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IU Hires Marquette's Crean
Trustee Calls Coach 'Great Choice' For Hoosiers
POSTED: 5:49 pm EDT April 1,
2008
UPDATED: 10:09 am EDT April 2,
2008
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University has hired Marquette's Tom Crean, who took the Golden Eagles to the 2003 Final Four, as the Hoosiers' next head men's basketball coach.IU said it would introduce Crean during a news conference Wednesday at 11 a.m. TheIndyChannel.com plans to show the news conference live.
Blog: Crean Of The Crop?
IU received a letter of agreement from Crean, who told Marquette's men's basketball team about his move Tuesday evening, according to a source familiar with the situation, 6Sports Director Dave Furst reported.IU trustee Philip Eskew told The Associated Press that Crean is "a great choice.""He has a Big Ten background, a Midwest background, he's recruited in the state of Indiana and he has an impeccable record, so I think Indiana is on the road to recovery," Eskew said.Marquette confirmed Crean was leaving the school in a statement Tuesday night.Crean's record as head coach at Marquette is 190-96 in nine seasons. He coached the Golden Eagles to the 2003 Final Four and had been an assistant coach at Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Western Kentucky.Indiana had been looking for a replacement for Kelvin Sampson, who resigned in February after the NCAA alleged he committed major rules violations relating to recruiting. Sampson assistant Dan Dakich has been the team's interim head coach; IU's season ended when it lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament.Wednesday would have been a high-profile day for IU even if it weren't to introduce Crean as head coach. Former President Bill Clinton is expected to campaign for his wife, presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton, at IU's Assembly Hall on Wednesday afternoon.IU May Be Without Returning Starters Next SeasonWhoever coaches IU next season may guide a team with no returning starters.On Tuesday, IU confirmed that guards Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis were dismissed from the team. The Indianapolis Star reported Monday that both players missed an appointment with interim coach Dan Dakich, then didn't show up to run laps as punishmentFreshman guard Eric Gordon is expected to announce Monday whether he will enter the NBA draft.IU Faces June Hearing Over Sampson AllegationsSampson agreed to resign from IU on Feb. 22 in exchange for $750,000. To receive the payment from IU, he must cooperate fully with an NCAA investigation into the violation allegations. The deal also prevents Sampson from suing the university for damages.A Feb. 8 NCAA report alleged Sampson and two assistants didn't comply with telephone recruiting restrictions that had been imposed because of Sampson's previous violations at Oklahoma. It also accused Sampson of providing misleading information to investigators from the university and the NCAA, and it accused Sampson and an assistant of engaging in an impermissible recruiting contact during a two-day sports camp last year.Sampson has said he never intentionally provided false or misleading information to NCAA investigators.IU has until May 8 to respond to the NCAA allegations. A hearing on the matter is set for June 14.Major violations of NCAA rules can lead to punishments including postseason ineligibility.Stay with 6News and TheIndyChannel.com for updates.
Previous Stories:
- April 1, 2008: 2 Starters Booted From IU Basketball Team
- March 31, 2008: Bennett Not Interested In IU Coaching Vacancy
Copyright 2008 by TheIndyChannel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.









