LEESBURG - Tom Crean knows exactly how bad things were during his first year coaching the Indiana Hoosiers.
"Last year, we just had to get a team on the floor," Crean said at the Tippecanoe Lake Country Club Wednesday. "It was not a rebuilding project. It was a restoration."Crean was in the area as the keynote speaker for the Kosciusko County chapter of the Indiana University Alumni Association.
"It was easy to say I would be here," he said. "I've been looking forward to it since we set a date, and I hope to do it for years to come."
As if he were on a recruiting trip, he told the alums everything they'd want to hear, such as "It's an honor to be here."; "It's the time for us (at IU). We're excited to get things going."; and "Walking into Assembly Hall is never, ever a tiring experience."
There were the canned quotes, but as he spoke, it was clear that he wants to turn the Indiana program around, even if the fans never left during last season's 6-26 campaign.
"Last year, we had more sellouts than wins," he said with a smile. "That doesn't happen everywhere."
And that committed fan base is one selling point Crean is using to his recruits.
When talking about playing televised out-of-conference games at Wake Forest last year, as well as a home game against Maryland this year, Crean mentioned that its the fans that bring those matchups.
"We want to stay in the forefront with the nation's best," he said.
"Should we have been on television playing Wake Forest last year? Probably not," he added. "But Indiana still draws ratings. Indiana still draws attention."
That kind of attention is a selling point for Crean, who is well aware that television exposure is a draw for recruits.
Following last year's debacle, Crean brings in ESPN's No. 12 recruiting class this year, led by the sixth-ranked small forward, Christian Watford.
"We want guys who understand what it's all about," Crean said about his targets. "That's why we went down to Birmingham, Ala. and got Christian Watford. He chose us over the likes of Kentucky, Alabama, Memphis and Louisville."
If IU's going to turn around, beating those kind of national powers on a regular basis will be necessary.
"Not long ago, Indiana was in the same sentence with the Dukes, North Carolinas, UCLAs, Kentuckys and Kansases," he said.
"We don't just want to compete with schools in-state, but also nationally," he added.
Joining Waterford in this year's freshman class are the heavily touted 6-foot-5 shooting guard Maurice Creek and 6-11 center Bawa Muniru.
"Maurice Creek just got to campus Sunday and with Bawa, those two boys are bringing a buzz to the campus," Crean said.
IU's other two big catches are Indiana-natives, including 6-8 Tipton-graduate Derek Elston and 2008 Mr. Basketball Jordan Hulls of undefeated Class 4A state champion Bloomington South.
"He's a guy that gets it," Crean said of the 6-0 point guard Hulls. "He has Indiana blood, he has IU blood and he's a stone-cold killer."
Though he doesn't look like your prototypical blue chipper, Crean compares Hulls to a star player he had at Marquette - current Indiana Pacer Travis Diener.
"I'm always looking for that type of player when recruiting," he said. "I think Jordan Hulls has a chance to be that guy."
Crean did talk about returnees and the workouts they've had, but it's the young guys that will carry the Hoosiers this year.
"We are still a very, very young team," he said.
And that young team's first taste of competition will come Nov. 4 when the Grace College Lancers visit Assembly Hall for an exhibition game.
"We're looking forward to that," Crean said.
The matchup came about after IU assistant coach Tim Buckley and Grace College Athletic Director Chad Briscoe began discussions about a possible matchup. After it looked like the game may happened, Briscoe shot a line down to Leesburg native Chet Kammerer, the Miami Heat' Director of Personnel.
Following a conversation between Kammerer, a Grace College graduate, and Crean, the game was in place.
"It's really a rare thing to get recruited by an opponent," Crean said. "But when Chet Kammerer called, we had to. I couldn't say no to the Miami Heat."
Crean's reference to the Heat was a jab about the team's top player, Dwyane Wade, who was coached by Crean at Marquette.
Along with playing Grace College in the exhibition game, Crean also made it clear that he'd like to play another Northern Indiana team - the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
"I'd like to play non-conference games that make sense," he said. "I don't see our game with Kentucky moving, and it's going to be played on our campus this year. That will be my first Indiana-Kentucky game for me on campus, so we'll see how that goes. I'd be all for getting Notre Dame on the schedule. It would make a lot of sense."
At this point, doing anything that gets Indiana back on track makes sense to Crean, who's sure the mystique of the school hasn't faded.
"Indiana never went away," he said. "It just lost its way."
