Crean follows plan to rebuild Hoosiers

Tom Crean has no doubt he can restore Indiana's once-proud basketball program after Kelvin Sampson dragged it through the mud.

Not even a 6-25 record in 2008-09, Crean's first season with the Hoosiers, could shake his confidence.

"You've got to have your vision be really strong," said Crean, who leads Indiana (9-2) against Northern Iowa (7-3) at 4:30 p.m. today in the Las Vegas Classic at the Orleans Arena. "You have your blueprint on how to build a program, and you take elements of everything that's great about Indiana, and it's going to work.

"We had to keep reminding ourselves we didn't create this mess."

Numerous NCAA violations committed under Sampson's watch resulted in three years' probation, the loss of a scholarship and recruiting restrictions for Indiana.

But Crean, who went 10-21 last season, has lured many talented players to Indiana and last month landed two high-profile recruits: 6-foot-11-inch center Cody Zeller and 6-6 forward Austin Etherington.

"It's about our kids," Crean said of the rebuilding process. "They've been our best ambassadors when it comes to recruiting. Kids are watching what we do, how we do things, and they want to be part of it."

Crean said he has met with little resistance from Hoosiers fans, some of whom still haven't forgiven Indiana for forcing out Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight in 2000.

"The people have been great, very supportive," said Crean, who was 190-96 with five NCAA Tournament appearances in nine seasons at Marquette before coming to Bloomington. "The people were with us; they were part of the solution."

The Hoosiers have gotten off to a fast start thanks to a relatively easy schedule. Their best wins were against Wright State (67-44 on Nov. 14) and Evansville (67-54 on Nov. 21) as part of a 6-0 start. Indiana's losses came against Boston College (88-76 on Dec. 1) and Kentucky (81-62 on Dec. 11).

"We haven't won a whole lot so we're trying to build their confidence," Crean said. "Our schedule was done by design with that in mind."

But with its Big Ten Conference opener against Penn State looming next week, Crean knows his team needs to raise its level of play.

The Hoosiers will be tested today by Northern Iowa, which beat UNLV and Kansas to advance to the round of 16 in last season's NCAA Tournament. Then, the Hoosiers will face either New Mexico or Colorado on Thursday.

"We haven't played in a holiday tournament, so this will be a good test for us," Crean said. "I think it'll be very helpful for us. You want to put your team in as many different environments and settings as possible."

That included taking a trip to the Strip on Monday to check out the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. It's part of the building process, as Crean wants his players to interact on and off the court.

"I want them to have fun," he said. "At the same time, I want us to get better as a team."

Contact sports reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or at 702-387-2913.