Crean calls Holman transfer “orchestrated”

  • 05/08/2008 4:52 pm in

Indiana coach Tom Crean spoke on the record today about Eli Holman’s transfer to Detroit and instead of speaking in clichés, Crean got right down to the point. (Did I mention I love Crean already?)

Here’s what he told Chris Korman of the H-T/Hoosier Scoop:

Question: Can you say what prompted the outburst? Do you know?

Crean: I don’t know. I would say not getting the answer that he probably would have liked. It was about taking some time to go through this, but, I’ve seen now, this was totally part of an orchestration. It just was. I don’t have a lot of respect for that. I like Eli and I wish him well. I really do. In the short time we were with him, I liked him. But I don’t have a lot of respect for the way that it turned out.

Question: Did you put any conditions on Eli’s release?

Crean: No, not really. But it’s all sort of starting to play out, isn’t it?

It’s not often you hear a coach speak on the record like this, but I’m actually glad Crean stood up and put his feelings out there. And I must agree with his comment that called the transfer orchestrated. It’s certainly no coincidence that Holman ended up at Detroit. If Ray McCallum actually thought he was doing Eli a favor by bringing him to Detroit, he’s more worried about his immediate success in his new job than he is concerned for the kid. You can sense a bit of frustration in Crean’s comments and that likely comes from the fact that Holman gave the impression he wanted to stay at IU and then called a meeting out of nowhere to tell him he was leaving. Then just a few days later, he finds out he’s going to play for McCallum. I think we can all put the pieces together here.

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