Indiana coach Tom Crean spoke on the record today about Eli Holman’s transfer to Detroit and instead of speaking in clichés, Crean got right down to the point. (Did I mention I love Crean already?)

Here’s what he told Chris Korman of the H-T/Hoosier Scoop:

Question: Can you say what prompted the outburst? Do you know?

Crean: I don’t know. I would say not getting the answer that he probably would have liked. It was about taking some time to go through this, but, I’ve seen now, this was totally part of an orchestration. It just was. I don’t have a lot of respect for that. I like Eli and I wish him well. I really do. In the short time we were with him, I liked him. But I don’t have a lot of respect for the way that it turned out.

Question: Did you put any conditions on Eli’s release?

Crean: No, not really. But it’s all sort of starting to play out, isn’t it?

It’s not often you hear a coach speak on the record like this, but I’m actually glad Crean stood up and put his feelings out there. And I must agree with his comment that called the transfer orchestrated. It’s certainly no coincidence that Holman ended up at Detroit. If Ray McCallum actually thought he was doing Eli a favor by bringing him to Detroit, he’s more worried about his immediate success in his new job than he is concerned for the kid. You can sense a bit of frustration in Crean’s comments and that likely comes from the fact that Holman gave the impression he wanted to stay at IU and then called a meeting out of nowhere to tell him he was leaving. Then just a few days later, he finds out he’s going to play for McCallum. I think we can all put the pieces together here.

Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press is reporting that our old friend Eli Holman is heading to Detroit to play for former Indiana assistant coach Ray McCallum:

Eli Holman confirmed his enrollment at UDM in a text message Tuesday to his high school coach, Robert Collins. “He’s an NBA player,” said Collins, the former coach at Richmond, Calif. “I think he can do a lot of good there.”

Nothing against the big man from Richmond, but I really wouldn’t call him an NBA player at this point. Potentially? Perhaps. But he’s got a long way to go before the NBA would even enter the discussion. And Detroit isn’t exactly a hotbed for producing players for the next level, either. Good luck Eli, we hardly knew ye.

Update: Detroit has issued a press release with some quotes from Eli and McCallum. Holman is the second former Hoosier to land with McCallum in the past couple of weeks as Xavier Keeling will also be a Titan. Here’s a couple of quotes:

Ray McCallum: “I’m really happy that Eli made the decision to come to UDM. I think me having been at Indiana and recruiting him was a big reason why he went there and he had a great opportunity there. But when you’re involved in a young man’s life for two years, you obviously build a relationship that he cared about and respected and he wanted it to continue. With his size, he’s an athletic player who can finish around the basket, he can block shots, he rebounds, he has good hands, he’s a good runner. I think the next phase for him is to continue to grow as a player in our practices. I’m glad he’s here with us.”

Eli Holman: “I want to thank the University of Indiana for the time that I spent there. I was treated fairly by all the people connected to the University. But, at this time, I think that it is in the best interest for me and my family to transfer to the University of Detroit Mercy. I wish the University of Indiana the best of luck. Coach Mac is a big reason why I’m here. He recruited me out of high school, and he’s been like a father figure to me. I think he’ll make an impact on the University. He’s going to put some more (championship) banners up in the arena and he’s going to get us to the NCAA Tournament. I want to help him do that. I found out right away there are some great people on this campus. I’m very comfortable with my choice.”

Note to Eli (because it obviously didn’t resonate in the year he spent in Bloomington), it’s Indiana University. That is all.

Here is a statement released a short time ago by IU Media Relations:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – ­ Indiana Men’s Basketball Coach Tom Crean announced today that junior DeAndre Thomas has been dismissed from the program and will not have his scholarship renewed. In addition, sophomore Armon Bassett will not be reinstated for failing to comply with University and Athletic Department guidelines. Junior Jamarcus Ellis also will not be reinstated to the active roster. Both Bassett and Ellis were originally dismissed from the program on March 31. Crean also announced on Thursday that freshman Eli Holman could not return next season.

“Before you build a team, you need to develop a family,” said Crean. “We will go through the learning process, feel some growing pains and experience some bumps in the road along the way. We need the Hoosier Nation to rally around this program as we go through these stages.”

“Our staff if going to ensure that anyone who attends this University and wears the Indiana uniform will make this privilege among their highest priorities and not treat the opportunity as an entitlement,” added Crean. “We fully expect our student-athletes to accept the responsibilities academically, athletically and socially that come with representing one of the top programs in college basketball history.”

Andy Katz over at the World Wide Leader is reporting the following this afternoon:

New Indiana coach Tom Crean will be down to three returning scholarship players and eight players in all for next season once the school officially announces the departures of four Hoosiers later Friday afternoon, a high-ranking Indiana source told ESPN.com.

Sophomore Armon Bassett and junior Jamarcus Ellis, who had appealed their suspensions by former interim coach Dan Dakich, were dismissed from the program. Junior forward DeAndre Thomas will also not return and neither will freshman Eli Holman, who has elected to transfer after a meeting Thursday that required a call to campus police when Holman became agitated.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it does. More later today after we’re able to wrap our collective brains around this mess. For now, I’ll just say: Thank you Kelvin Sampson. Not.

Tough day, and night, for Eli Holman, and he’s a released statement addressing it:

Last night and this morning I had the opportunity to apologize to Coach Crean and today I would like to extend that to everyone involved in the program for allowing my frustrations to get the best of me. I appreciate everything Indiana University and Coach Crean have done for me and I hope nothing but the best for the program in the future.

Pretty milquetoast stuff. And we still have absolutely no idea what got Eli so riled up in the first place. Thirty Five Seconds has a pretty decent hypothesis — that Crean maybe, just maybe, questioned Holman’s manhood for abandoning the program in its hour of need — but since that hypothesis is untestable, best to leave it alone. Who knows, right?

Regardless, it’s unfortunate Eli isn’t going to get to pursue his potential here. He seems like a good kid, and would have been a lot of fun to watch. And I hate potted plants anyway.

According to a report by the basketblog, an afternoon meeting between Eli Holman and Tom Crean turned ugly. The Hoosier Scoop reported that Holman broke a flower pot near the basketball offices. IU police were called and Holman will likely no longer be a part of the program.

IU Media Relations Director J.D. Campbell released the following statement from Crean just a short time ago:

TOM CREAN STATEMENT ON ELI HOLMAN

We met with Eli Holman this afternoon. He had a good meeting with our assistant coaches earlier in the day. I felt like he still was not sure whether or not he wanted to be here which surprised me because everything we have seen from him had been very positive in terms of staying at Indiana and moving forward. I have no idea what made him change his mind and arrive at this point. He indicated that he would like to leave Indiana, although I was hopeful that we could work through this situation to come to an arrangement we both were comfortable with and to take some time to make a decision.

The conversation was very cordial but unfortunately, it did not end that way. His behavior took me, along with the other people in the office, by surprise. We saw him as a danger to himself and wanted to take precautionary measures to help him. We felt bad for Eli and hopefully were able to help him.

I do not anticipate Eli being back at Indiana. We will do our best to help him move forward and wish him well.

Add this to the list of bizarre events that have transpired over the past seven months in Bloomington. Holman had the potential to be a very good player at Indiana, but that looks to be totally out of the picture at this point. Best of luck to Eli and let’s be thankful that nothing more serious transpired in this situation.

Elsewhere:

• Police dispatched to calm angry Holman (Indiana Daily Student)
• Player’s frustration boils over (Indianapolis Star)

Buried at the bottom of an article in yesterday’s San Fransisco Chronicle was a note on Indiana freshman Eli Holman, who has yet to say publicly whether he’ll remain with the program beyond this year.

Decision time: Former Richmond High center Eli Holman is still undecided on whether he will transfer from Indiana. Holman will make a decision by the end of next week, said Hashim Ali, founder of Holman’s AAU team.

At the time of Tom Crean’s hiring, Holman said he planned to return to California and would have a decision shortly. And with his participation in recent workouts, the assumption was that he would indeed return. However, this blurb leads one to believe that Eli is still contemplating his future. After everything Eli went through to get himself to this point (the shooting, the eligibility dispute last fall and his wrist injury), it’d be a shame to see him play out his college career elsewhere.