF coach and now to flourish, I believe the current coaching staff is doing an excellent job. Moving Grandy into the starting line-up was quite a coaching decision.

Before you all anoint the next head coach to be - be careful what you wish for.

[Corner3]

See I told you I would get mauled. All I am basically saying is that for all the Crews Badgering that has been done on here there has not been very much credit given to what I would consider one of the best band aid jobs done in the country this year.

Hey Bobby I am not on the attack just not fond of your posts. None are funny and rarely insightful. And remember you don't know me so please refrain from your attacks on me. You have no idea whether I am educated or not and have no idea what I have or have not done. Remember that before you make unsubstantiated comments. Thanks

And wow I just said I have been a Billiken fan for 6 years. Doesn't mean I dont know anything about college basketball. I moved here from Kansas City and had KU tickets for 20 years. I know how college basketball works.

A lot of you guys make it hard to be a billiken fan. That from an outsider that is trying to embrace your program and all I get is basically told I am an idiot for trying to point out a positive. I guess I can take my money and support to SIUE since you all seem to think that if there is not a huge splash hire it will be the same quality of basketball.

[Corner3]

I heard a Rick Majerus interview about 3 years ago. He was asked who had the best basketball IQ in the nation. Without hesitation, he said Jim Crews. I had to google search to see who he was.

There has been a decided change in how Crews has publicly coached this team. He now looks like he has firm reigns on the team and the response is quite positive. I believe our coaching staff is putting together great game plans and the team is working hard to work that plan.

I applaud what Crews is doing as HC. For a team to survive the loss and death of a HOF coach and now to flourish, I believe the current coaching staff is doing an excellent job. Moving Grandy into the starting line-up was quite a coaching decision.

Before you all anoint the next head coach to be - be careful what you wish for.

+1000000

[AMDG]

See I told you I would get mauled. All I am basically saying is that for all the Crews Badgering that has been done on here there has not been very much credit given to what I would consider one of the best band aid jobs done in the country this year.

Hey Bobby I am not on the attack just not fond of your posts. None are funny and rarely insightful. And remember you don't know me so please refrain from your attacks on me. You have no idea whether I am educated or not and have no idea what I have or have not done. Remember that before you make unsubstantiated comments. Thanks

And wow I just said I have been a Billiken fan for 6 years. Doesn't mean I dont know anything about college basketball. I moved here from Kansas City and had KU tickets for 20 years. I know how college basketball works.

A lot of you guys make it hard to be a billiken fan. That from an outsider that is trying to embrace your program and all I get is basically told I am an idiot for trying to point out a positive. I guess I can take my money and support to SIUE since you all seem to think that if there is not a huge splash hire it will be the same quality of basketball.

I'd say welcome to St. Louis, but we don't like outsiders.

[grunky]

See I told you I would get mauled. All I am basically saying is that for all the Crews Badgering that has been done on here there has not been very much credit given to what I would consider one of the best band aid jobs done in the country this year.

Hey Bobby I am not on the attack just not fond of your posts. None are funny and rarely insightful. And remember you don't know me so please refrain from your attacks on me. You have no idea whether I am educated or not and have no idea what I have or have not done. Remember that before you make unsubstantiated comments. Thanks

And wow I just said I have been a Billiken fan for 6 years. Doesn't mean I dont know anything about college basketball. I moved here from Kansas City and had KU tickets for 20 years. I know how college basketball works.

A lot of you guys make it hard to be a billiken fan. That from an outsider that is trying to embrace your program and all I get is basically told I am an idiot for trying to point out a positive. I guess I can take my money and support to SIUE since you all seem to think that if there is not a huge splash hire it will be the same quality of basketball.

Yea.. You're too dramatic to be a Billikens fan. Have fun with them Cougars!

[Bobby Metzinger]

I guess I can take my money and support to SIUE since you all seem to think that if there is not a huge splash hire it will be the same quality of basketball.

SIUenjoy yourself, pal. Rock chalk, etc.

[Bobby Metzinger]

Yea.. You're too dramatic to be a Billikens fan. Have fun with them Cougars!

+1,000,000

[BACKHANDtheRICAN]

Rather than Crews why don't we go a few notches above him and take Bobby Knight? A lot of connections to him.

[billiken_roy]

now that this guy has told us he is a kansas fan, it explains a lot about his bruised feelings. as to your wonderous amazement for the season thus far, we returned 7 of our top 8 players we were supposed to win. crews got beat up for not utilizing the treasure he inherited. if you want the fans to embrace him bring in recruits, have players rebound free throws, utilize the talent we have.

if you want to crown him a genius for getting mitchell back and then getting jett and mccall and mitchell dominate when they are our three best players, you just go ahead and give him the ku coach of the year. maybe bill self has a dob position for him next year.

[majerus mojo]

Crews really can't win here. We're playing some amazing basketball right now. He shouldn't/won't be back next year, but what else do you want from him right now? RM isn't exactly an easy act to follow. Chaifetz has been on fire.

[billiken_roy]

he should just not try to screw things up, try to keep morale high and chemistry right, and just coach what he has to leave a roster for the new coach in april.

[brianstl]

Crews really can't win here. We're playing some amazing basketball right now. He shouldn't/won't be back next year, but what else do you want from him right now? RM isn't exactly an easy act to follow. Chaifetz has been on fire.

+1

I said it a while back, but Crews has took way too much crap from the fans.

[TheA_Bomb]

Some of you guys need a reality check. Coach Crews is doing well this season. Have we ever had 3 dominating performances in a row like we just had? 1 of the #9 team in the country? I don't recall having a stretch like that ever. Crews is coaching Majerus' team with Majerus' preferred system. He is getting the same or better results so far even with the challenge of the top player being out with a broken foot and the death of Majerus. The conference is also very tough this year. If he gets this team to the round of 32 you have to consider him. If he gets this team to the Sweet 16 there's no way you don't keep him.

He's not a sexy choice. It is still TBD whether he can recruit to SLU. It is unknown if he can sustain the success (if he achieves success). That will be the case with anyone and there will be less unknowns with Crews.

Soderberg took a Final 4 team to a 16-10 record and a 1st round NCAA loss to Georgia St. If Crews achieved those results I wouldn't keep him.

Who is this mythical "splash hire"? It's so much sexier to ponder those possibilities. Could SLU be like SMU and just shell out the cash for whoever they want? Probably not. Can we lure away a successful coach from a mid-major? Probably.

Both paths have risk. I actually trust AD May who is much closer to the situation to make the right decision.