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Summer schedule keeps Indiana coach Crean working

Tom Crean doesnt 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. Its busy. Weve gotten a lot of things done.

Crean is known as a diligent worker, and hes needed every ounce of energy to survive these first 14-plus months in Bloomington.

He accepted the job in April 2008, taking over a program with five national titles but in the midst of the most embarrassing NCAA scandal to hit the school in nearly half a century. While the perception 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 havent gotten easier.

He still meets twice a month with the compliance office to avoid any other rules violations, and hes still contending with the fallout his predecessors left behind – most notably a subpar score on the NCAAs 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.

Were making sure were seeing those guys, Crean said. It was just a chance to monitor how theyre doing, to keep them engaged and let them know we want them here. Theyre working diligently to fulfill their academic responsibilities, too.

But in some ways, this summer is actually tougher than last.

Hoosiers fans believe Creans team should be substantially better than the one that won six games last season. Crean remains cautious about how high the expectations should be.

Crean, for instance, couldnt foresee sophomore guard Daniel Moore breaking his left foot while working at a summer camp. Crean said Moore was demonstrating something to the campers when he landed awkwardly, breaking the fifth metatarsal bone on the outside of the foot. The walk-on from Carmel, Ind., is 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.

Hes tried to restore Indianas 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 Creans team this year, also have been to Assembly Hall.

But Creans biggest project is rebuilding the Hoosiers.

And after making it through last years recruiting restrictions, Crean isnt 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, its all business, all the time.

Its a great time of year to learn, to be immersed in videos and DVDs and to be around people, Crean said. Its important to get out (recruiting) and not just to meet with people but to make some strong evaluations.