Yeah! I was right on the money on his contract numbers! Someone owes me something! Do I win a free Crean & Crimson t-shirt?!

No, but I hear T.I.S. should have them shortly.

OK well you should still be impressed that I called the 8 year 2.3 mil per....

Impressed I am. Good to see more people joining the community here as well. You've been a welcome addition here easy and I look forward to reading what you have to say.

I want one...actually...more than one of those CREAN N CRIMSON shirts...let me know if anyone does find them.

TIS has Crean & Crimson shirts available online already for $10 (plus $9 to ship, at least to me).
http://www.tisbookiu.com/item-detail.cfm?sku=20...

Damn that is quick...NICE

Thanks for the info. I just ordered two.

Thanks...I ordered one for myself...one for my wife...and one for my
neighbor who is a bigger IU freak than I am

They're in the store now! I got one hot off the presses, they had just arrived a few minutes earlier.

I hope I get mine by Friday...I paid extra for shipping and would
think that I was one of the early online orders...

His first order of business: get Ebanks back. Second order of business: Bassett and Ellis back on the team

I'd say first order would be to get Basset back. We need dat fool.

is there video of this?

I'm sure there might be later on at the official IU site. I'd keep checking over there throughout the day.

espn.com had it streaming but i dont know if they have it posted yet... WTHR.com of indianapolis also had it streaming and might have something up.

espn.com has a 2 1/2 minute clip posted now...

Any word on his plans to talk to Ellis and Bassett?

I was absolutely thrilled with the hire and after listening to the press conference I am even more convinced IU, my alma mater, definitely made a great choice to lead the basketball program.

I had the chance to meet Coach Crean and his wife a few years ago at the Globetrotter vs College All Star game at Conseco as he was watching and supporting his former player Steve Novak.

I came away from that meeting and conversation thinking what a great guy he was.

Those of you that haven't set up an avatar, here are some instructions:

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- In the top right corner, click settings
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I don't think Dak will stay on as a coach
I HOPE McCallum does stay on as a coach
I would NOT be crushed if Armon and Ellis didn't return, although I hope they do because at some point IU needs to set a standard again and maybe these kids don't realize that. Suspensions are unacceptable! Now I do think there is MORE to the story than we know.

Whatever he decides is the right thing to do with Ellis and Bassett I will agree with. He is a good judge of character. Whether they get a clean slate or not should be completely up to him. So I'll stand by his decision.

I wondered what he was bringing up when he carried that shirt...pretty quick work by the Hoosiers to get that done.

I still think the IU student section should be called the Crimson Guard (g.i. joe reference)

He said all the right things, now let's see what miracles he can pull off and what happens with the NCAA infractions committee in June.

Gotta be the Crean & Crimson Crew!

Does anyone else want to know if we talked or inquired about Grant, Miller, or Brownell?

I am not sure I want to know how close were to hiring Kruger or Monty

Hutch reported that we did not contact the ADs for Brownell or Grant, Miller's AD never returned Hutch's call.

His first order of business should be with Bassett and Ellis and then talking to all other players to make sure they don't transfer (Crawford, McGee, Holman). After that he must deal with Ebanks and Holloway.

Other thoughts:

-Dakich should go back to being Director of Basketball Operations or whatever he was
-McCallum should stay on as an assitant
-Crean can do whatever he wants with the rest of his staff
-I love how embraced the tradition

I'm happy, which has been rare over the past few days.

Any info on Holman and Crawford being there? Hoosier Scoop mentioned they showed up. I guess that's a good sign, but what about the other players?

I listened to what Crawford had to say. Sounds like he'll be back.

I read Crawford's comments on Hoosier Scoop. Very encouraging. Although TUO is probably thinking that if everyone bolts, he's going to average 30 points a game. Hopefully he'd rather win than do that, however.

I wonder if Finklemeir was there

Finkelmeier is the man! Highly underrated guard. Hopefully he'll get some significant PT next year if all of these guys leave like they're saying.

I've gone to school and been friends with fink for 8 years hes a solid ball player and definitely should see some pt

I'm really excited. The guy will be good for the university. I tend to agree that Dakich prolly won't be back. He said that the players needed people on staff that they could trust, and rightly or wrongly, they don't like, trust, respect, etc... dan dakich.

I believe J. Naismith stated "Basketball may have been born in Mass but it grew up in Indiana" Crean get's that. I am really excited about this hire. He wasn't my first choice but after reading more, watching the news conference, I believe that we have made the right choice. I think he understands Hoosier Hysteria, he understands what the Hoosiers mean to it's fan base. I think he understands what every little boy in Indiana dreams of and that is to be part of Indiana basketball tradition. I understand that we have awhile before we climb back to the top but we are on our way, but asCrean stated "It's Indiana" and we will be there again.

I agree completely with HOOSIERGAL...other than the fact that I thought we should have gone after and got Coach Crean two years ago.

How does a guy like Dominic James get out of Indiana and go to Marquette of all places...TOM CREAN!

I am beyond excited...has not been alot to be excited about in a long time!

I really liked what he said about IU being bigger than any one person (referring to the great players and coaches that have come through IU). He repeated that again when someone asked about Bassett and Ellis. Playing for IU is a big responsibility and you represent a lot of people (past players, alumni, current students, etc.) With that said, I agree that he will make the right call regarding AB and JE. He will find out what is really going on with the current players, and I think he will make the right decision.

Agreed...I stated in reply to another comment above that if in fact AB and JE have already been given multiple chances and have not made that most of them...they need to be gone...BUT...I do believe in 2nd chances and each of them should be looked at individually and I believe Coach Crean should have the final say.

Anyone catch his pitch to Benson during the press conference? It's widely known that Benson was ANTI-Sampson and hadn't been to the Hall since Sampson was named coach. Crean spent a couple of minutes talking about the pictures of Benson in his room as a child. I think this guy understands the IU family!

I agree...he definitely understands IU and the tradition and "family" that comes with IU basketball

Dear Coach Crean: Can you bring Dominik James and Jarel McNeal with you when you come?

It would be awesome to see D James allowed to come to IU...I have heard from people close to him in Richmond, IN that he wanted to play for IU but was not recruited too heavily by Mike Davis and did not really want to play for him...hence his departure to Marquette...apparently IU and Purdue were both asleep when it came to D James...he should have been Mr. Basketball...

Crean on Espn Radio's Mike Turico Show : He wants to talk to EJ and tell him his feelings on going pro. Talked about Ellis and Basset and said that he is going to talk to both of them. He recruited Basset when he was at marquette, basset is one of domique james' best friends.

Decent interview, kinda short.

link?

lo siento, just caught it on the radio. im sure you can catch it on podcast, as all espn radio shows have podcasts later on in the day.

Okay now I have a question . What are the realities of possible NCAA sanctions? I keep telling myself (and this may be wishful thinking) that Indiana has a history of running a squeaky clean program for many years. We intervened quickly and ruthlessly and very possibly destroying any real chance to make a run in this year's tournament. In my gut, I just can't believe that any further sanctions will be harsh. But on the other hand, I see M. Brand who to say the least was hated (and is hated) by Hoosier fans. Any opinions out there?

I see no reason why the NCAA would impose additional sanctions. At worst I see another scholarship ripped away. I just can't see them slapping a post season ban on us..

Not for phone calls...I understand the rule and why it is in place but there are a lot
worse things that have gone on and probably are going on as we speak when it
comes to recruiting. I think the university has done plenty in punishing itself and a
post season ban is not necessary.

There's no precedent for them to give us a port-season ban. Recruiting restrictions, sure, but no ban. All previous post-season bans have come from more severe things like paying players, buying them cars, etc.

Like the law, when looking at cases you refer back to what has been established as precedent, and it has been set and we should be in the clear.

Hey...how do I vote YES for Coach Crean on the Inside the Hall ??

Let's be realistic: Sampson and his staff made phone calls. They weren't paying players or cavorting with boosters. The University put his butt on the street when it became clear that he had violated the rules. They voluntarily gave up a scholarship.

Generally speaking, there has to be a severe lack of institutional control and some measure of success for the NCAA to hand down a post-season ban. In the case of IU, there just wasn't that much there, other than a cell phone bill.

More likely than not, they'll place IU on probation for 2-4 years. They'll accept the already imposed penalties. Life will go on, and when Coach Crean inagurates a new basketball stadium in Bloomington by hanging a new banner, the last few years will be all but forgotten.

I am very excited about Crean as the new coach and anxious to learn how he is going to handle all the pressing issues ahead of him. I see the obstacles in this order:

1. Bassett and Ellis and anyone who might be transferring.
2. Holloway and Ebanks and recruiting, especially if players are transferring.
3. Picking his assistant coaches.

1) I think both will be back, though I'm in the minority and think Ellis is actually more important. Crawford can play Pt Guard, but you need an athletic 3 who can guard and play the wing...plus with Holloway who I think will come to IU that lessens the need for Bassett
2) Ebanks is a lost cause I think at this point, he is looking for a one year shot at a championship before he goes pro and IU is not that school, at least not next year. I say Holloway will be back
3) Hopefully, he dumps the entire staff except for maybe McCallum, and I tell Greenspan to send Dakich packing, tell him thanks for the memories and he can go to TT and be an assistant for Pat Knight. Obviously, there is something the players don't like about him, and he doesn't need to be anywhere near the program fostering the bad feelings from this year. I'm not saying its his fault but he did nothing at BG and did nothing at IU. Go back to being an alum and remembered for "stopping" Jordan instead of remembered for this. I do hope Crean adds one former Hoosier as a coach...possibly Keith Smart though I doubt he would leave IU

Holloway plays much more of a pure point guard position which would help Basset get more open looks

Agreed, I just think of the two positions, Crawford can step in to the 2 guard spot, but we have no one to play small forward on the roster. Don't get me wrong, Bassett is the better player, I just think Ellis is more important as far as the team is currently made up.

It's much easier to find a suitable small forward somewhere, but point guards are hard to find.

I think keeping Bassett has to be the priority of the two, and with point guard being so vital, I'd hate to throw Holloway (if he comes) right into the fire. Plus having Bassett and Holloway gives us two ball handlers.

Considering how much of a chucker and poor decision maker Crawford already is, I wouldn't want to see him at the PG spot. He is a SG through and through to me.

Hopefully, Crawford will become a little more disciplined with a coach who is a stickler for working hard and doing things the right way.

Oh, hey! Convenient!

When it comes to players I think the most important thing Crean said was how important he thinks PLAYER DEVELOPMENT is . He defined it beyond basketball terms and stated that it is his RESPONSIBILITY completely and personally.

As such I believe ALL players who WANT to develop will be back. Any player who hesitates to committ to that will be made an example of and be gone .................to the team's improvement I might add.

Frankly I could care less about Ebanks and Holloway. They are not TC's recruits and since he is our coach he deserves the chance to get his kind of guys. For all I know he has better arrows in his quiver. If Ebanks is "one and done" I would think twice anyway

I believe Crean and IU need each other. Crean has already shown that he can recruit young unknown talent and getting the best out of them ( aka Dominic James and Dwayne Wade). However nothing against Crean and Marquette but they could never a bring a big name recruit right out of high school. Now that Crean is coming to IU I think he will get those one or two studs that and open up the offesive side of the court. I think the resources that IU will bring will help Crean evolve to a better overall coach. But it helps Indiana that he helped make Dwayne Wade such a star, it gives other recurits the thought that he knows how to make them great players and that as long as they fit into his system they can make deep tourney runs. Lets hope for the best and lets kick some ass.

Just ordered my Crean and Crimson t-shirt hoefully it gets to me by friday