Buzz is mentioned a lot on this board as an example of why can't Pitt make a good hire if a school like VT can so I wanted to look into Buzz vs. Crean.
Buzz at Marquette: 139-69 (.668) with five NCAA appearances in six seasons, 2 Sweet Sixteens, 1 Elite Eight.
Four of his six years were in the old Big East. However, he had the advantage of taking over a successful program from Crean. Also, Buzz had a non-tourney year before leaving Marquette.
Crean at Marquette: 190-96 (.664) with five NCAA appearances in nine seasons and one Final Four.
Crean gets credit for building the Marquette program into what it became. He also left the program in better shape than Buzz left it.
In conclusion, I know it's hard to forget about what Crean did at Indiana, but I'm not sure how relevant that is. There have been plenty of good coaches in college sports who failed at a blue blood (especially tricky at one like Indiana that thinks it has more advantages than it actually does) and went on to successful careers at another school.
Crean and Buzz had similar careers at Marquette. You can make an argument that either was better. I'd argue they were about the same and both were very successful. So why was Buzz a slam dunk hire while a lot of Pitt fans hate the idea of Crean?
Buzz at Marquette: 139-69 (.668) with five NCAA appearances in six seasons, 2 Sweet Sixteens, 1 Elite Eight.
Four of his six years were in the old Big East. However, he had the advantage of taking over a successful program from Crean. Also, Buzz had a non-tourney year before leaving Marquette.
Crean at Marquette: 190-96 (.664) with five NCAA appearances in nine seasons and one Final Four.
Crean gets credit for building the Marquette program into what it became. He also left the program in better shape than Buzz left it.
In conclusion, I know it's hard to forget about what Crean did at Indiana, but I'm not sure how relevant that is. There have been plenty of good coaches in college sports who failed at a blue blood (especially tricky at one like Indiana that thinks it has more advantages than it actually does) and went on to successful careers at another school.
Crean and Buzz had similar careers at Marquette. You can make an argument that either was better. I'd argue they were about the same and both were very successful. So why was Buzz a slam dunk hire while a lot of Pitt fans hate the idea of Crean?
