Indiana University has formally introduced Tom Crean as the new coach of its men's basketball team.Crean comes to Bloomington from Marquette University, where he compiled a 190-96 record over nine seasons and led the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Final Four in 2003.At Indiana he replaces Kelvin Sampson, who resigned in February amid allegations of recruiting violations.The NCAA is continuing its investigation into those allegations and could impose sanctions against the basketball program if it concludes Sampson broke the rules.Crean says he's prepared for that possibility."We're not going to let it detour us," Crean said. "Is it going to be a challenge? It's probably going to be a greater challenge than even I realize, and I've thought a lot about it. We have an incredible tradition during a very challenging time at Indiana, and we're going to build on the tradition, and the only way to do that is to go full bore, and that's what we're going to do.Crean told reporters he couldn't say yet whether he would reinstate two starters thrown off the team this week by interim coach Dan Dakich.His eight-year contract at IU includes an average annual salary of more than $2 million.
Rick Howlett is host of WFPL's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." Email Rick at rhowlett@lpm.org.