Crean’s lecture was a night not to miss

For those of you who could not make it to Thursday’s “Night with Coach Tom Crean” lecture at the IU Auditorium, I’m sorry to inform you, but you missed out.

You missed out on your first chance to get rowdy and listen to the band play the IU fight song, while a crowd clad in candy-striped pants chanted “We want Tom
Crean.”

You missed out on a free two-hour event that was more motivating than an entire “Rocky” marathon or a Ray Lewis pre-game speech.

Crean’s message about family, hard work and overcoming adversity was so passionate at times that the crowd couldn’t help but bust into applause to match the intensity of the coach.

You missed your chance during the Q&A segment to ask the two questions Crean said he gets the most: what is the brown-colored drink he always has in a water bottle on the sideline? And why was his face the way it was after beating Kentucky?

If you’re still wondering, the drink is called “Liftoff” by Herbalife.

Crean said he still can’t pinpoint exactly why his face was like that, but he said it was probably a combination of being in the heat of the moment and the realization that IU came back after squandering a nine point lead with 7:53 left.

In regards to basketball, Crean gave a complete rundown on what he thought about every player on the team.

Senior Derek Elston will be IU’s equivalent of Brian Scalabrine and freshman Hanner Mosquera-Perea will be ready for the Hoosier Hysteria dunk contest.
You also missed the moment he let the cat out of the bag about IU’s starting lineup this season.

“I probably wouldn’t put it in the Sharpie pen just yet, but I might use a fountain pen that we’re probably going to start a freshman,” Crean said.
Many think that freshman’s name will be Yogi Ferrell, and Crean said he will change the tempo at which IU plays.

“I think we are going to be a very fun and fast-paced team to watch this season,” Crean said. “One of our goals this season is to be better at defensive rebounding, which will allow us to get out to fast-breaks so that we can push the tempo with our offense. We want to run a lot more this year, and Yogi will be a big part of that.”

Even if you don’t care about basketball or the 2012-13 Hoosiers, the
biggest thing you missed was the chance to listen to a great communicator and motivator speak about a community and university he is passionate about.

“I say this from the bottom of my heart,” Crean said as he concluded his speech. ”It is an honor to be your basketball coach.”

For all of those who missed the opportunity to be thanked personally by Crean himself for supporting the IU basketball program that he had “a foundation that never, ever changed,” my advice to you is to make this the last men’s basketball event you miss this season, because as Crean said himself, why wouldn’t you want to be there?

“Come out early and be as obnoxious as you can,” Crean said. “This is your school, why wouldn’t you want to be a part of it? Watching your team play basketball with almost 20,000 screaming fans, who are your friends, next to you, is just fun.”

­— mdnorman@indiana.edu