2008 Woodie Awards
Crean turns to Crimson
Michael Marot (AP)
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Sports
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Passion led Tom Crean to Indiana. Success could turn him into a statewide folk hero.
The former Marquette coach jumped right into the high-stakes game of Hoosiers basketball on Wednesday, accepting the challenge of rebuilding the school's tattered reputation and restoring its national appeal despite all the blemishes surrounding the program.
"This place, this university, this program, for as long as I can remember, has stood for class and integrity, doing the right thing and being the right way," Crean said during his introductory news conference. "We're not going to be overwhelmed by the challenges, we're going to embrace them."
To show he was all in, Crean went all out.
Before stepping behind the podium, he met with his new players, told stories and offered to have more meetings before he heads to San Antonio for the Final Four. The 42-year-old coach, who grew up in Michigan, even took a moment to shake the hand of football coach Bill Lynch.
"I haven't gotten a chance to work with a football coach in a long time," joked Crean, who spent the past nine seasons at a non-football playing school.
Crean also walked over to his family, kissed his wife, Joani, and two of his three children - the 2-year-old ran off to find stickers. Finally, he held up a newly printed T-shirt that read "Crean and Crimson," a play on the school colors, cream and crimson.
Despite Crean's charming wit and enthusiastic personality, the honeymoon will be short.
He must deal with the taint of last season when Indiana's once-impeccable image for playing by the rules was shattered by allegations of Kelvin Sampson making impermissible phone calls. The NCAA accused Sampson of committing five major infractions, which led to Sampson's resignation Feb. 22.
The university's self-imposed punishment includes the loss of one scholarship next season.
And, of course, he must win.
So Indiana is giving Crean some extra time to clean up this mess.
The former Marquette coach jumped right into the high-stakes game of Hoosiers basketball on Wednesday, accepting the challenge of rebuilding the school's tattered reputation and restoring its national appeal despite all the blemishes surrounding the program.
"This place, this university, this program, for as long as I can remember, has stood for class and integrity, doing the right thing and being the right way," Crean said during his introductory news conference. "We're not going to be overwhelmed by the challenges, we're going to embrace them."
To show he was all in, Crean went all out.
Before stepping behind the podium, he met with his new players, told stories and offered to have more meetings before he heads to San Antonio for the Final Four. The 42-year-old coach, who grew up in Michigan, even took a moment to shake the hand of football coach Bill Lynch.
"I haven't gotten a chance to work with a football coach in a long time," joked Crean, who spent the past nine seasons at a non-football playing school.
Crean also walked over to his family, kissed his wife, Joani, and two of his three children - the 2-year-old ran off to find stickers. Finally, he held up a newly printed T-shirt that read "Crean and Crimson," a play on the school colors, cream and crimson.
Despite Crean's charming wit and enthusiastic personality, the honeymoon will be short.
He must deal with the taint of last season when Indiana's once-impeccable image for playing by the rules was shattered by allegations of Kelvin Sampson making impermissible phone calls. The NCAA accused Sampson of committing five major infractions, which led to Sampson's resignation Feb. 22.
The university's self-imposed punishment includes the loss of one scholarship next season.
And, of course, he must win.
So Indiana is giving Crean some extra time to clean up this mess.
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posted 4/11/08 @ 12:44 PM CST
You can get the "Crean & Crimson" t-shirt the Coach was holding up at the press conference at IUGear.com.
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