Tom Crean: Indiana Head Coach’s Awkward Twitter Gaffe
In a day and age where social media plays an intricate part of recruiting, college basketball coaches continue to adapt to the new rules put in place by the NCAA in their attempt to stay up with potential targets.
NCAA rules allow coaches to contact recruits via Twitter, but only through direct messages. Coaches cannot publicly address recruits into the public server.
On Friday, Indiana head coach Tom Crean made an awkward and unintentional mistake in this regard, sending out a public tweet that clearly was meant to be sent as a direct message.
Crean’s message read, “I am doing great. I have been thinking about you alot since last weekend. A whole lot. How are you doing?”
Although the message clearly applies to Crean’s attempt to contact a recruit, the message does appear to come out a bit awkward. It almost sounds good like something you would say to a significant other, not a potential prospect.
Regardless, the tweet was deleted and the targeted recruit was not mentioned.
In response, Crean followed suit by posting another tweet, clearing up his unintentional gaffe. “Sorry. That was to a new recruit. Wish I could tell you who. Sent it by mistake. Don’t panic. Lol”
The Hoosiers, who began rebuilding under Crean a few years back, burst back onto the national scene in 2011-12, and with the return of forward Cody Zeller, among others, Indiana has its sights on competing for a national championship in 2012-13.
Crean has been fortunate enough to land a number of high-profile recruits, including an incoming class that was ranked among the nation’s elite, yet now fans are left to wonder if they all received similar, awkward tweets during their recruitment.
Technology might not be an area of expertise for many coaches, but Crean’s twitter gaffe is just another example of what recruiting in today’s digital age has become.
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