Indiana's OG Anunoby went down with an apparent knee injury late in the first half of the Hoosiers' narrow victory over Penn State. The Hoosiers, who lead by as many as 14 points in the second half, nearly blew that big lead before James Blackmon Jr. nailed a buzzer-beater for the 78-75 win.
After the game, Indiana coach Tom Crean opened up about the win and became emotional when talking about the injury to his all-everything star Anunoby.
"As the leader of these guys I'm excited about the way they played considering everything we went through in this game," Crean said. "There were a lot of tears in that locker room because no one knew what was going on with one of their fallen brothers. And I had to leave a guy who was crying and that wasn't easy. But we found a way to win the game so I'm proud of them for that."
Coach Crean after tonight's win. #iubbhttps://t.co/XBZjRaKFzo
— Indiana Basketball (@IndianaMBB) January 19, 2017
It's easy to view coaches as robots and judge them solely on wins and losses. But the passion Crean showed for Anunoby and the rest of the team that had to battle through the game puts things in perspective. It's a rare sight to see a coach break down on television, but it's a bit of an inside look at just how much coaches put into the players and how something like Anunoby's injury can impact them on an emotional level.