Introduction
James S. "Jim" Crews (born February 14, 1954) is the former head men's basketball coach for Saint Louis University. He was promoted to head coach after serving on an interim basis following the health concerns and eventual death of former Billikens head coach Rick Majerus. He was on Majerus' staff since 2011. After leading the Billikens to a school-record 28 wins, Crews was formally named SLU's 25th head coach on April 12, 2013. He was fired after the 2016 Atlantic 10 Tournament resulted in the elimination of the Billikens and marked the end of two 11–21 Billikens seasons.
Crews spent the first 13 years of his adult life at Indiana University under Bob Knight. He played on the 1976 NCAA Championship-winning team, the last undefeated champion in the men's division. After graduating, he served as an assistant on Knight's staff for eight years before moving to the University of Evansville in 1985. In 17 years, he led the Purple Aces to five NCAA Tournaments. His best team was the 1988-89 unit, which tallied the school's only NCAA Tournament win to date. He then coached at the United States Military Academy for seven years.
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evansville Purple Aces (Midwestern Collegiate Conference/Missouri Valley Conference) (1985–2002) | |||||||||
| 1985–86 | Evansville | 8–19 | 3–9 | 6th | |||||
| 1986–87 | Evansville | 16–12 | 8–4 | T-1st | |||||
| 1987–88 | Evansville | 21–8 | 6–4 | 2nd | NIT 2nd Round | ||||
| 1988–89 | Evansville | 25–6 | 10–2 | 1st | NCAA 2nd Round | ||||
| 1989–90 | Evansville | 17–15 | 8–6 | 5th | |||||
| 1990–91 | Evansville | 14–14 | 7–7 | T-5th | |||||
| 1991–92 | Evansville | 24–6 | 8–2 | 1st | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 1992–93 | Evansville | 23–7 | 12–2 | T-1st | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 1993–94 | Evansville | 21–11 | 6–4 | T-2nd | NIT 1st Round | ||||
| 1994–95 | Evansville | 18–9 | 11–7 | 5th | |||||
| 1995–96 | Evansville | 13–14 | 9–9 | T-5th | |||||
| 1996–97 | Evansville | 17–14 | 11–7 | T-4th | |||||
| 1997–98 | Evansville | 15–15 | 9–9 | T-6th | |||||
| 1998–99 | Evansville | 23–10 | 13–5 | 1st | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 1999–00 | Evansville | 18–12 | 9–9 | 6th | |||||
| 2000–01 | Evansville | 14–16 | 9–9 | 6th | |||||
| 2001–02 | Evansville | 7–21 | 4–14 | T-9th | |||||
| Evansville: | 294–209 (.584) | 143–109 (.567) | |||||||
| Army Black Knights (Patriot League) (2002–2009) | |||||||||
| 2002–03 | Army | 5–22 | 0–14 | 8th | |||||
| 2003–04 | Army | 6–21 | 3–11 | 7th | |||||
| 2004–05 | Army | 3–24 | 1–13 | 8th | |||||
| 2005–06 | Army | 5–22 | 1–13 | 8th | |||||
| 2006–07 | Army | 15–16 | 4–10 | T-6th | |||||
| 2007–08 | Army | 14–16 | 6–8 | T-5th | |||||
| 2008–09 | Army | 11–19 | 6–8 | 4th | |||||
| Army: | 59–140 (.296) | 21–77 (.214) | |||||||
| Saint Louis Billikens (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2012–present) | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | Saint Louis | 28–7 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Third Round | ||||
| 2013–14 | Saint Louis | 27–7 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Third Round | ||||
| 2014–15 | Saint Louis | 11–21 | 3–15 | 14th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Saint Louis | 11–21 | 5–13 | T–12th | |||||
| Saint Louis: | 77–56 (.579) | 34–34 (.500) | |||||||
| Total: | 431–404 (.516) | ||||||||
| National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||