Gary Parrish

Here's Thursday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: What grade would you give Tom Crean at this point on the rebuilding process at Indiana? Also, how would you grade Hoosier fans' support and patience up to this point?

-- Mick

I'm not really into grades, so I'll stay away from that unless you'll let me offer an 'I' for Incomplete. But if your question is whether I believe Crean will get it turned around at Indiana, the answer is yes, absolutely. He's just too smart and too focused to be unsuccessful at a place like IU.

Speaking of, I spent some time with Kansas guard Tyshawn Taylor a few weeks ago, and we got to talking about Crean. Remember, Taylor signed with Crean at Marquette, then got a release when Crean went to Indiana and later enrolled at Kansas. So that's the connection. Anyway, we were talking about Crean, and Taylor said nothing but great things. He wasn't mad that he was put into a bad spot by Crean's departure, wasn't negative at all. He just talked about how much he liked Crean, and basically said there's no doubt he'll get it going at Indiana, in time.

And that's what I believe, too.

But it's going to take three years, at least.

There were some significant recruiting developments this weekend.

Here are some of them:

Irving visits Duke: Kyrie Irving, ranked fifth in the Class of 2010 by Scout.com, visited Duke, then Tweeted about it. "Duke official was great! I enjoyed every single second," he wrote. "Everything there fits me and is right for me...you never know what will happen ." Duke has long been considered the favorite to land Irving, a 6-foot-1 point guard from New Jersey. Still, Texas A&M is among the schools hanging around, primarily because Aggie assistant Scott Spinelli was college roommates with Irving's father, Drederick Irving.

Selby narrows list: Josh Selby, famous for decommitting from Tennessee in July, has narrowed his list of potential schools to six, and UT is not one of them. The final six are Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Baylor, Miami and Syracuse. All indications are that Selby -- a combo guard ranked 14th in the Class of 2010 by MaxPreps.com -- will make a final decision in the Spring.

Jones narrows list: Class of 2010 standout Terrence Jones trimmed his list of potential schools to seven -- specifically Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA, Arizona, Oklahoma, Washington and Oregon. MaxPreps.com ranks Jones as the No. 12 prospect in the Class of 2010.

USC gains fifth Class of 2010 pledge: Kevin O'Neill accepted a commitment from Maurice Jones, according to Scout.com's Evan Daniels. Jones is a 5-7 point guard who reportedly averaged 28 points and 13 assists last season in high school. He's the fifth Class of 2010 prospect to commit to USC despite an ongoing NCAA investigation.

Cameron Clark committing to Oklahoma wasn't the only recruiting development from this weekend.

Here are some others:

Rivers visits Duke: Class of 2011 star Austin Rivers visited Duke despite supposedly being committed to Florida. As Bruce Weber can attest -- you haven't forgotten the Eric Gordon recruitment, have you? -- there is no way to interpret this as a good thing for the Gators. Rivers taking that visit makes him by definition no longer genuinely committed to Florida, and it's only a matter of time before he acknowledges as much publicly. Scout.com ranks Rivers as the No. 4 prospect in the Class of 2011. He is the son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers

Wroten tears ACL: While Rivers was touring Cameron Indoor Stadium, fellow Class of 2011 star Tony Wroten Jr. was tearing his ACL in a football game, according to the Seattle Times . The paper reported that Wroten will have surgery this week and need seven-to-nine months of rehab, meaning he's done with football and basketball for the year. Scout.com ranks Wroten as the No. 8 prospect in the Class of 2011.

Quick hitters: Stacey Poole, a 6-foot-5 wing from Florida, told Scout.com that he'll likely pick between Kentucky and South Carolina by the end of the week. Poole is ranked 58th in the Class of 2010. ... Kyrie Irving, ranked fifth in the Class of 2010, eliminated Indiana from his list of possible destinations. The New Jersey point guard is still considering Duke, Kentucky, Georgia Tech and Texas A&M. ... One of the nation's top junior college prospects, J.P. Olukemi, committed to Oklahoma state. He's the fourth OSU commitment for the Class of 2010.

Kyrie Irving told Scout.com's Dave Telep on Monday that his college decision will, at least in part, be determined by his "role in the offense." Best I can tell, that's code for "I'm not interested in playing behind anybody."

And I respect that.

Too often, prospects act like they don't mind learning from upperclassmen or waiting their turn. But the truth is that somebody as talented as Irving ought to look for a place where he'll be the top option at point guard from his first day on campus, and that seems to be what he's doing.

Ranked fifth overall in the Class of 2010 by Scout.com, Irving has scheduled three of his five official visits for Duke (Sept. 25), Indiana (Oct. 2) and Texas A&M (Oct. 9). Among the other schools vying for his services are Kentucky and Connecticut. But those two programs could be affected by the presence of point guards Eric Bledsoe (at UK) and Kemba Walker (at UConn).

(Note: I do not expect John Wall to still be at UK by the time Irving would enroll.)

Irving has set no timetable for a decision.

Duke and Indiana are widely considered to be the leaders in his recruitment.

Two of the nation's most storied programs gained commitments Monday.

Class of 2011 star P.J. Hairston moved quickly on a weekend offer and committed to North Carolina. Scout.com ranks the 6-foot-5 shooting guard as the 19th-best prospect among rising juniors. Meantime, Austin Etherington committed to Indiana. He's a 6-6 forward ranked as the 57th-best prospect in the Class of 2011.

Both prospects are in-state products to their respective schools.

Both verbal commitments were broken by Scout.com's Evan Daniels.

The NCAA baseball tournament begins Friday.

It has nothing to do with college basketball, of course. But the Indiana basketball team will be represented, which should serve as a reminder of the difficult situation Tom Crean inherited when he left Marquette for IU last year. Short on bodies, Crean turned to a pair of baseball players -- Kipp Schutz and Eric Arnett -- for help. Shutz only appeared in six games, Arnett in none. But both were key figures in practices, where Crean often joked he was luring more Major League Baseball scouts than NBA scouts.

Arnett is 12-1 with a 2.58 ERA.

He is projected as a first-round draft pick next month.

Shutz is hitting a team-best .379.

He is also expected to be drafted.

Indiana plays Louisville at Louisville on Friday.

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- How big was Indiana's win over Iowa on Wednesday night?

This big: When I called to check in with Tom Crean this morning, I got a message that said, "The mailbox belonging to xxx-xxx-xxxx is full." So it's clear Crean was overwhelmed by well-wishers following the Hoosiers' 68-60 victory, their first in the Big Ten. And if you didn't see it, it really was a nice scene, complete with Crean grabbing the courtside microphone afterward to thank the fans for sticking with this program that was decimated by the NCAA violations committed under former coach Kelvin Sampson.

"This is your win,'' Crean said. "There is no way we could do it without the best fans in America, the Hoosier Nation.''

Next up for IU: at Michigan State on Saturday.

Former Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson just released a statement about today's NCAA ruling.

The statement, obtained by CBSSports.com, reads: “I’m deeply disappointed in today’s findings by the NCAA, but the accusations at hand are things that happened on my watch and therefore I will take responsibility. I am truly sorry that there were so many people who were hurt in this situation. For the sake of everyone involved, including my family, it is time to move on.”

Good for Indiana.

But actually, I'd like to say good for the NCAA.

Because the governing body has decided to do the right thing and not further penalize the Hoosiers basketball program, according to the Indianapolis Star. The school will hold a press conference at 4 p.m. ET, at which time the case is expected to be announced and discussed and (presumably) applauded.

Look, I'm not into letting cheaters walk.

Cheaters should pay.

But Indiana has already (and is still) paying dearly, and if you don't believe me I'd advise you to check the box score from Monday's 88-50 loss to Notre Dame. The Hoosiers were scrappy and tough and yet totally dominated, which was to be expected because that's what happens when you lose every relevant player and recruit in any particular year. And that's why I suggested five months ago that the NCAA should do exactly what it did, i.e., recognize that Indiana is suffering to an unusual degree and in turn decline to kick a Hoosier while it's down.

Ultimately, that's what happened.

So good for Indiana.

And, more to the point, good for the NCAA.

As for Kelvin Sampson and the five-year show-cause penalty the NCAA has reportedly levied against him, I think it's mostly inconsequential. Sampson was never going to get a college job in the next five years anyway, and I'm not sure any school will ever hire him again given that he found such high-profile trouble at two different schools. So in reality, the show-cause is probably unnecessary, and the guess here is that Sampson -- now an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks -- will just continue learning the NBA game and probably find himself as a head coach in that league someday, which is proof that we live in a country like no other.

Here's Thursday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: Everyone always talks about teams whose coach is on the hot seat, but we tend to hear less about teams who have hired new coaches. So looking around the NCAA, which new coaches were the best hires and have the potential to have the most success?

-- Matt

I think the best hire was the biggest, i.e., Indiana's luring of Tom Crean from Marquette.

Of course, he has almost no chance of having success this season (given the makeup of the IU roster), which might eliminate him from your question. But in the long run I don't think there's any doubt that Crean will return the Hoosiers to a place where competing for Big Ten championships and Final Fours can be expected, and for that reason his hiring should be viewed in a positive light.

Five other hires I believe will be proven good in time are:

1. John Groce to Ohio

2. Bill Bayno to Loyola Marymount

3. Derek Kellogg to UMass

4. Craig Robinson to Oregon State

5. Mike Montgomery to California

As for coaches set-up to win immediately, that's obviously Buzz Williams at Marquette and Trent Johnson at LSU. Both inherited nice rosters from their predecessors and should make the NCAA tournament in their first seasons on the job considering LSU is the smart pick to win the SEC West and Marquette is a consensus preseason top 20 team.

Here's Monday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: I see you called Arizona one of the "top 10 programs in America" last week. I'm fairly sure you also stated as much about Indiana when that job was open. So what are the top 10 programs?

-- Brian

What I mean when I describe something as a "top 10 program" is that it should be one of the top 10 programs in America when everything is going the right way. Obviously, that's not the case at Arizona right now. But assuming Jim Livengood makes a great hire I believe Arizona will again establish itself as one of the top 10 programs in America.

Does that make sense?

If not, try to think of it like this: Pretend you are the nation's hottest coaching candidate and attached to no particular school or region. Now pretend every school wants to hire you and then try to determine which 10 jobs would give you the best chance to succeed based upon factors like the level of national prestige, the recruiting advantages (geographic or otherwise), the passion of the fanbase and the commitment from the administration.

That's how you determine a great program.

In that case, my list would probably look like this:

1. North Carolina
2. UCLA
3. Duke
4. Kansas
5. Ohio State
6. Texas
7. Kentucky
8. Arizona
9. Indiana
10. Connecticut

Here's Monday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: I love you -- in a completely heterosexual, male-appreciation sort of way, that is. I've been reading your articles since last year around the middle of the season, and I've cracked up every time. You're filled with supposedly common sense, which I love, and you present it in a humorous way. Great job! What do you think of Indiana's chances this year in men's basketball?

-- Josh

Finally, somebody who gets me.

And loves me.

I swear, sometimes the list seems short (and mostly excludes those who have to deal with me on a daily basis). Whch is why it's nice to hear somebody loves me as much as I love me, and if I ever need a roommate I'm going to call you, Josh. So keep your phone on. And thanks again for the kind words.

As for Indiana's chances this season, well, there's no reason to be optimistic.

I mean, the last time I checked Tom Crean didn't have any players.

But he's recruiting his ass off and laying the foundation for something special. So I'm confident he'll get where Indiana fans want him to get in proper time. That said, I think it would be naive to expect much this season because, again, Crean wasn't left with much to work with, and that's the thing you should never forget about basketball, that it's just incredibily difficult to win without players.

Former coach Kelvin Sampson has released a statement in response to Indiana's accusations that he withheld information and concealed impermissible phone calls from the school's compliance department.

The statement was sent to CBSSports.com by Sampson's representation.

It reads as follows:

“In no way did I ever hide or withhold information from Indiana University’s compliance department. I vehemently deny the inference that I made and concealed impermissible calls. The NCAA has never alleged that I initiated any illegal phone calls to recruits while serving as the head coach at Indiana. I always provided Indiana with everything they requested, including all documents and phone records."

Most of my conversation with Dan Dakich for Monday's column revolved around what he's up to these days. But naturally, we spent a little time talking about Indiana basketball, and Dakich made it clear that the IU program he took over on an interim basis after Kelvin Sampson resigned was not the same program he experienced as a player and assistant for Bob Knight.

"Let me put it this way," Dakich said. "Sometimes being with Coach Knight you think 'Well, maybe our culture is wrong. Maybe we work too hard and demand too much.' But after seeing what I saw last year, you better have the right culture or else the thing can really blow up on you. And when you talk about everybody gone from the athletic director to the graduate managers, that thing blew up."

It's common knowledge that the players at IU last season weren't model student-athletes, evidence being how Dakich and his successor, Tom Crean, combined to dismiss pretty much everybody who didn't leave on their on accord. Out of respect for the individuals, Dakich declined to get specific. But he did acknowledge the group of players didn't "fit the Indiana basketball culture."

"I feel bad that D.J. White never got to experience Indiana basketball the way it's supposed to be," Dakich said. "And I'm really sad for the players that ended up getting kicked out of here because they will realize at some point in their lives what a colossal mistake they made by not taking advantage of Indiana."

Here's Monday Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: If you had a son ranked 50th in the class of 2009 by national recruiting services, to which school would you want to see him go and why? Eliminate the close to home factor, but consider all other factors. He has not yet selected a major.

-- Doc

I'm a big believer in the likelihood of significant playing time because no real player wants to sit the bench. That's why the first thing I'd do is consider the make-up of a program's roster and try to help my son understand how he might fit in. Let's say my son is a point guard and the school already has a junior point guard who is a two-year starter and solid and not a candidate to leave early, and that the school has also already committed a point guard my son has played against many times and, frankly, proved to be not quite as gifted. In that case, my advice is to look elsewhere because the most important thing is to play, and these circumstances should make it difficult to get on the court.

Beyond that, I'm looking at education because, let's be honest, unless my son is a consensus top 10 prospect the odds of him making the NBA are slim. So I want to know if Stanford is interested. Or Duke. Or Vanderbilt. Degrees from those schools are worth a lot of money, and if my son could succeed in the classroom there he'd either make a seven-figure salary in the NBA or a six-figure salary in the business world. Those aren't bad options. So we'd look at that, too. But if you're question revolves around strictly basketball then I would tell you that the obvious answers are North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Indiana, you know, places where the fan bases are so large and passionate that my son would be a star in the region regardless of whether he was really a star at all. There's a thing at some schools called Scholarship for Life which basically means if you represent the school well and don't show yourself to be an idiot there's always a big booster in charge of a company willing to hire you at an inflated salary for a job you may or may not be exactly qualified to have because he likes the idea of just being able to show off a famous former player.

I like the idea of Scholarship for Life.

So we'd have to look at that.

But again, my main advice is to go where playing time is available.

Because again, players want to play and they're usually unhappy when they're not .