A look at Indiana’s offense under Crean

Tom Crean gets a lot of flak for consistently losing coaching battles to the likes of Jim Boeheim or Tom Izzo, but despite the criticism, runs one of the most complicated and effective offenses in the nation.

Since Indiana came back onto the scene in the 2011-12 season, their offense has ranked in the top twenty in the nation for four out of the five years. While Crean has certainly had some help from many incredibly gifted players, only a couple (Cody Zeller, Noah Vonleh) were top-tier recruits, others being products of his offensive execution.

In many press conferences, Tom Crean will talk about deflections. Deflections are a big part of his strategy but can sometimes be hard to track because, well, they aren’t recognized as a standard statistic. He has loosely defined a deflection as a tip, steal, forced shot-clock violation, or any sort of result from defensive activity.

Deflections come easy to Crean’s defenses because they run a high-pressure, half-court defense. Putting pressure on the ball-handler may lead him to make a poor pass or get the ball stolen. While it leaves them susceptible to dribble-drives, it also forces them to settle for a lot of contested shots that lead to rebounds, or deflections. While Indiana’s defense improved greatly over the course of last season, they are not traditionally known for being what some might call lock-down. Deflections are crucial to the offensive scheme, however, as they lead to fast-break points – Indiana’s bread and butter.

Indiana works best in transition. Their lineups are always catered to players that can run the floor and create space for themselves. Troy Williams, Victor Oladipo, and Yogi Ferrell are all perfect examples of players that could take the ball end-to-end for a quick basket. This not only wears out defenses, but also creates scoring runs that can either fuel or eliminate fans, depending on where they’re playing. It is no coincidence that most of the centers that are recruited to Indiana are highly mobile. However, in the absence of their primary dribbler they can sometimes be trapped by full-court presses.

When playing a half-court offense, Tom Crean uses a set that allows for plenty of options and counters depending on what the defense shows. Usually they will start with a high ball screen to open up their guards for a pick-and-roll. This offensive strategy is hard to stop because virtually any player on the offense can start it and if the defense tries to deny the initial pass, will open up a lane for ball-handler to drive. Many NBA teams use this method because it frees up their high percentage shooters. It is said that Crean’s offense has the capability of running hundreds of different sets.

High shot percentage is key. Only take shots when there is an open look or directly under the basket. There is a reason why players such as Matt Roth or Nick Zeisloft find a good fit at Indiana. It is also the reason why centers such as Zeller and Thomas Bryant became some of the most efficient shooters in the nation. Players like Yogi Ferrell and James Blackmon Jr. also thrive in this offense because spacing allows

plenty of room for mid-range jumpers. A lot of colleges around the nation could not operate this offense because of poor shooting. During the Notre Dame game last season, Indiana forced Notre Dame into matching them shot-for-shot, which included a lot of good looks, but poor shooting gave the Hoosiers the victory.

It will be interesting to see how the absence of Yogi Ferrell affects Indiana’s offensive style of play. Ferrell ran the scheme flawlessly and will undoubtedly be regarded as one of the best point-guards in Indiana history. Expect to see a lot more dribble penetration and kick-outs without someone capable of commanding the offense like Yogi. Also, with Thomas Bryant down low, players will need to double team in the paint which will allow for a lot of kick outs for three-point attempts. The offense may not suffer as much as some may think, but sets will probably look a bit different.

This is obviously a simplified version of Tom Crean’s strategy. There is so much that goes into in-game coaching that we cannot understand as fans. Crean is regarded for the magnitude of options for all of his offensive sets and if they were simple enough for us to understand, they wouldn’t be so successful on the national collegiate stage. So while this summary serves as a basic understanding at the fundamental level, keep in mind that there is so much more. Even the most passionate Crean haters cannot deny that his offense is incredibly effective and exciting to watch.