Seems like. I won’t be surprised if Coach Crean enters the portal himself.
This is a good list to have handy. According to this, seven Georgia players are transferring or have landed elsewhere. Nine A&M players, including a walk-on, are transferring.
EDIT: KD Johnson would make eight for Georgia.
Thanks. A nice bookmark to keep.
I really think Buzz and Crean made terrible decisions going to A&M and Georgia, and the fact that most of their players are transferring confirms this. Those are two hard core football schools. Neither one has ever done anything in basketball, and probably never will. I just wish it was LSU or Auburn suffering, because at least Buzz and Crean seem to run clean programs, and they are both light years better coaches than Wade, and maybe even Pearl.
Jeremy, do you think the coaches made those mistakes or did the school make them? I think the school should have recognized they were not a good fit. But your point is probably valid, too.
Agree that Williams and Crean seem to run clean programs. Agree that Williams is a good coach. I think Crean is a very average coach… he’s never really elevated a program.
If you can coach, you can coach… at a football school or not. I think A&M will have occasional years under Williams in which they are in the final four of the SEC standings, and have an occasional impressive NCAAT run. He has elevated every program he’s led, so good reason to think he’ll do the same at A&M.
I do think Crean had decent success at both Marquette and Indiana. He just didn’t sustain it at Indiana. I think the Hoosiers were struggling when he got there. But after winning a couple of Big Ten titles, they slipped. Marquette was really good with Dwayne Wade.
It’s really hard to say, Clay. I get why Buzz would go back to Texas, but he probably should have stayed at Va Tech. A&M is never gonna be a basketball power. As far as Crean, I have no idea why he would take the Georgia job. Again, they will never be a basketball power. Dominique Wilkins ain’t walking back thru that door. I’m just glad we have Muss. We actually have a basketball tradition, and I don’t think that what Oats has done at Bama is sustainable either.
Yeah, I guess that’s how I see Crean. Great season when you have a Dwane Wade, but lots of average stuff otherwise.
Indiana missed the NCAAT 5/9 years under Crean.
He seems similar to Mike Anderson to me. Nice guy. Okay Coach.
I’m just baffled why all his big time recruits are leaving him? There is a disconnect somewhere. I truly believe Buzz wishes he would’ve stayed where he was, but I also believe he is a very good coach. The most important thing I think Buzz is realizing is A&M doesn’t care about basketball, but he has been paid very well to come to that realization. Quite honestly, Buzz was the coach I was most worried about Muss recruiting against.
No clue about players leaving any program. I mean, look at Illinois.
I just think coaches that can coach, can coach. Even in College Station.
Universities and fans want a winner. Whatever the sport. No one has a tradition, until they do. Look at Arkansas basketball before Coach Sutton.
But, when you win, fans get engaged. If fans get engaged, and you have resources to cater to the engaged fans, you have a recipe to start a tradition.
Now, I’m not predicting that Williams will do at A&M what Sutton did at Arkansas. But I think labeling him as a mistake after year 2 is a bit premature.
Crean is definitely overrated, and he was a terrible fit for Georgia. Their problem, not ours.
It’s still gotta be troubling that most of his team has left him, and more importantly, that his university handled Covid about as bad as anyone did.
I agree with that. Overall he has 8 NCAAs, one Final Four, 3 Sweet 16s and 3 conference titles. He seems to be a very good coach.
I do agree with Jeremy that it was probably a bad decision by Crean to take Georgia. I thought signing Anthony Edwards would get him going at Georgia, even though Edward’s was expected to be there just one year. The thought was that one year from Edwards would draw better recruits. And to a certain extent he did bring in lot of nice young talent like Wheeler. But it is shocking how he lost all that talent to the portal. Something is going on.
I wish their problems were happening for LSU and MSU. Both of those schools are coached by bag wizards that seem better than most magicians.
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Both Coaches took money over “the right fit”. Most Coaches will do that 90% of the time, 10% will wait until they find a better fit but not long if the money is right.
Crean is probably screwed at GA, needs to do his time get paid and move on. Although he did have the best PG in the country, but not much else.
Williams will fair better in the long run I think. Better recruiting grounds. But he will have to demand more from aTm. Like how to handle the next pandemic or any adversity. That’s probably what ran his players off, not the coach.
Tom Crean, I understand some. he was Izzo’s assistant, and “the next big thing”, according to my big 10 friends and family. It was just assumed that he’d lead IU back to prominence. then he failed. went elsewhere and did not thrive.
so he’s a good coach, and reportedly a good person, but the shine is off his career. Making a ton of money, in a nice college town, in a fun conference, was likely a good decision for him. even if he doesn’t do much, no Jawja fans really care much at all.
But Buzz…what the heck was he thinking? had a good job in a good conference, and he voluntarily chooses to be an Aggie!!! that makes no sense to me at all. He’s from tx, so he should KNOW that aggies are aggies. stuff like not playing a single game for over a month. I was shaking my head when he took the job, and stll don’t understand that decision.
If I woke up one day, in maroon pajamas, and was employed at A&M…actually that’s too horrible to even consider.
GHG
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I wouldn’t give up on Buzz just yet. I still think he is a good coach. (Yes, he is who I was wanting the Hogs to get in the last two coaching searches.)
He may have decided to clean house after the season they had in College Station.
I seem to remember that when Sutton came to Arkansas, some of his peers warned him not to do so because Arkansas wasn’t a basketball school. I have no love for the Aggies, but I think it’s a little premature to pronounce his program there dead.
Note: Even though I wanted Buzz at the time, I’m VERY glad we have Muss at the helm of the Hogs.
Buzz is a good coach and his team usually outperforms its talent level. Heck, they had us at BWA last season with minimal practice and but for that play by Devo, could have won. I for one was glad that our game at A&M was canceled.
He lost a lot to the portal, but has gained 4 good players (not counting Ethan) from the portal including a 4 star Duke transfer and a seven footer from UConn. He also signed a 4 star PG and a high 4 star and national #27 SG. He has his backcourt for next year.
A&M will continue to be a tough out. Question is whether Buzz can put the Aggies in the upper tier of SEC. Let’s see what happens in the next couple of years.
I am also curious to see how Buzz uses Ethan and what he gets out of him.
Tom Crean is not a better HC than Bruce Pearl
Tom Crean has 14 SEC wins in 3 years