Indiana introduces Tom Crean as new men's basketball coach
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Tom Crean couldn't say "No" when Indiana offered him the coaching job.
He thought back to the undefeated 1976 team he watched as a child, the first coaching clinic he attended with Bob Knight, the appearance of Kent Benson in his hometown of Mount Pleasant, Mich., and the respect he had for the program.
Yes, his loyalties always seemed to be with Indiana and after his introduction Wednesday as the new coach, he's finally a Hoosier.
"This was a heart decision," Crean said, his voice cracking. "This was not a business decision or a legacy decision. I'd had other opportunities to walk away (from Marquette), and none of them felt like this. I'm going to miss those people a lot, but I'm excited to be here."
Indiana fans are just as eager to have him in Bloomington.
By giving Crean an eight-year deal worth $18.24 million, an average of $2.3 million each season, the Hoosiers paid a hefty price to forget one of the darkest chapters in school history. Kelvin Sampson, who resigned amid an NCAA scandal in February, was to be paid a total of $1.1 million last year before accepting a $750,000 buyout to go away.
Sampson's alleged NCAA violations, player suspensions and player dissension all made wins and losses moot at a school that lives and dies with basketball.
Crean's job is to clean up the mess.
He wants to restore Indiana's national prestige, just as he did at Marquette, and he challenged his new players to complete that task with the same energy and passion he's bringing to the program.
"I'm going to look for people who understand why we wear the candy-striped pants and why we wear Indiana on our jerseys," he said. "It's going to take time."
Yet it didn't take long for the 42-year-old coach to turn on the charm.
Before stepping to the podium, he kissed his wife, Joani, two of his children -- the 2-year-old had run off to look for stickers -- and grabbed a T-shirt that read "Crean and Crimson," a play on the school colors, cream and crimson.
"They handed this to me an hour ago," he said. "I guess this let's me know where I am."
For Crean the uncertainties will make this the most daunting task of his career.
Two players dismissed from the team Tuesday, starting guards Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis, are expected to meet with Crean soon.
Athletic director Rick Greenspan said he would not get involved in whether Crean decides to let them return, and two players who attended the news conference, guard Jordan Crawford and forward Eli Holman, remained unclear about whether Bassett or Ellis or both might be reinstated.
"I can only do so much, but that's not up to me," Holman said when asked if he would lobby on behalf of his friends.
Crean also understands how difficult it will be to rebuild the Hoosiers, who still have a June hearing in front of the NCAA infractions committee stemming from the phone-call scandal that led to Sampson's resignation Feb. 22.
There's no indication of how severely the NCAA may punish the university, and school officials have already stripped the basketball team of one scholarship next season.
All the baggage still couldn't dissuade Crean from taking the job he called the best in the country, especially after former college coach Eddie Fogler called twice on behalf of the search committee.
"I would say I decided sometime between the first two conversations I had with Mr. Fogler, and the general interest from the university really brought the fan out in me," Crean said. "If you ask people, some might rank it (the job) in the top three or the top five or the top 10 in the country. To me, it's No. 1."
Even at a basketball school, Crean found his introduction upstaged.
Instead of holding the news conference on the Assembly Hall floor, as was the case for Mike Davis and Sampson, it was moved to a room underneath the football stadium because a Hillary Clinton rally was scheduled Wednesday afternoon in Assembly Hall.
Neither the location nor the timing seemed to matter to Crean or anyone else involved in the search.
"We started this process about two weeks ago, and we're here now with a good result," said Harry Gonso, the former Indiana quarterback who chaired the 10-member committee. "I want to make it clear that we only made an offer to one candidate."
For the players, now under their third coach in less than two months, the announcement was a relief.
"It didn't seem quick enough, it's been horrible for us," Crawford said of the search. "It was a very long season, a lot of stuff happened, so it's good to start it over and have a better season."
Crean wouldn't quibble with that, and although he asked for patience, the new coach doesn't want this to be a long rebuilding project.
After all, Indiana fans would never stand for much losing.
"I'm taking over a very challenging situation, and I know it is and you know it is," he said. "But that lit something in my heart because Indiana is bigger than any one person. I can't tell you with eloquence how I feel. It's Indiana. It's Indiana."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Davidson will pay for students to see Wildcats in NCAA tourney
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- One of Davidson College's famous perks is the free laundry service for students. Now the school is adding another freebie: watching the Wildcats play in the NCAA tournament's round of 16.
The school's board of trustees set up a fund Wednesday to pay for any student wishing to travel to Detroit to see Davidson play Wisconsin in the Midwest Regional semifinals. Students will get free bus transportation, two nights lodging and a ticket to Friday's game.
Behind sophomore sensation Stephen Curry, Davidson upset Gonzaga and Georgetown last week for the school's first NCAA tournament wins in 39 years.
While the drop-off laundry service and trip to Detroit are free, annual tuition at the exclusive, liberal-arts school is just under $41,000 a year.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Top-seed Memphis picked for NCAA games in North Little Rock
LITTLE ROCK -- As local officials hoped and expected, top-seeded Memphis was picked Sunday for a first-round NCAA Tournament game at North Little Rock. Another top choice, Texas, is also headed to Alltel Arena as a No. 2 seed.
The first- and second-round games in North Little Rock are scheduled for Friday and Sunday.
The Friday matchups start with No. 7 seed Miami and No. 10 seed St. Mary's of California at 11:30 a.m. CDT. Texas plays No. 15 seed Austin Peay 30 minutes later. The evening session starts with No. 8 seed Mississippi State versus No. 9 seed Oregon at 6:25 p.m., with Memphis versus No. 16 seed Texas-Arlington a half hour later.
North Little Rock is the westernmost site of cities having games on Friday and Sunday, and organizers said they expected to have at least one team from the West Coast. Oregon fits that projection, as does St. Mary's.
In addition to drawing a crowd from Memphis (33-1), the site is also close for fans from Texas (28-6) and Southeastern Conference school Mississippi State (22-10). Austin Peay (24-10) is in Clarksville, Tenn., and Texas-Arlington is in the Dallas area.
Oregon (18-13), Miami (22-10) and St. Mary's (25-6), which is in Moraga, Calif., are the schools that are a prohibitive distance from Little Rock.
Local planners said they expect that if fans of teams that lose on Friday leave, more fans of winning teams will drive in for the second round on Sunday.
Several weeks ago, officials from Memphis visited North Little Rock to check out places they could use for booster gatherings and pep rallies.
Each participant school is allotted 550 tickets for the Alltel Arena games. The portion of the 16,000 tickets that went on sale to the public are sold out. Organizers booked hotels for the teams, media and NCAA officials in advance. It's up to fans to book their own accommodations.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Boise State survives shaky first half, beats Hawaii 80-74
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Reggie Larry scored 16 of his 26 points in the second half and Boise State survived a shaky start, beating Hawaii 80-74 in the WAC tournament quarterfinals Thursday.
Tyler Tiedeman scored 14 points and Matt Nelson added 10 as the Broncos (23-8) advanced to Friday's semifinals against Utah State, which beat San Jose State 85-65 in another quarterfinal.
After trailing by as many as nine points, Boise State began the second half with a 12-2 run to make it a game. It was tied at 60 with six minutes remaining when Larry scored inside to put the Broncos ahead for good.
From there, Boise State hit 15-of-18 from the free throw line over the final 4:09.
Larry had nine rebounds and missed matching a career scoring high by one point. He had 10 points at halftime, hitting 7-of-8 from the free throw line, then took over as the Broncos got him more involved underneath.
After making 1-of-6 from the floor in the first half, Larry was 7-for-10 after the break.
Hawaii (11-19) ended the season on a seven-game losing streak, its longest since the 1995-96 season, and hasn't won in the WAC quarterfinals since 2005. The Warriors had their first losing season in nine years under first-year coach Bob Nash.
Riley Luettgerodt and Matt Gibson each scored 17 while Jared Dillinger added 14 and Bill Amis scored 10.
Hawaii trailed 64-60 after Dillinger made consecutive 3-pointers with 5:51 remaining, but they were forced to foul down the stretch and the Broncos answered the challenge.
Boise State swept the season series with Hawaii but the Broncos were sluggish this time, hitting 6-of-18 from the field in the first half and matching their 40-minute average with 15 turnovers.
The Warriors led 35-27 at the break, but the Broncos attacked the rim to open the second half. Larry scored twice, Nelson added a hook and it was tied at 37 with 16 minutes to play after Thomas swished a 3-pointer.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Former UCLA coaching great John Wooden gets new cast on broken left wrist
LOS ANGELES -- John Wooden had a new cast put on his broken left wrist Tuesday and the 97-year-old UCLA coaching great's vital signs were good, his daughter said.
He remained hospitalized at an undisclosed location. Daughter Nan Muehlhausen said through a UCLA spokesman that she did not know when her father would be released.
Wooden broke his wrist and collarbone when he fell at his condo Thursday and underwent blood transfusions over the weekend.
"I think he's in a lot of pain," current UCLA coach Ben Howland said a day after visiting Wooden. "His family is there with him just about 'round the clock and supporting him."
Howland said Wooden watched third-ranked UCLA's 68-66 victory at Arizona on Sunday with his only son, Jim.
"It's hard to see him sitting there in that hospital bed," Howland said. "I said to his granddaughter, `Boy, is he tough."
Wooden coached the Bruins to an unsurpassed 10 NCAA championships in the 1960s and '70s, including consecutive titles from 1967-73. His teams also had an 88-game winning streak.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Minot St. beats S. Dakota Tech 76-73
MINOT, N.D. -- Mat Witwer had a game-high 19 points to lead Minot State to a 76-73 win over South Dakota Tech in the first round of the Dakota Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament on Sunday.
The Beavers (18-11) had five players in double figures. Joe Gathings had 14 points, C.J. DeWitty 13, Milan Cvetkovic 11 and Aaron Patterson 10.
Minot State led 39-32 at the break. It shot 52 percent from the field and outrebounded the Hardrockers 40-32.
South Dakota Tech (7-22) got 18 points from Donny DeGooyer. Michael Ross had 12 points, A.J. Trennepohl 11 and Robbie Fedor 10.
The Hardrockers shot 44 percent.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
Balanced scoring carries Hawaii to 71-66 victory over Utah State in WAC matchup
HONOLULU -- Riley Luettgerodt and Matt Gibson scored 16 points apiece and Jared Dillinger added 14 to rally Hawaii to a 71-66 win over visiting Utah State on Saturday night.
Hawaii (11-12, 7-4 Western Athletic Conference) came back from a 14-point deficit with 9:50 left and took the lead on Dillinger's 3-point play with 1:03 remaining.
Stephen DuCharme made a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left to pull Utah State within 68-66, but Dillinger sank two free throws to seal the win.
Jaycee Carroll led Utah State (18-8, 8-3) with 27 points. Gary Wilkinson added 16 and Tai Wesley had 10.
Bill Amis had 10 points and nine rebounds for Hawaii and Bobby Nash added 10 points.
Hawaii had just eight turnovers to Utah States' 20, and the Rainbow Warriors had 12 steals to the Aggies' two. Utah State led 36-27 at halftime.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
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