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5 potential replacements for Tom Crean at Indiana

By Rob Wolkenbrod

Mar 4, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Crean during the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena. Indiana won 96-92. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Crean during the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena. Indiana won 96-92. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 5, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; Wichita State Shockers head coach Gregg Marshall looks on as his team plays the Illinois State Redbirds during the first half of the Championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Scottrade Center. Wichita State won 71-51. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2017; St. Louis, MO, USA; Wichita State Shockers head coach Gregg Marshall looks on as his team plays the Illinois State Redbirds during the first half of the Championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at Scottrade Center. Wichita State won 71-51. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Gregg Marshall

Ever since Wichita State’s rise to prominence, head coach Gregg Marshall has been a target for just about every other team with an opening. However, he has remained with the Shockers and continues to churn out 25 or 30-plus win teams every season.

At some point, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Marshall make a jump to a school in a bigger conference. He continues to do critically acclaimed work with Wichita State, but has only received a seed higher than No. 5 once (2014 NCAA Tournament at No. 1). Other than that, it’s been 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11, with all of these teams winning between 26 and 30 games.

If Marshall makes the jump to Indiana, this kind of work would get him a high seed in the NCAA Tournament every year, probably a No. 1 or 2 seed if he replicates the records from his stint in Wichita, KS. It would allow him to gain credibility as a head coach to those that doubted him as just a guy running a mid-major school, which is beating weak teams. This is partly why they can’t get a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament, even with the 30-4 record in 2017.

The only thing holding Marshall back from getting this job is the top man on this list, who has ties to Indiana.