Indiana to hire Marquette’s Tom Crean as basketball coach

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Indiana University will hire Marquette’s Tom Crean as its basketball coach and is expected to introduce him at a news conference today.

University trustee Philip Eskew confirmed the hiring. Eskew said Crean had signed a letter-of-intent with the university and was meeting with his team Tuesday night.

The hiring comes near the end of a tumultuous six-week period in which former Hoosiers coach Kelvin Sampson resigned amid an NCAA scandal, interim coach Dan Dakich replaced him and then lost four of seven games.

Dakich also suspended guard Jamarcus Ellis for disciplinary reasons for the Hoosiers’ game at Penn State, and announced Tuesday that Ellis and guard Armon Bassett had been kicked off the team for missing two scheduled events.

Crean, who led Marquette to the Final Four in 2003, will responsible for rebuilding not only Indiana’s reputation as a national power but also its sullied image as a squeaky clean program.

“I think he’s a great choice,” Eskew said. “He has a Big Ten background, a Midwest background, he’s recruited in the state of Indiana and he has an impeccable record, so I think Indiana is on the road to recovery.”

Now the question is what kind of team will Crean inherit.

Starting forwards D.J. White and Lance Stemler both finished their senior seasons, and it’s uncertain whether Bassett and Ellis, two of the starting guards, will return after being punished for missing an appointment last week. When they didn’t show up to run laps the next day, Dakich decided to dismiss them from the team.

Freshman Eric Gordon is expected to announce whether he will declare early for the NBA next week. Most figure he’s leaving, which would leave Indiana without all five of its regular starters from last season.

Outside the administration, the decision was greeted warmly, too.

“I think it’s a very good move,” said Jared Jeffries, a former Indiana standout now playing for the New York Knicks. “He’s proven himself to be a successful college coach at this level, a very good recruiter, recognize talent. That’s who we need at Indiana, we need somebody who is going to be stable, a foundation for our future.”

Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, who led Indiana to the 1981 national title, also endorsed the move.