'It's not good'

INDIANAPOLIS – Less than a week into his tenure as IU men’s basketball coach, Tom Crean realized one of his greatest challenges to success on the hardwood will come in the classroom.\nShortly after IU freshman Eric Gordon declared his intention to enter the NBA Draft, Crean told a small group of reporters that some members of the team are struggling with academic issues. \n“It’s not good,” Crean said. “We’ve got a lot of work today, and I think you’re going to get sick of hearing me saying that, but I have no other way of putting it. It’s a situation that’s got to be addressed immediately.”\nHe declined to elaborate. \nThe Hoosiers could hardly spare an academic suspension, let alone another player, when it comes to next year’s roster. Of the nine players who could return to next year’s team, one – Gordon – declared for the NBA Draft, and two others – junior Jamarcus Ellis and sophomore Armon Bassett – were kicked off the team two days before Crean was hired.\nCrean, who was introduced as IU’s head coach at a press conference Wednesday, could reinstate the two players, but has yet to announce his intentions.\n“No updates that I’m ready to give right now,” he said.\nIn addition to academic woes, Crean will have to deal with a difficult recruiting situation, as well. No recruits are allowed to take official visits to IU, and Crean can’t visit any players because of IU’s sanctions and the fact that the previous coaching staff used up its allotted visits. \nBut the new coach tried to stay positive. \n“It’s opportunity,” Crean said. “If I look at it any differently, I’m going to crawl under the car. It’s an opportunity. You just have to go with it.”\nCrean was late for Gordon’s announcement Monday because he attended IU basketball meetings throughout the day. \n“We’ve got a lot of work to do, and today was the first day that I really started to learn more about that,” he said. \nDespite the problems, the honeymoon hasn’t worn off.\n“I haven’t regretted it, I know that,” Crean said of taking the job. “I’m pretty excited about it. It’s just a lot of things going on. It wouldn’t be a great job if there wasn’t.”