When Brandon Crone recruits a student-athlete to the University of Evansville, he can offer a unique point of view on the Purple Aces program and its leader – head coach Todd Lickliter.  From the recruiting process to the on-campus experience to the style of play to the lifelong commitment – Crone can give the recruit a comprehensive firsthand perspective.  That is because nearly two decades ago – Crone was in the exact same position.  He was a high school basketball player who was being recruited to play for Lickliter's program.  While times are constantly changing – the integrity of the program and the experience for the student-athlete – will always be the top priority.
 
"You are able to answer any question in a very honest and open manner while relating it to that athlete because I was in their shoes," Crone said.  "When I was being recruited, we did not have cell phones as much, so they did not call you at much.  It was much more of an in-person visit with Coach Lickliter and Brad Stevens coming to my high school games and meeting with them on visits.  Now – I am able to answer any question that the kid or parent may ask.  When they ask how coach is – I can give them that perspective because I lived it.  The way that Coach treats people is one of the most important reasons that I came here to work under him."
 
Another important part of being a student-athlete is not being happy with the status quo.  If there is more work to be done – you need the players around you who will be ready to take the next step.  That is something else Crone can speak of from experience.  As a senior at Butler in the 2006-07 season, the Bulldogs won the Preseason NIT.  Any in-season tournament win means a lot for a program, but this one was extra special.  The Bulldogs started with wins over Notre Dame and Indiana in the opening round and quarterfinals.  Yes – those were just the first two opponents!
 
Taking down two of the powerhouses in the state of Indiana was huge, but Crone and his team were just getting started.  Following the opening pair of wins, the team headed to Madison Square Garden where they were pitted against #21 Tennessee.  A 12-point win over the Volunteers sent the Bulldogs to the finals where they took on another top 25 team – 23^rd-ranked Gonzaga.  On November 24, 2006, Butler capped off the tournament with a 79-71 win to improve to 6-0 on the season while earning the Preseason NIT crown.  A Butler program that was amidst one of the most impressive decades in college  basketball history was nowhere close to satisfied with the early season accomplishment.  Fast forward to March of 2007 – Crone helped his team to a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament and a hard-fought loss to eventual national champion Florida.
 
"A lot of that begins in recruiting – getting players that have a chip on the shoulder.  Kids that are not satisfied with just having some success," Crone explained.  "We are looking for kids that want to come in and really help build this thing and have a lot of pride in it.  I think that coaches can only coach so much - ultimately you need the players to buy in and to love this place and want to see it succeed."
 
Buying into a program is one thing, but buying into a coaching staff is also vital to success.  With the staff that Lickliter has assembled at UE, it is easy for parents to entrust that staff with their child while the player can see for himself the family atmosphere that is evident.  Right on the surface – it says a lot about a coach when he can bring in assistants who he coached at the college level and has seen them rise through the ranks to attain coaching positions at the highest level of college basketball.
 
"Coach (Lickliter) and I have always been close – it obviously helps when you have success together, but it is so much more.  In the recruiting stage, you knew what you were getting, you knew you had a guy that cared about you cared about your future," he recalled.  "When I was being recruited – you obviously choose a program based on the university itself, but the coaching staff is just as important.  Coach helped to mold me as a man with the values that I live by."
 
"The relationship that you have only starts when you play for them, but it lasts well beyond your playing days.  After graduating, I would meet Coach for lunch, we would meet at a game when he was scouting for the Celtics and he would stop by practices at Hinkle Fieldhouse.  It shows that our program is built on relationships.  TJ (UE assistant coach Thomas Jackson) and I are both living testaments to this.  We are not just recruiting you to Evansville – we are recruiting you to be part of this family.  It is a long-term decision."
 
Crone joined the Evansville family in the summer of 2020 after spending six seasons as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations at his alma mater.  It is his first Division I assistant coaching position and he could not be happier with the opportunity.

"It is really exciting as I have been working to take this step for a long time.  One goal was to work under someone who I could really trust and does things the right way," Crone exclaimed.  "Playing for Coach for four seasons was important because I came in knowing exactly how things would be done.  The tradition at Evansville was also important.  I was born and raised in Indiana and know the importance of this program and am really excited to work on bringing it back!"
 
"Over the summer, I had the chance to visit campus and was very impressed.  You walk around and look at the resources we have – the practice gym, player lounge and the campus itself – we have so much support that you do not see everywhere.  I had the opportunity to speak with (UE Director of Athletics) Mark Spencer and came away knowing that we would be supported.  This was really a no-brainer."

Growing up, Crone also viewed a future in coaching as a no-brainer.  He had the goal of playing overseas before working his way into the coaching ranks.  At a young age – he has checked both of those boxes and has a bright future ahead.
 
"I knew that I wanted to play overseas and eventually get into coaching after that.  It is all for the love of the game," Crone said.  "I have had the opportunity to work and play for some really good coaches along the way and you learn from them and see what they do while observing work they put in.  I really gravitated towards that.  I always knew that I wanted to stay in the game and when you have good coaches that you learn from, that really helps."
 
It also helps to begin your high school career playing for a Hall of Famer.  As a freshman and sophomore at Frankfort High School, Crone played for Marty Echelbarger, who was an inductee into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.  He finished his high school career playing for Clint Swan before playing for Lickliter in his college days with Matthew Graves, LaVall Jordan and Brad Stevens also on that staff.  In his work on the Bulldog staff, he had the opportunity to work with two more coaches who have proven to have some of the best coaching minds in college basketball: Chris Holtmann and LaVall Jordan.
 
As he was wrapping up his playing career in high school, Butler was coming off a Sweet 16 appearance in 2003.  It meant a lot to Crone and his teammates to continue the success that his predecessors put in place.  They accomplished that feat with another Sweet 16 in 2007.  Following his graduation, Crone continued his playing career overseas. 
 
"I started in France and the team actually went under during the first year, so I ended up playing in Germany, Hungary and Sweden all in one season.  Seeing four places in my first year and going around Paris with three bags around my neck trying to figure things out was very interesting but I wouldn't trade it for anything," he exclaimed.  "It was a lot of fun and I had a chance to see the world and to get paid to play a game that you love."

Over the course of his professional playing career, he crossed paths with fellow UE assistant coach Thomas Jackson.  In a friendly rivalry – Jackson led the league in steals and Crone was in the top five and always tried to get the upper hand in that statistic.
 
"It was fun to have two Butler guys playing against each other, especially in the playoffs.  The League in Poland had four kids from Indianapolis in it, so it meant a lot to see this so far away from home."
 
When his playing career came to an end, he transitioned to coaching, working as an assistant at Park Tudor High School in Indianapolis where his team won the 2011 Indiana Class 2A State Championship.  Crone spent the next three seasons as an assistant coach at Nova Southeastern, who plays at the NCAA Division II level in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.  It was then time to return home.  When the chance to return to Butler arose, he took full advantage.  His time working at the DII level paid dividends when he returned to Butler

"I always said that was almost easier (working at DI level), because a Division II, you are doing pretty much everything from operations to recruiting and everything in between.  At Butler – I still had similar duties except for the recruiting.  It was all very similar – just on a much larger stage."
 
The stage does not get much larger than Big East basketball.  In early March of this year – Crone and his squad were in New York City ready to make a run at a conference championship at Madison Square Garden.  As we all know – COVID-19 brought about an abrupt end to the college basketball season.  It stung just a bit more or Crone.
 
"It was challenging – we were in our hotel in New York and were about 30 minutes from getting on the bus to go to the arena when the commissioner called me and said to hold your team – you are not going," Crone referenced.  "You went from that to basically having your season end in the blink of an eye.  We worked to book a charter flight back home that night.  Then you have the uncertainty of COVID – we were smack dab in the middle of New York City, which was the hotbed at that time.  Nobody really knew the ramifications or the gravity of it at that time."
 
"Once we got back home, you heard some new information or had new protocols almost every day.  Our approach was to keep the guys as motivated as possible.  I feel bad for the players right now who are going through it, you just try and keep them as motivated as possible and try to do what is best for them while also keeping them safe."
 
With the calendar now reading November – things are still unique.  There is new information coming in all the time, but the important thing is that the season is right around the corner.  While beginning a new chapter in life always has its ups and downs, Crone is settled in Evansville with wife Morgan, son Kellar and daughter Arlowe.
 
"My wife and I are high school sweethearts.  We dated at Frankfort High School and she went on to attend IU with me going to Butler.  She went on to grad school at Washington University in St. Louis at the time when I went to play overseas," he added.  "We joke around that we stayed together because we went to different places before getting married in 2010.  She has been very supportive of me working in the coaching profession."
 
"We love it in Evansville.  The adjustment has been almost easier in a way – moving during COVID actually helped us to take our time finding a house and getting the kids situated.  You do not always have that chance in this line of work.  We have a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old who are both in school and are able to go in person, so they are making friends.  My wife and I have enjoyed the chance to explore the area – we are really loving Evansville.  It has been a really good adjustment and we are excited for the future."