“I don’t know if a coach is ever happy in the middle of January,” the second-year Indiana coach said. “I am energized and enthusiastic about the way it is going — we’ve won games that a year ago we had no chance to win — but I understand that we still have a lot of hard lessons to learn.”
That’s life when you coach a young team in a veteran-filled league.
The two youngest teams in the Big Ten meet for the first time this season today, when the Hoosiers host Iowa in a 5 p.m. game. Crean and third-year Hawkeyes coach Todd Lickliter share common concerns and feelings as they work to build their programs.
“It is a process,” Lickliter said. “Nothing ever happens as quickly as you want it to happen, not for fans, not for players and not for coaches.”
Given the league’s experience on the floor and on the bench, Crean considers this a difficult time to attempt to build a program in the Big Ten.
He said a win over Pittsburgh earlier this season and last Sunday’s overtime victory over Minnesota have given his team hope, much as Lickliter has seen improved recent play provide the Hawkeyes with confidence.
“But if we’re going to be successful, it’s going to come down to close games and being successful in final possessions,” Lickliter said. “If we have stretches where we lose concentration and make mistakes that are unforced, it’s going to be difficult.”
Iowa’s play at Michigan State on Wednesday provides an example.
The Hawkeyes turned the ball over on five consecutive possessions late in the first half of the 70-63 loss to the Spartans, but did not turn the ball over once in their final 19 possessions of the game.
“If we can do that down the stretch, we ought to be able to do it earlier, too,” Lickliter said.
Crean can relate.
“There are times when you step back and wonder why the consistency isn’t there. A lot of it is youth. It’s part of growing,” Crean said.
Both programs are experiencing some growing pains, addressing facility needs while attempting to maintain an impatient fan base.
Both schools are in the process of constructing new basketball practice facilities that will provide 24-7 access for players.
Indiana’s 67,000-square foot Basketball Development Center opens this spring and will house not only practice courts and academic facilities but also a Legacy Court with exhibits celebrating the history of the sport at the institution. Iowa’s facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011.
“We’ll have all the bells and whistles. You have to if you want to compete for top players,” Crean said.
Tickets to games at both institutions are easier to come by than in the past when both Carver-Hawkeye Arena and the Assembly Hall were filled to the rafters.
The Hawkeyes’ average attendance through 11 home games is 9,164, the lowest in the 27-year history of the venue. The Hoosiers have played in front of average crowds of 14,568 at the 17,456-seat Assembly Hall, and like Iowa, Indiana offers discounted tickets to select games.
Crean said he appreciates the level of support that his program continues to receive.
“Indiana is so unique in that way. The fan base is a big part of things, and when they feel like they are going through the building process with you, there is an energy created,” Crean said.
“That carries over to what takes place on the court. Players can lose faith so fast if they don’t think the crowd is behind them, and that isn’t an issue at Indiana.”
