"My rule was I wouldn't recruit a kid if he had grass in front of his house.
That's not my world. My world was a cracked sidewalk." —Al McGuire

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Mike DeCourcy On the Money

In his most recent blog, Mike DeCourcy sums up the symbiotic relationship between Tom Crean and Marquette University better than anybody has, ever. This one is spot-on.

When Crean got the Golden Eagles to the Final Four, he was supposed to then trade that distinction for a job at a school where football money is plentiful and the school's brand name resonates with in-state recruits. And Marquette was supposed to feign poverty, wave goodbye and figure out who among the mid-major head coaches and high-major assistants was "the next Tom Crean." That's how it always works.

Instead, Marquette committed to continuing at a high level, and Crean committed to Marquette. Three top-flight, national-contender-type Big Ten jobs have come open since the 2003 Final Four: Illinois, Ohio State and Indiana. Essentially, Crean did not budge in pursuit of any one of them, and Marquette responded by raising his pay to help make it more attractive to stay. The university built the single best practice facility in college basketball, the Al McGuire Center.

Read it all right here.

Kudos to Alum91 at Ring Out Ahoya! for finding this gem.

3 comments:

rugbydrummer said...

"The university built the single best practice facility in college basketball, the Al McGuire Center."

and I've gotten to play on it =-)

Anonymous said...

No need to thank that (great guy) Alum91. Thank Google news alerts for telling that great guy.

"Oops, did I just say that out loud or think that? Stupid brain."

Anonymous said...

Just a question about the schedule, when Marquette plays Hillsdale College, is that an exhibition game along w\ the first against Cardinal Stritch?