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.

LOS ANGELES -- Tom Crean was among the scheduled speakers for today's Collegiate Business Conference .

But he apparently will not be here.

"From the Department of better me than any of our players. ... I am having knee surgery today," Crean announced via Twitter early Thursday morning. "... A MRI I had on Tuesday revealed a torn meniscus in my right knee."

Later, Crean updated from the hospital.

"I feel like I am wearing my 4 year old daughters socks," he Tweeted, "And if I never have to wear a hospital gown again it will be okay ."

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.

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 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.

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 Thursday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: I understand that when you only return one scholarship player you have a lot of places to stick anyone who wants to play for your program. The puzzling thing about Indiana's success in recruiting is that I guess the (prospects) do not expect any major (or even minor) consequences from all of Kelvin Sampson's handy work. Is IU getting away with a slap on the wrist, or were the violations just not that serious?

-- Brent

The violations were serious, yes.

But I wouldn't expect much more in the way of serious/program-altering penalties.

I mean, think about it. The coach who committed the NCAA violations (Kelvin Sampson) is gone and the athletic director who hired the coach (Rick Greenspan) has already announced his resignation. Meanwhile, pretty much  the entire roster Sampson assembled is also gone, meaning any serious additional punishments levied against IU would only hurt an athletic director, coach and team that had nothing to do with anything that went down.

For that reason, I think the NCAA will show sympathy to some degree.

My prediction: There won't be any penalties that will seriously affect the class Tom Crean is currently compiling because these players won't enroll until the 2009-10 school year. In other words, even something as damaging as a one-year NCAA tournament ban would be over before Christian Watford, Maurice Creek and the rest of the Class of 2009 commitments are on campus, which is why I think they're correct to assume the worst will be behind IU by the time it matters to them.

Tom Crean's rebuilding job took another significant step Tuesday.

The new Indiana coach gained a commitment from Christian Watford.

"They said I was their biggest priority," Watford told CBSSports.com by phone. "They stayed behind me the whole way."

Ranked by Scout.com as the Class of 2009's 72nd-best prospect, Watford is the fourth Top 100 player to commit to Indiana since Crean was hired in March, joining Maurice Creek (ranked 45th), Jordan Hulls (ranked 80th) and Derek Elston (ranked 90th). It's the type of recruiting class that suggests Crean could have IU basketball back competing for Big Ten titles inside of three years, which would be a stunning accomplishment given how he inherited a program in shambles thanks to the violation-plagued Kelvin Sampson era that preceded him.

Watford is a 6-foot-7 wing from Alabama.

He chose the Hoosiers over Louisville, Memphis and Kentucky.

You would think John Calipari might be hesitant to share his offensive philosophy.

But he's not.

Because it's helping in recruiting.

"We're involved with a kid in the West because his high school coach runs this offense," Calipari said. "The kid can absolutely play and everybody thinks he's going to (a Pac-10 school), but all of a sudden the kid is saying he wants to come here and it's all based on the offense. And there's a kid in the East who is the same way. His high school coach has adopted it and we're involved because the kid wants to run it in college. So I have no problem sharing because at the end of the day it'll come back to help us because kids want to play this way."

Though it has its critics, there is no denying Calipari's version of Vance Walberg's AASAA offense has helped turn Memphis into one of the elite programs in America. The Tigers have compiled a 104-10 record since adopting the high-octane attack. They made the Elite Eight in 2006 and 2007 before playing for the national title last season, and along the way they've developed a massive following among high school coaches interested in running what Calipari dubbed the dribble-drive motion.

That's why Calipari has scheduled the Second Annual Mid-South Coaches Clinic for Sept. 19-20 at the Grand Casino Tunica, a resort just south of Memphis that was recently renamed Harrah's Tunica. Prices for the two-day event range from $150 to $325, and other coaches expected to instruct besides Calipari and Walberg (now an assistant at UMass) are Tom Crean (Indiana), Larry Brown (Charlotte Bobcats), Trent Johnson (LSU), Dave Odom (retired from South Carolina) and former NBA coaches John Lucas and Mike Fratello.

More than 400 people attended last year's event.

"There will probably be five to six hours with the other coaches and then at least eight hours will be on the dribble-drive motion," Calipari said. "It's going to be really good."

For more information visit CoachCalipari.com.

To register visit CalipariDribbleDrive.com.

AKRON, Ohio -- Tom Crean made his first appearance here at the LeBron James Skills Academy this afternoon. He was at the adidas event yesterday, which means, um, exactly what does that mean again, coach?

"I have 5 1/3 days left," Crean said with a laugh.

Yes, he laughed to keep from crying.

As you know, Crean inherited a mess at Indiana and because of it he started the July recruiting period with just seven recruiting days at his expense. When he wakes up Tuesday he'll have only five left. But the new Hoosiers coach still seemed in good spirits despite his hands being tied, and on one of those hands was a brand new shiny diamond ring Crean was anxious to show off.

The ring looks like a championship ring.

It has the IU logo on the front and on the side it reads 20XX.

"We've got the ring," Crean said. "Now we just have to fill in the Xs."

It's clear Crean is in for the rebuilding job of all rebuilding jobs given the current state of his program. But that ring is a symbol that he's still thinking big, and the guess here is that he'll be filling in those Xs someday, just as soon as he's no longer hindered by the mistakes of those before him.

Here's Friday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: What do you think will happen to Indiana basketball in the hearing (with the NCAA) in Seattle?

-- Jeff

My guess is that a postseason ban or anything like that isn't coming, and that Indiana has seen the worst of what it's going to see. Sure, the school hired Kelvin Sampson after he had already been caught breaking NCAA rules at Oklahoma, and it's fair to argue it should've known better. But IU fired him in the middle of the season and basically ruined a Top 10 team in the process, and with everything that's happened since then -- IU is now down to just one returning scholarship player -- I'd be all for the NCAA recognizing this program has already taken a significant penalty for its mistakes, all for the NCAA allowing Tom Crean to start fresh in his attempt restore the brand of Indiana basketball while letting the Sampson era remain in the past (beyond the self-imposed penalties Indiana has already levied).

That's what I think will happen today in Seattle. Either way, Mark Alesia has sort of a quick-reference guide to what's happening and what it all means in today's Indianapolis Star. It's worth checking out, if you want.

Jordan Crawford is leaving Indiana.

School officials confirmed Wednesday that the rising sophomore has decided to transfer and leave new coach Tom Crean with just one scholarship player who is set to return for the 2008-09 season. Put another way, the Indiana team that won 25 games last season will be without its top 10 scorers, meaning the recovery from the scandal-ridden Kelvin Sampson era will likely be more difficult than anybody could've ever expected.

The lone IU veteran will be Kyle Taber.

He averaged 1.3 points per game last season.

Crawford averaged 9.7 points per game last season.

Here's Thursday's Dear Gary ...

Dear Gary: Just wondering how well you think the Indiana team will be next year. With only two returning scholarship players and the house cleaning Tom Crean has done, the team will be young and inexperienced. However, this team could surprise some people and do well within Crean's guard-oriented system and with the IU faithful behind them. The possible addition of Emanuel Negedu will have an impact on Indiana's success. But I was just wondering what your expectations are and anything to watch out for.

-- Kevin

I don't really have any expectations because when you take a job and lose everybody except two players, well, not much can be expected. The truth is that it'll be a miracle if Tom Crean fields a team that can compete for a Big Ten title or a berth in the NCAA tournament, although I should mention that when I spoke with Crean recently he promised his Hoosiers "would be better than people think." Either way, here's the bottom line: Crean's first few months on the job (and his entire first season) is going to be about laying a foundation and creating a culture much different than the culture that has plagued IU basketball. That should be the only goal this season. But I'm confident that in two or three years Crean will have Indiana basketball back in a big way because he works too hard and has too great an understanding of how this business works to not succeed at a high level. Remember, Marquette basketball was mostly irrelevant until he arrived and turned that program around, and I'm certain he'll do the same thing at Indiana, regardless of what happens on the court this season.

As for Negedu, that's going to be an interesting recruiting battle.

Though Georgia Tech is involved, most believe it'll come down to Memphis, Tennessee and Indiana, and all three schools have reason to believe they can land the former Arizona signee. The key for Memphis is new assistant Josh Pastner, who initially recruited Negedu to Arizona. The key for Tennessee is Drew Adams, a staff member who is the son of Indiana Elite coach Mark Adams; Negedu played summer basketball for Adams with the Indiana Elite. And the key for Indiana will be the Indiana Elite connection, though it's unclear in basketball circles whether Indiana Elite powerbroker Mike Barnett will be helping his good friend (John Calipari) or his local school (Indiana).

Like I said, it'll be interesting

But just know the winner of the Negedu sweepstakes will be getting a fine player who can help immediately.

Everybody knew the Kelvin Sampson situation took its toll on the court at Indiana.

You could see it in the record.

But it also devastated the Hoosiers in the classroom.

"There were just so many problems and so many issues," new Indiana coach Tom Crean told me Thursday by phone. "From the looks of it, people took a lot of liberties with not being in class and not doing the work they needed to do (in the second semester)."

Crean said the basketball team had a combined 2.9 GPA in the first semester and that seven players had a 3.0 or better. In other words, the academic problems that have forced Crean to completely alter IU's roster didn't surface until the second semester, which coincided with Sampson's departure becoming more and more apparent.

"I don't think I had any idea how far it had drifted academically," Crean said. "I don't think anybody did."