BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) -Tom Crean doesn’t have time to slow down.
With all those precious recruiting trips, the endless round of camps and the perpetual speaking engagements, the Indiana coach has been busy. There are regular meetings with compliance officials, routine checks on the academic progress of players and constant film sessions.
Yes, this is how Crean will spend his summer vacation – rebuilding the Hoosiers.
“Things have been productive,” he said Wednesday. “It’s busy. We’ve gotten a lot of things done.”
Crean is known as a diligent worker, and he’s needed every ounce of energy to survive these first 14-plus months in Bloomington.
erception of the tarnished and tainted program has changed since last June, when Crean was still trying to figure out how to fill his roster, things certainly haven’t gotten easier.
He still meets twice a month with the compliance office to avoid any other rules violations, and he’s still contending with the fallout his predecessors left behind – most notably a subpar score on the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate.
So Crean has been checking in on his players, even the two incoming freshmen not yet on campus – Maurice Creek and Bawa Muniru.
“We’re making sure we’re seeing those guys,” Crean said. “It was just a chance to monitor how they’re doing, to keep them engaged and let them know we want them here. They’re working diligently to fulfill their academic responsibilities, too.”
But in some ways, this summer is actually tougher than last.
Hoosiers fans believe Crean’s team should be substantially better than the one that won six games last season. Crean remains cautious about how high the expectations should be.
s expected to miss 10 weeks.
Moore played in all 31 games last season, starting 10, and averaged 17.2 minutes. He scored only 2.5 points per game but finished second on the team with 79 assists.
“He looked better this summer, but our focus with him now is that he work on his strength and work on his shot,” Crean said. “Anytime something happens like this, you just have to work through it.”
Clearly, Crean heeds his own advice.
He’s tried to restore Indiana’s legacy by bringing in former players such as Ted Kitchel, Brian Evans, Wayne Radford and Ray Tolbert this summer. Former coach Lou Watson, now in his 80s, and Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers, whose son Jeremiah is expected to play a key role on Crean’s team this year, also have been to Assembly Hall.
But Crean’s biggest project is rebuilding the Hoosiers.
And after making it through last year’s recruiting restrictions, Crean isn’t leaving anything to chance. His July schedule is full of recruiting trips and his supposed down time is filled with phone calls back to Bloomington to coordinate what his assistants are doing.
To Crean, it’s all business, all the time.
e but to make some strong evaluations.”
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