Crean to re-introduce team Friday at ‘Haunted Hall of Hoops’

IU coach Tom Crean wants people to get to know the Hoosiers before their first exhibition game on Nov. 7.

The first chance to see the new-look IU squad came two weeks ago at Hoosier Hysteria. Then last Saturday the team scrimmaged at Assembly Hall shortly after IU’s Homecoming football victory against Northwestern.

A third chance to catch a glimpse of the team comes Friday night at an event Crean has dubbed the “Haunted Hall of Hoops.”

The doors of Assembly Hall will open at 7 p.m., and players will be available to sign autographs until 7:30 p.m.

The event is planned to be something of a mixture of the last two live scrimmages, combining a more polished Hoosier squad seen last Saturday with the festivity of Hoosier Hysteria.

“We’ll get loose with some practice things, but it will be more scrimmage-oriented,” Crean said. “Then we’ll do different things inside of the time-outs to have some fun. We want it to be intense when they’re on the court but still be able to utilize time for people to come in and have some fun, especially with the little kids.”

In addition to the players signing autographs, Crean said the team also will be passing out candy, wrist bands and other prizes. The halftime entertainment of the scrimmage will be a costume parade for children.

Leading up to the event, Crean was cagey with the media – and his players – about specifics concerning what would take place during the Haunted Hall of Hoops.

Freshman guard Verdell Jones, who led all scorers with 30 points last Saturday, said he had no idea what the event would entail when asked after Hoosier Hysteria. Fellow freshman guard Nick Williams added during last week’s press conference that he still wasn’t sure about what would happen but added, “Knowing Coach Crean, he’ll have something up his sleeve.”

When asked at Hoosier Hysteria if he would be sporting a costume, Crean quickly dismissed the idea. But during his weekly press conference Thursday, Crean said he was having second thoughts and might show up in costume.

“I shouldn’t say that, because I probably will end up not coming in here in anything other than coaching attire,” Crean said. “But I have thought about it.”

Being available to the Hoosier fan base has been a focal point for the new Hoosiers this season and something Crean has emphasized to his team through the course of the offseason.

“That’s what coach preaches,” junior guard Devan Dumes said. “That’s what coach wants us to do – to get more acquainted with the community.”

Crean added that along with being more open to the community, events like the Haunted Hall of Hoops are valuable to his team. They allow the Hoosiers to get more experience playing in front of people at a college gym, something most of the team is unfamiliar with.

“I just want to put our guys in as many environments as we can within reason to play in front of a crowd – to have the band playing, the music playing,” Crean said. “It’s not like they have a whole lot of experience with playing at Assembly Hall.”