Since April 5, 2003, it hasn't been easy being a Marquette fan.

On that day, Kansas outdid the best MU men's basketball team since 1977 in a humbling national semifinal game, 94-61. But even though the Golden Eagles' most exciting season in a quarter-century ended with a thud, there was a distinct feeling that Marquette was once again a player on the national scene.

It hasn't worked out that way. Shortly after the Final Four defeat, Dwyane Wade announced he was entering the NBA Draft (a wise decision in retrospect). Following his defection, Tom Crean's team had a horrible February last season, causing it to miss the NCAA Tournament.

This season, it's gotten even worse. Conference play has been uneven at best, and Travis Diener's career came to a sad end last week when he broke a couple fingers during practice (Diener was just 83 points shy of breaking George Thompson's school scoring record). And barring a miracle run in the Conference USA tournament, MU will miss out on the big dance for a second consecutive year.

But we already know all this. What we don't know is what the future will bring. But it's a hot topic of conversation among Golden Eagles fans, with several areas highlighting the discussions.

What's wrong with Tom Crean?

The only people that go from smart to dumb (or vice versa) faster than coaches are parents. Two springs ago, Crean was the hottest coaching candidate in the nation. Today, people are starting to wonder if maybe he didn't just catch lightning (in this case, Wade) in a bottle.

As shallow as that judgment may appear, the questions are justified. Crean did suffer talent losses in both years, but that has also happened to both UW-Madison (Kirk Penney, Devin Harris) and UW-Milwaukee (Clay Tucker, Dylan Page) in each of the last two seasons. Both teams came back strong in the following years.

None of those players have Wade's talent, but losing stars is something that happens to good college teams. As the saying goes, good programs don't rebuild, they reload.

Including this season, Crean will have qualified for three NITs and two NCAAs in his six seasons (assuming an NIT bid this year), and his winning percentage (as of Monday) is .640 (110-62). Predecessor Mike Deane went to two NITs and two NCAAs in five seasons with a winning percentage of .645 (100-55).

The obvious difference here is that Crean went to a Final Four; Deane never got to a Sweet 16. And Crean is clearly the better recruiter. Still, the numbers look similar, and Deane wasn't too popular in Milwaukee by the end of his tenure.

Crean isn't going anywhere. And this isn't meant to disparage his credentials. But if he goes another season or two without a NCAA bid, Final Four memories will fade.