OG Anunoby’s college coach Tom Crean gushes about new Knicks star: ‘Gonna be special’

Tom Crean and his wife received a text Monday night from one of his former college players, congratulating Joani — the sister of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh — on the Wolverines advancing to the national championship game with an overtime victory over Alabama. 

The message came within minutes of the game ending, and it came from newly acquired Knick OG Anunoby, who played for Crean at Indiana for two seasons before embarking on his NBA career in 2017. 

“OG is one of the most loyal players and people I’ve ever known, so it didn’t surprise me that we heard from him, right away,” Crean told The Post in a phone interview Tuesday. “That’s just who he’s always been. I’m telling you this right now, New York is really going to love him.” 

Crean, an ESPN analyst after being let go by Georgia last season, echoed the sentiments that the former Raptors forward will be “a perfect fit” for New York and in the Knicks’ system under head coach Tom Thibodeau, with his multifaceted debut in Monday’s win over the Timberwolves “a great example of everything he can do for that team.” 

“No question about it, he’ll fit into the fabric of the city and the Knicks,” Crean said. “He’s got the game, he’s got a lot of substance to his game, there’s some style to his game, he works and makes a difference at both ends, and most of all, he is who he is. New York always has embraced that combination, that type of player. 

“He’s not going to give outlandish quotes, but he’s going to be a very good representative of that team and that city because of who he is. He’s an old soul in a lot of ways, a very caring person, but he has got an incredible drive. I’d almost say it’s an insatiable drive to be great and to win.”