Former IU coach Tom Crean was known for rigorous and unpredictable practices.
At least in the case of one 5-star prospect, it may have cost him a recruit while he was head coach at Indiana.
Theo Pinson was from North Carolina and was always going to be hard to pull out of the Tar Heel State.
But Crean was able to bring Pinson to Bloomington for an official visit in 2013. So he had a chance. And according to Pinson, it was a good chance.
But one look at the way IU practiced before games changed everything about Indiana in the eyes of Pinson.
“I took a visit to Indiana. Oh my God. They work,” Pinson told former IU player Juwan Morgan on the Run Your Race podcast.
“He (Crean) told me all the practices they were doing. But the damn pre-game practice. Rough. Battles. Tape up for the pre-game. We got a game at 7, coach what the hell are we taping for?
“No like, that’s the reason I didn’t go there (Indiana). Everything else was lovely.
“Shout out to Coach Crean. He did an unbelievable job recruiting me. Because I’m telling you, if it wasn’t for the taped pre-game practices, I’m pretty sure I would have been at Indiana. It wasn’t the work part. I’m cool with working. But this is wild.”
Pinson, who did eventually commit to North Carolina, visited IU when ESPN was on-site for Game Day. He said the atmosphere he witnessed in Bloomington was second to none.
“Carolina, I love you to death, now there’s nothing like a Carolina-Duke game. But think about this though, Indiana’s like that every game,” Pinson said.
“The atmosphere, it’s nuts in there (at Assembly Hall). My official visit was for the Indiana-Michigan game (in 2013).”
Pinson did see Assembly Hall in its peak form. There were future NBA players all over the court in the No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 3 IU matchup, including Glenn Robinson III, Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., Nik Stauskas, Mitch McGary and Caris Levert. for Michigan; and Cody Zeller, Victor Oladipo and Yogi Ferrell for Indiana.
Pinson saw the Hoosiers win that big game, and a few years later he would see Crean’s IU team at their best.
Pinson would come back to Bloomington in 2016 with North Carolina, and Morgan and the Hoosiers ran the No. 5 Tar Heels out of the gym, 76-67.
On that night, the pre-game practice routine delivered in a major way.
“Bro we got on the bus after that game and we were like they whooped our ass,” Pinson said.
Morgan, who comes from a military background, wasn’t turned off by Crean’s practices. He said it was something he got used to over time.
And it was the success other unheralded recruits like him had in Crean’s system that led him to commit to IU.
“I loved what Coach Crean did with guys who didn’t have much notoriety going in, like Vic, D-Wade,” Morgan told Pinson. “Obviously I’m not in the same mold as those guys, but the work speaks for itself. So why would I not want to go play for somebody that’s like we see something in you, and we’re going to keep grinding until we get it out of you.”
Morgan went on to an All-Big Ten career and played multiple seasons in the NBA.
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
