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Ex-Spartan in line for U-M coaching job

March 14, 2001

Now that the University of Michigan has made the resignation of men’s basketball coach Brian Ellerbe official, the maize and blue may turn to a former Spartan to try and rescue their fading program.

Numerous media reports have mentioned Marquette head coach Tom Crean, a former assistant to MSU head coach Tom Izzo, as a candidate to replace Ellerbe.

And while it’s been speculated that former Boston Celtics head coach Rick Pitino, Seton Hall head coach Tommy Amaker and Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson are among the front runners for the position.

Izzo said it’ll be interesting to see how serious of a candidate Crean will become for the opening at U-M.

“Sure, I’ll definitely keep as close to that as I can,” he said. “I really don’t know which direction they’re going to go but if there’s anybody that is involved with our program or has been that I could help, I’d love to help them.”

Izzo said Crean, who left MSU to become the head coach at Marquette after MSU’s 1999 season, is someone who deserves consideration.

“I think he’s qualified for any job because I think he’s a good recruiter, he’s a good coach and he’s hard working,” he said. “I don’t know what makes you qualified to be a coach anymore. It’s just can you do those things (because) they seem to be the key elements.”

MSU senior forward Andre Hutson, who Crean helped coach during his freshman and sophomore years, said Crean has a great knowledge of basketball and relates to his players well.

“Every player here respected him, even the freshmen here know him and still talk about him,” he said. “He leaves a good impression and he’s a great coach - he knows basketball.”

Marquette sports information Director John Farina said Crean has gone on the record in several publications indicating he loves Marquette and doesn’t intend to leave.

Farina said the difference Crean has made at Marquette since taking over the basketball program in 1999 has been noticeable, particularly in reaching out to the university’s students.

“He has really stepped up the recruiting in a lot of areas and the quality of kids he’s brought in over the past couple of years have been much better,” he said. “He’s really injected a lot of enthusiasm.

Crean may become a more serious candidate for U-M depending on how the Rick Pitino sweepstakes play out.

Mike DeCourcy, a writer for The Sporting News, wrote an article on its Web site saying Pitino is close to completing a deal with Louisville to become the school’s next coach, a deal which could be finalized as soon as Thursday.

DeCourcy wrote in the article that despite U-M’s impending courting of the former Kentucky and Celtics head coach, a source close to Pitino told him he’s more interested in the Louisville job and might be on the verge of accepting.

However, with Ellerbe’s firing a done deal and the U-M job officially open, speculation abides that Pitino will meet with U-M at some point later in the week.

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