Assembly Hall itself a pitch to potentials

Correction: This story previously stated that IU men's basketball coach Tom Crean would get additional sales pitch time while "watching from the stands." Crean is not allowed to watch the tournament. This statement has been removed. The IDS regrets the error.

It’s that time of year again, friends: the time when college basketball coaches across the country hit the recruiting trail after the Final Four in search of future stars they hope will lead them to the promised land.

One weekend it may be Las Vegas. On another, it could be Fort Wayne for the Indiana-based Spiece Run ’N Slam Classic.

But this weekend, the stakes have been raised. Elite teams are not only playing in front of coaches and scouts (as if that isn’t already enough pressure), but playing inside one of the most storied basketball venues in the entire country: Assembly Hall.

This weekend during the adidas May Classic, top recruits from all across the country will travel to southern Indiana to showcase their talents in front of some of college basketball’s finest. 

With many AAU tournaments being held at multi-court indoor facilities or high school venues across the country, IU having an event – an endorsed event – makes it something for recruits to remember.

Playing below 17,000 seats and five national championship banners sets IU ahead of places like North Carolina, Duke, UCLA and the rival Purdue Boilermakers.

Still facing what the Kelvin Sampson era brought to the IU program, Crean and his staff must use every last bit of what this weekend presents, before the sub-10 win seasons build and the hole becomes even deeper.

Although Crean’s tenure is only one year old, it has been marked by a passion – no, a fever – for the program.

After watching and listening to a good number of Crean’s offseason press conferences since last April, his references to people and things like Bob Knight, Kent Benson, Damon Bailey, Scott May, Steve Alford and the banners at the south end of Assembly Hall easily outnumber his comments on the game itself.

Crean’s talk last October at the IU Auditorium was a smash hit, drawing multiple rounds of applause after his pitches as to why Indiana basketball is still a great program. Despite a tumultuous season on paper, fans began to buy into the system, to the point where Assembly Hall was soldout during the worst season in IU history.

The same ardor was pitched over the last year to blue chip recruits like Christian Watford, Derek Elston and Bobby Cappobianco, and obviously drew a positive response. No wonder Crean was able to sell a previously underachieving Marquette program to names like Dwayne Wade and Travis Deiner en route to the 2003 Final Four, with Dominic James to follow.

Who better to head the efforts this weekend?

Crean’s made it clear that he won’t allow guys who decide to leave it all on the court and nothing in the classroom. A successful weekend could not only show yet another sign the program is heading in the right direction, but also ease the pain of a recent subpar Academic Progress Rate report.