IMO Crean had a much easier task than Lavin had simply because it was the Indiana job. That is one of the few jobs that recruits for itself. Crean had an established reputation and no hiatus. Doesn't matter what the roster looked like when Crean took over. Once he did, he was in the conversation with loads of top kids.
Lavin was out of bball as a broadcaster after being fired and run out of town at UCLA. He came to bottom dweller SJU that people had forgotten about for a decade or two and had to replace double-digit scholarships in one season.
Right now we are on a great track, but we still don't and won't have the pull of an Indiana. We're getting back though, with real talent and moving up quickly. No doubt in my mind Lavin had the tougher rebuild IMO.
Please look at Crean's classes Marcus.
Lavin brought in Top 5 class before the ball was even tipped with him coaching a game. Guess that hiatus meant nothing.
Little objectivity here. If your going to compare Crean's start to an STJ period try Norm's first couple of years. However thats where it stops as Norm couldnt hold Crean's jock.
I'm being totally objective Moose. Lavin's recruiting success here at SJU has nothing to do with the difficulty of the job. Taking over at Indiana which is a top 5 job, for a coach like Crean coming off a bunch of success at Marquette is a much, much easier and enviable position. No comparison. It has nothing to do with the classes they brought in at the time. Lavin did amazing things here considering the circumstances.
Lavin came in and we were a bottom 4 Big East team when Norm left and had a team full of seniors, leaving Lavin an entire team to recruit. Norm's first few years here have absolutely nothing in common with a coach of Crean's stature taking over at a top 5 program like Indiana.
Just because I don't agree doesn't mean I'm not being objective. I don't care whether Indiana had a few poor years under Davis. Stepping in there is easier than taking over a SJU team that stunk for several coaches tenures prior to Lavin coming on board.