Crean will bring IU back

Redemption was wearing a dark suit and a red and white tie in Bloomington yesterday. It entered the room a quarter past 11 with a desert-sun tan, spectacles and a 1,000-watt smile. It worked the crowd with purpose and kissed its wife and children as the cameras clicked in the background. And then redemption spoke and delivered a reassuring message that eased the frayed nerves of the cream-and-crimson faithful. Scratch that. Make it the Crean-and-crimson faithful.\n“I don’t have a lot of eloquent things to tell you in the sense of why I am so excited,” said Tom Crean after being introduced as the 28th coach of the IU men’s basketball program. “I just know how I feel. It’s an honor. It’s a humbling honor.”\nHonor and humility are two things that have been in short supply around Assembly Hall lately. If it wasn’t Kelvin Sampson refusing to take responsibility for his mistakes this past season, it was his players acting selfishly and with little foresight. The comments made this week by former player Jamarcus Ellis reflect this shortsightedness best. Ellis said he never intended on leaving the program, but that he quit the team because he didn’t get along with former interim coach Dan Dakich.\n“I never left the team, I quit,” Ellis said. How is quitting any different, Jamarcus?\nIt has yet to be determined whether Ellis or Armon Bassett will be allowed to rejoin the team, but Crean should be leery of players that share Ellis’ attitude.\nThe state of the current team is just one of the many things Crean will have to catch up on as he transitions from Marquette to IU. He already knows much of the history, the tradition and the expectations that come with the job. He already understands the importance of basketball in this state.\n“It’s Indiana,” Crean said. “And that is the bottom line. And that is the premise that we are going to work under here. That is the premise that we are going to undertake the challenge.”\nAnd what a challenge it will be. The first order of business should be sorting through the current players and incoming recruits. Crean met the current team – or what is left of it – for the first time Wednesday morning and said he planned on contacting incoming recruits ASAP. Eli Holman, who was recruited by Marquette in high school, left with a positive impression of the coach.\n“I respect him 110 percent,” Holman said. “He opened a lot of guys’ eyes. He showed off a lot of passion and truth.” \nHoosier fans would be wise to taper their expectations for next season as the program finds itself under a new coach without a lot of returning talent. When Sampson took over, he inherited veteran players D.J. White, Rod Wilmont and Earl Calloway. Crean will find no such experience on the current squad. An NIT appearance next year should be considered a successful season.\nThe naming of Crean as head coach doesn’t just mark the end of the messy Sampson era, however, it marks a return to the values on which this program was established; things like respect, community and academics – things a lot of coaches pay lip service to, but few embody.\nThat’s why Hoosier fans should feel good about this hire. That’s why they can buy their “Crean and crimson” shirts knowing they will be able to wear them with pride for years to come. That’s why IU basketball will be redeemed.