Tom Crean's Departure from Marquette

Some Marquette basketball fans are ticked off by Tom Crean's decision to become Indiana's head coach. They feel betrayed.

Others are happy for Crean, wishing him good luck, thanks for the memories, and other such tripe.

And then there's a mix of emotions, best wishes stirred with bad feelings.

Fans weren't the only ones caught off guard. Crean's choice has left his players, I mean former players, reeling.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Life goes on.

That was the prevailing message Wednesday at the Al McGuire Center, where juniors Dominic James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal were already back at work in the weight room the day after Tom Crean's departure to Indiana had left them shocked, saddened and searching for answers.

"We were all positive, everybody was pulling for each other, everybody was excited," said Matthews, referring to their workout session. "That's just the kind of group we are - everybody bounces back."

It was an interesting scene, as the three cornerstones of the Golden Eagles' initial Big East freshman class first shared their thoughts on how they were dealing with the loss of Crean, their former coach who'd just hours earlier wrapped up a news conference in Bloomington, Ind., introducing him as the Hoosiers' new head man.

...All three said they were caught completely off-guard by the news, which initially broke on Tuesday afternoon. They learned of it through the media, as did the rest of their teammates and, seemingly, the entire MU community.

"I can't believe we found out the way we did," said Matthews. "When it was official and we knew it was official, every single emotion you could think about was going through your head. It's tough, a tough situation."

That sucks.

Crean completely bungled the news of his new coaching assignment.

The team shouldn't find out via the media that their coach is leaving for a greener pasture.

That's horrible. It's thoughtless. It's selfish.

In the hours that followed, the players were eventually gathered up and traveled to Crean's Mequon home, where they sat through what was described as tear-filled, 45-minute meeting. They then returned to campus, where the reality of the situation truly began setting in.

"We just listened to him, absorbed it, took it for what it was worth - which was a lot, because it was tough for him," said Matthews. "We've got to move on."

Crean dried his tears quickly. An $18.24 million deal will help do that.

I feel terrible for the shell-shocked Marquette players.

The players are handling this all with a great deal of class. They aren't publicly slamming Crean for failing to do them the courtesy of informing them of his plans to leave before the story broke. In fact, they showed him compassion. I think that was generous considering Crean didn't have the decency to contact his players with the news as soon as the deal was done.

They're showing impressive strength of character at a very difficult time.

..."If you can picture being in the Army, and your leader leaves to fight for another army, it's like, 'Wow, where are you going?' " James said. "Especially at the time right now, this being my last year and Wes' and Jerel's. We feel like this is why we're here, and then to leave, that hurt more than anything."

MU's insistence on hiring the right coach, without a timetable, appeared to sit well with the three.

"A player's coach," said Matthews when asked what type of coach he preferred. "There's a standard here, and there's a bar that's set. We keep raising it. The coach has got to understand the tradition, the way we work, our style of play. We're going to work for you. We're competitive, we want to win games.

"He has to know that we're here to work, we're here to win, and we've got a team full of playmakers."

While none of the players were aware of any teammates' immediate desire to transfer, the possibility remains very real that one or more of the remaining players on the roster could seek to leave.

Bob Hurley, the high-school coach of one incoming recruit, Tyshawn Taylor, said earlier Wednesday that he was already seeking Taylor's release from his letter of intent, and there were rumblings that some of the MU's other prospective freshmen would follow suit.

"He was going to Marquette University - no disrespect to Marquette University - and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to play for Tom Crean," Hurley said.

Additionally, McNeal and James were both contemplating turning pro prior to Crean's departure. The current situation could very well hold some sway in what they ultimately decide to do.

Crean's departure is having a dramatic impact on the team's future.

Way to throw the freshmen recruits into disarray, as well as the current members of the team!

A lot of nice things have been said about Crean's achievements, all that he did to build Marquette's basketball program, and leaving it far better than he found it. Very nice.

It's a shame that the circumstances of his departure played out so poorly.

Crean may be leaving Marquette a better program but he's leaving the team in a bad way. It's an unfortunate and indelible mark on his MU legacy.

My question for Crean: Why did you have to do it this way, Coach?

Basketball, even college basketball, is a business. Loyalty and integrity take a back seat. Of course, nothing personal.