Crean too Clean for Indiana Players?
What the heck is going on with Indiana Basketball? Only a few months after former Marquette head coach Tom Crean took over at Indiana following Kelvin Sampson's forced resignation, all but one of the scholarship players have either left for the NBA or asked for (and received) transfers.
Freshman Jordan Crawford announced last week that he will not be returning to Indiana next year, joining Armon Basset, DeAndre Thomas, Jamarcus Ellis, AJ Ratloff and Eli Holman who have gotten out of Bloomington since Crean's arrival.
Indiana is currently under investigation by the NCAA for major rules violations committed while Sampson was head coach, which eventually led to his resignation. Crean ran a clean program in Marquette (so far as everyone knows) and he is respected as one of the top young coaches in college basketball. Clearly the administration at Indiana felt the same way when they wooed him to take over the Hoosiers program that has underperformed for a number of years since their Final Four appearance in 2002.
Crean's clean program at Marquette, as well as his impressive win-loss record, should be enough to keep most of the players who were under scholarship at Indiana before he arrived. However, with the fact that almost the entire team has left since he arrived, one has to wonder if Sampson had special "deals" with his players before he left that Crean is now rescinding, knowing that they are against NCAA rules. I am not here to accuse Kelvin Sampson, who has gone on to become an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA, of paying players or giving them extra special benefits, but I am merely saying that this current situation at Indiana garners a much deeper review in light of the players' reaction to Crean.
Why would any player want to play for Crean? He works his players so hard that by the end of the season they are exhausted. Look at how many players transferred from Marquette during Creans time.Also, look inside the won/loss record for top 20 wins.