Indiana basketball coach Tom Crean apologizes to Michigan assistant

Ann Arbor, MI, United States (4E Sports) – Claiming it was just a “professional misunderstanding”, Indiana coach Tom Crean has apologized to Michigan assistant coach Jeff Meyer for a heated exchange after the Hoosiers’ 72-71 triumph over the Wolverines to clinch the Big Ten regular-season title.

“On the way to the plane, I talked to him on the telephone. We discussed a couple of things and I apologized,” Crean said during a conference call

“In retrospect, I wish I had never addressed anything after the heat of battle in a game, but I did and we move on. End of story,” he added

Crean had to be restrained during his shouting match with Meyer, who was an Indiana assistant on Kelvin Sampson’s staff from 2006 to 2008.

In the heat of the exchange with Meyer, Crean was overheard on video saying “you know what you did. You helped wreck our program.”

Crean was hired in 2008 to replace Sampson, who left the Hoosiers with several NCAA sanctions as result of violations under his watch. Meyer, however, was cleared by the NCAA of wrongdoing with regard to major violations.

Crean had three losing seasons before leading Indiana to a 27-9 mark last season, This year,, he helped Indiana (26-5) achieve the No. 1 ranking and its first outright Big Ten regular-season title in two decades.

Michigan head coach John Beilein said he did not witness the actual incident but watched the video after “it became an issue.”

“Jeff and I discussed it afterwards. I’m not going to comment on another coach or another university. I will say Michigan is always going to win with class and lose with class,” Beilein said. “I am really proud of the way Jeff showed great poise in the aftermath of that loss.”

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