Hoosiers Make A Scandal Free Hire

After watching its players essentially quit on interim head coach Dan Dakich, Indiana University did the only thing they could, and hired a high profile name to step in as the new coach of the basketball team. This time, however, Indiana smartly picked someone who hasn’t been involved in scandal or enters the job with no experience. Tom Crean, the Marquette coach of the last 10 years, agreed to become the coach of the Hoosiers on Tuesday and enters this high profile position with no external baggage, something that hasn’t been true for some of Indiana’s prior coaches. By ending the speculation of who their next head coach would be, the Hoosiers have put themselves in position to move on from the ordeal of the last several weeks. After being hit with an unexpected NCAA investigation during the stretch run of the season, the Hoosiers watched as their successful 2007-08 season was torn to shreds.

After reaching out for the troubled, yet accomplished Kelvin Sampson, Indiana was expected to become one of the nation’s most prominent programs again. With the highly publicized recruiting of Eric Gordon, the Hoosiers had the talent to compete for Big 10 Championships and Final Fours again. However, Sampson was busted for illegal recruiting violations in February, something that’s been all too common for the highly regarded coach. During his time at Oklahoma, Sampson was busted for similar violations, but the Hoosiers took a chance on him and offered a second chance. Indiana, who was forced to deal with more than enough scandal with Bobby Knight, acted quickly when Sampson screwed up again and immediately forced his resignation. With their highly talented team in shambles, the Hoosiers basketball program was once again in a state of flux.

Enter Dan Dakich, who would materialize into nothing but a lame duck coach. From the moment he was named the interim coach, everyone involved in the Indiana program believed he wasn’t the answer. When Sampson resigned, he left behind a 22-4 team that was in contention for a conference championship and was a top-15 team. After his resignation, the team threatened to walk out on Dakich with several players choosing to skip practice on the first day of practice with the new regime. Over the last month, Indiana would struggle, going 3-4 in their final seven games. The uninspiring run to finish the season was punctuated by losses to Penn State, Minnesota and Arkansas in their final three games of the season.

Ending Dakich’s disappointing run was the crucial first step toward getting Indiana back to where it wants to be. Hiring the respectable Crean, who has a solid 190-96 record as coach, is the next step forward. In his first head coaching gig with the Golden Eagles, Crean led his team to its first Final Four in 26 years, made five NCAA Tournaments, and was Coach of the Year in his conference three times. Since Knight left his post in 2000, the Hoosiers have had a hard time settling on a worthy candidate.

Although Mike Davis led Indiana to the 2002 Championship Game, his seven years with the Hoosiers was mired by a fan base that didn’t think he was good enough. Like Dakich, everything he accomplished wasn’t good enough as Indiana was an institution that craved a figure bigger than the unproven Davis. They found one with Sampson, but his shady tactics proved he wasn’t the answer either. Crean has a combination of all the things the Hoosiers crave from their head coaches. He’s a high profile name, has a squeaky clean reputation, and has proven that he can flat out coach. However, Crean enters a program that's still a mess, largely because of the damage Sampson has done. Hoosier fans will be forced to be patient with their new hire, something that is definitely not in their nature. Crean’s first objective is finding a way to convince superstar Eric Gordon to stay in school; achieve that, and Indiana will be feeling MUCH better about their chances next year.