Four of the five leading scorers for IU will not be with the team at the start of next season.
Other than money, I would have to think that leaving Marquette to coach at IU is less than a lateral move, in 2008.
Matt Painter=Not a better coach than Gene Keady. Thad Matta has yet to put a team on the floor that's substantially better than the Jim Jackson/Lawrence Funderburke teams Randy Ayers produced. When John Beilein assembles talent the likes of Tarpley/Grant/Joubert or Mills/Rice/Robinson or the Fab Five, let me know. Notre Dame is not as good now as it was for most of Digger Phelps' tenure. The only program you mention that is significantly better now than in IU's heydays is Butler. Last I checked, they're in the Horizon League. They are to IU what the mom and pop diner down the street is to McDonald's.With Thad Matta next door at Tosu, Beilein at UM, and Painter, in-state, at Purdue, IU is not the IU of yesteryear. This does not even take into account the uptick of Notre Dame and Butler.
As a betting man, I would say that Crean is either forced out or heads to greener pastures in four years.
Purdue has always been a thorn in IU's side. They've won more Big 10 titles than the Hoosiers and hold the advantage in the all time series. It's not like them being tough is some new phenomenon.Matt Painter is a beneficiary of the SYF Players, an Indiana AAU team that produced Robbie Hummel, Scott Martin, E'twaun Moore, and JaJuan Johnson -all 4* frosh at Purdue. If he can parlay the potential success of that core into more top-tier recruiting classes in the future they could become a small thorn in IU's side, but aside from that I don't see what should stop Crean from turning IU back into a perennial power again.