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Tom Crean left Marquette and inherited a mess at Indiana. Now he has the tall task of returning the Hoosiers to prominence
By Didier Morais
Posted: 11/12/08, 7:37 PM EST Section: Basketball 2008
At Oklahoma, Sampson had a reputation of recruiting players with questionable character. He also possessed one of the worst player graduation rates in Division I basketball, ranking 269th out of 317 teams from 1995 to 1999.
But his worst offense came between 2000 and 2004, when he violated NCAA policy and made 577 illegal phone calls to 17 recruits, leading to numerous self-imposed penalties for the Sooners.
Three years later, Sampson committed virtually the same violation at Indiana. He participated in 10 impermissible conference calls with recruits.
The resulting allegations stirred an outcry from former Hoosiers players. All the rich tradition earned from those 20 Big Ten championships and five national championships became afterthoughts in the midst of the controversy.
"As a former player it was very disheartening, and as a fan it was gut-wrenching to sit there and watch a program disassemble," said Todd Leary, a point guard with the Hoosiers from 1989-94. "You look forward the NCAA tournament and the end of the year, because it's the most fun, but that was all thrown into the toilet because of the negative atmosphere. It made the end of the year terrible."
Indiana bought out the remainder of Sampson's contract and promoted Dan Dakich to interim coach, which prompted a players' boycott. It was one of the darkest times in Indiana basketball history. A far cry from a decade ago, when Bobby Knight stalked the sidelines, and Indiana was arguably the face of college basketball.
Now, nine years and two coaches since Knight's departure, Crean's hiring has restored hope among Indiana alumni. Phil Isenbarger, a guard on the Hoosiers 1981 national championship team, met Crean recently and came away impressed by Greenspan's latest hire.
"I know he is very good about honoring the tradition and wanting to get back to where we were before," Isenbarger said. "He brings all the passion and energy for the job that you want to see from your head coach."
But his worst offense came between 2000 and 2004, when he violated NCAA policy and made 577 illegal phone calls to 17 recruits, leading to numerous self-imposed penalties for the Sooners.
Three years later, Sampson committed virtually the same violation at Indiana. He participated in 10 impermissible conference calls with recruits.
The resulting allegations stirred an outcry from former Hoosiers players. All the rich tradition earned from those 20 Big Ten championships and five national championships became afterthoughts in the midst of the controversy.
"As a former player it was very disheartening, and as a fan it was gut-wrenching to sit there and watch a program disassemble," said Todd Leary, a point guard with the Hoosiers from 1989-94. "You look forward the NCAA tournament and the end of the year, because it's the most fun, but that was all thrown into the toilet because of the negative atmosphere. It made the end of the year terrible."
Indiana bought out the remainder of Sampson's contract and promoted Dan Dakich to interim coach, which prompted a players' boycott. It was one of the darkest times in Indiana basketball history. A far cry from a decade ago, when Bobby Knight stalked the sidelines, and Indiana was arguably the face of college basketball.
Now, nine years and two coaches since Knight's departure, Crean's hiring has restored hope among Indiana alumni. Phil Isenbarger, a guard on the Hoosiers 1981 national championship team, met Crean recently and came away impressed by Greenspan's latest hire.
"I know he is very good about honoring the tradition and wanting to get back to where we were before," Isenbarger said. "He brings all the passion and energy for the job that you want to see from your head coach."
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