Watch IU's first exhibition game online
If you can't make it to the game or can't get out of work Friday night, you'll be able to watch IU's first exhibition game online.
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If you can't make it to the game or can't get out of work Friday night, you'll be able to watch IU's first exhibition game online.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Assembly Hall has seen a lot of things – The Rolling Stones, a chair-wielding coach and The King of Rock ’n’ Roll.But the fabled basketball arena that has housed the Hoosiers since 1971 most likely saw a few things for the first time this Halloween: a halftime costume parade, a spirited game of Chubby Bunny and a 7-foot-tall junior holding Cinderella above his head so she could make a lay-up.These are just a few of the lasting images from the “Haunted Hall of Hoops” on Friday.The event, culminating in an intrasquad scrimmage, didn’t have the “same type of atmosphere” as previous exhibitions this fall, IU coach Tom Crean said. But the first-year coach, sans costume, said he was more concerned with the kids in attendance having a good time.Crean led a parade procession across Branch McCracken Court that included 88 children dressed in costumes ranging from Iron Man to Kevin Garnett to Tinkerbell. He left coaching duties to his assistants in favor of personally greeting countless children.The crowd delivered its loudest applause of the night when Crean pulled junior center Tijan Jobe from a huddle to hoist a little girl, who couldn’t muster the ball to the rim, above his head so she could make a basket during a shooting contest.Following the scrimmage and a few more photo ops, Crean took questions from reporters. But it was clear the crimson-clad coach wasn’t overly concerned with his team’s lackluster performance.“You guys are talking to me like we’re 15 games in,” he said, smiling. “It’s a scrimmage on Halloween where we have all these little kids in costumes on the floor.”Crean said he didn’t coach with “the same type of fervor” Friday night, citing the team’s long week of practice. He said he was happy to get his team playing in front of fans, under the lights and with referees but was more focused on having a good time and giving back to the fans.“I think it was a success,” he said.As for the scrimmage, the Crimson squad, led by junior guard Devan Dumes, led early and was never seriously challenged, winning 71-52.Dumes finished with 19 points and was joined in double-figures by freshmen teammates Nick Williams (15), Verdell Jones (12) and Matt Roth (11).Jones, who was traded at halftime to the Cream team, finished the scrimmage with 18 points overall, after scoring a game-high 30 points in the team’s last scrimmage.“I think a lot of us were a little tired and worn down from the practices this week,” Jones said. “We didn’t come out with as much energy as we should have. We had a hard practice earlier right before the scrimmage. I thought overall we did OK.”In a losing effort, junior transfer Jeremiah Rivers scored 23 points for the Cream. The former Georgetown guard shot 9-of-18 from the floor, including five 3-pointers.Junior forward Steven Gambles, who played for the Cream, pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Daniel Moore, playing on the Crimson squad, once again led both teams in assists, with six.Rivers said the team’s offense was more “fluid,” but Crean said his coaching staff is throwing so many new things at his players that “it’s not going to get comfortable for a long time.”“We did some good things, we did some average things, we did some very poor things,” Crean said looking back on the scrimmage. “And (Sunday) morning, we’ll get back at building our team again.”
* It was clear early in the first half that the players were fatigued. The team held a hard practice earlier in the afternoon which Tom Crean said went longer than he wanted to. Freshman guard Verdell Jones said after the game that "a lot of us were a little tired and worn down from practices this week, we didn't come out with as much energy as we should have."
Greetings, Hoosier fans.
IU coach Tom Crean and a few select players will meet with the media this afternoon in Assembly Hall.
I recommend you read Jon Wertheim's story on the state of IU basketball.
In case you didn't hear, IU has a new athletics director. Below, you'll find our full coverage of the hiring.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The damage has been done to the IU men’s basketball program. And if you ask Fred Glass just how bad the damage was, he’d tell you “it’s almost immeasurable.”The loss of IU’s basketball prestige has been “not only for basketball, but maybe even worse for the University as a whole,” Glass, IU’s incoming athletics director, said Tuesday in an interview with the Indiana Daily Student. “People who care a lot about IU have had their hearts broken.”Less than three hours into his new job, Glass found himself answering questions about the NCAA’s investigation into IU’s basketball program, something people in the athletics department have grown accustomed to.Glass said he hasn’t been given any indication of what to expect from the NCAA or when it might make an announcement, but he did say he hopes the “national nightmare” is almost over and that the University will receive a quick ruling.“I’m very bullish about the future of IU athletics,” he said. “And I think the whole challenging period, the sooner we can put it on our rearview mirror, the sooner it will become a distant memory.”Glass said he sat with IU’s current athletics director, Rick Greenspan, on Tuesday morning in a breakfast meeting. He said the conversation was positive, but not extremely detailed. The Indianapolis lawyer indicated that when the NCAA does hand down its ruling, it will be Greenspan who handles most of the proceedings. “My expectation would be to be consulted and be involved, but you know, he’s the athletic director until Dec. 31,” Glass said.In the press conference held to announce his hiring, Glass outlined three pillars he plans to build his athletic department around: compliance, academic achievement and athletic excellence.Those three things also happen to be the three main characteristics the men’s basketball program has lacked in recent history, something IU coach Tom Crean has pointed out as well.When asked if it was a coincidence, Glass was hesitant to speak.“I think no matter what the conditions were on the ground, those ought to be the three things,” he said. “And I think that it is especially important to IU, because following the rules is something everybody always took a lot of pride in.”Glass called following the rules a “hallmark” of IU and said having student athletes attending class and graduating is equally important.“I think Hoosiers will give you a little room on (athletic excellence) if they know (compliance) and (academic achievement) are in the bag,” he said.Another area Glass hopes Hoosiers have patience with is this year’s men’s basketball team. While he admitted he hasn’t been following the situation closely, Glass said he knows “we uncharacteristically have tickets available in basketball.”Glass, who graduated from IU in 1981, recalled the “fervor” students had for Bob Knight’s team during his time on campus. The team’s following was so intense that students could only purchase tickets to half of the home games because “everyone wanted tickets so bad.”While he was wary to embrace a Knight return fully in the interview, Glass, a self-described IU sports nut, said he hopes to eliminate “the fractures in the family.” Glass said Knight had done “tremendously positive” things for the University throughout the years and said he deserves to be recognized.“He sure belongs in the Hall of Fame,” Glass said. “Again, there are complexities to all of that, and I’m not the athletic director yet. There may be issues about that of which I’m not aware, but clearly he belongs in the Hall of Fame.”Glass built a reputation in Indianapolis as a sports facility expert, helping oversee the construction of Lucas Oil Stadium, Conseco Fieldhouse and the Indiana Convention Center. But Glass said he wasn’t selected specifically for that reason.“I don’t think the administration brought me in because ‘Here’s the guy who did Lucas Oil Stadium, let’s do it to Assembly Hall.’ That was never stated or an implied expectation.”
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Michael McRobbie unveiled his mystery man Tuesday.Fred Glass, an Indianapolis lawyer and IU graduate, seemed to have come out of nowhere to become the next IU Director of Athletics. Nevertheless, there he stood behind a press conference podium, shaking hands with the IU president, beaming with pride.Professionally, Glass is known as “The Closer,” for his ability to get things done. He laid the groundwork for the Super Bowl to come to Indianapolis in 2012 and oversaw the construction of Lucas Oil Stadium. He’s made sure Indianapolis will be a staple of the NCAA Final Four and has also worked extensively with Big Ten Tournament organizers. AUDIO: Fred GlassAs a politician, Glass has “always been apologetically a Democrat” and plans to vote for Sen. Barack Obama next week. He served as the chief of staff to former Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh and worked as the Indiana chairman for the Clinton/Gore campaign in 1996.When he was in college, Glass described himself by a different name.“I hope you guys don’t interview people I knew when I was in college because I was a knucklehead,” Glass said in an interview with the Indiana Daily Student on Tuesday. “I would be the last guy you’d think would be the athletic director.”Glass told stories of sneaking into Memorial Stadium as a student and remembered former IU basketball star Randy Wittman coming over to his house on Eighth Street for parties. He couldn’t resist skipping school back in 1976 to greet Bob Knight and the U.S. national basketball team at the Indianapolis airport, and he even admitted to hitchhiking back when it was “more socially acceptable.”“One day, Ralph Floyd picked me up, who was the (IU) athletic director at the time,” Glass told the audience in his press conference. “He said, ‘Son, I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, but we’re going to the football office first and you’re buying season tickets.”Aware of IU’s struggling attendance, Glass half-jokingly warned student hitchhikers, “Watch out, I might pull a Ralph Floyd on you.”Free rides aren’t the only thing Glass plans to give IU students. Glass said he wants to be as “transparent” and “accessible” as possible and plans to hold regular office hours.Sitting up in his chair and speaking animatedly, Glass said he sensed the student body wants an athletics director who is accessible and said he plans to have his door open so students can “come in and see me and get to know me.”While the new athletics director has two months to prepare before he takes over on Jan. 2, he didn’t have much time to prepare for the University’s announcement.Glass’ wife, Barbara, said the process came together quickly over the last couple of days, and “the more Fred thought about it, the more we thought about it and the more we were excited.”When word came Monday that Glass would replace standing director Rick Greenspan, many skeptics pointed to the elephant on his resume: the lack of experience as an athletics director. But Glass said a lot of qualities necessary at his old jobs are transferable to his new position.In addition to fundraising, Glass said he has experience in creating and cutting budgets, hiring and firing people, evaluating executive talent and managing an operation – all things necessary to run an athletics department.Glass isn’t the first lawyer to be recently hired as an athletics director. In fact, he isn’t even the first lawyer from his firm. Earlier this year, Notre Dame hired Jack Swarbrick, a fellow partner at Baker & Daniels with a similar pedigree. Glass said there are a lot of different people, including lawyers, who can be successful athletics directors.“I think it’s one way to skin a cat and I think it’s a good way to skin a cat, but I don’t think it’s the only way to skin a cat,” Glass said.After a long day of smiling, shaking hands and meeting new people, IU’s “goofy” new athletics director looked like he couldn’t get enough.“For a guy like me, this is the pinnacle,” he said.
This afternoon, IU's next athletics director, Fred Glass, sat down with Associated Press writer Mike Marot and myself and answered questions for about a half an hour. To listen to the interview, click here.
10:58: The press conference is over. I was furiously typing so I was unable to give immediate updates. Here are some of the highlights:
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It wasn’t always clear if the football team would prevail Saturday, but there was never any doubt the basketball team would come out atop its intrasquad scrimmage.In a game quicker and more competitive than last week’s Hoosier Hysteria exhibition, the Hoosiers showed what they had learned in their first full week of practice in a 40-minute scrimmage in front of about 5,000 fans in Assembly Hall.Led by freshman guard Verdell Jones, the Cream team edged out the Crimson squad in the closing minutes, 91-86. Jones finished with a game-high 30 points, while freshman guard Nick Williams led the Crimson team with 28.“It was a lot of fun,” Williams said. “Guys came out and played hard and showed all of the fans that we’re going to bring it every night, no matter what.”IU coach Tom Crean said the team hadn’t scrimmaged for 40 minutes in practice yet, let alone in a game. Earlier this week, Crean estimated the team had only been spending about 20 percent of their practices scrimmaging.When pointing out the team had “some very good individual performances” Saturday, Crean singled out freshman guard Matt Roth, who finished with 20 points and knocked down six 3-pointers.“He probably made more threes today than he did in the first full week of practice,” Crean said.After the scrimmage, Crean brought his team into the locker room before coming back out on the court to sign autographs for fans.Roth said Crean told the team “every day has to be better than the last. If we can keep doing that, we’ll have success.”Crean called the Saturday scrimmage “beneficial” and said he loved the environment. He hopes to add another public scrimmage before the season begins Nov. 15 in addition to this Friday’s Haunted Hall of Hoops. Hoosiers might add Fort Wayne freshman to rosterIn a season of new faces, the Hoosiers added yet another one during Saturday’s Cream and Crimson scrimmage.Crean said freshman walk-on guard Evan White is “in an extended try-out with us right now.”White, a 6-foot guard from Paul Harding High School in Fort Wayne, played 16 minutes for the Crimson squad Saturday, finishing with three points and four assists.“He’s been in an extended deal with us, and we’re still going through that, and we’re deciding if we’re going to keep him,” Crean said. “But I like him, I like his attitude, I like him as a young man. He was well-coached in high school. We’ll see what happens.”As a senior at Harding last season, White averaged 16.4 points, three assists and three rebounds per game.
We've had conflicting reports on when IU will hire its next athletic director. Some sources have told us a new athletic director will be announced next week; others are hesitant to put a timetable on it.
Nothing to lose any sleep over.
UPDATE (5:58): The scrimmage is over. It was a fairly competitive game with the Cream pulling ahead in the end, 91-86. If you missed the scrimmage and want to catch the action blow-by-blow check out the transcript from our live blog below. We'll talk to Coach Crean and the players this afternoon once the team finishes signing autographs.
This is bizarre.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Wednesday, the Indiana Daily Student had the chance to sit down and talk to IU’s first-year coach Tom Crean. Here is the interview in its entirety:Q: What are your plans for homecoming this weekend?CREAN: Well, I will be right here on this court quite a bit of it I’m sure. Because now we’re in the season and we’ll practice Friday, we’ll practice Saturday, we have Big 10 media day in Chicago on Sunday, but at the same time well be a part of (homecoming). We’ll be a part of the pep rally, the football game. We have the Cream and Crimson scrimmage roughly 30 minutes after the game. I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to our staff’s first homecoming weekend.Q: You’re very vocal and you’re the face of your program. Is that a position you cherish or are comfortable being in?CREAN: I think that the head basketball coach at Indiana has to have a lot of faces and a lot of visibility. But certainly in the state of Indiana, you’re the caretaker of the program. I think the students see that. I’m very comfortable in that (position) because I’m very proud of that. I’m as excited to be here on a daily basis as I could possibly imagine. But at the same time, as you go forward, the team becomes the face of the program. Obviously we’re going through a transition period, everyone’s well aware of that, but we have to get through that. In time, the team is the biggest part of what this is all about and we’ll get it to that point. Whatever brings visibility to the program right now in a positive light, we have to do that.Q: Steve Lavin was at Hoosier Hysteria last week and said you had the perfect personality to take the IU job. He talked about your ability to brand and market, what do you think of that assessment?CREAN: I don’t know about that, but I know my passion is a good match for this. And I think my passion for Indiana basketball and the passion I have for the game and coaching it, and being involved in something that is as great as this, I would feel like I’m ready for that. I’m excited about it, there’s no question. But it’s also an enormous opportunity for us. For me, I know marketing and branding are key buzzwords, but to me it’s just being a part of something. It’s continuing to have what is as good of a tradition as there is. And really, when you look at this, the student population at Indiana basketball games has far surpassed what anyone else has had in the country. I want to do everything in my power and this program’s power to keep it that way. That’s why we need our student fan base to be so involved in this. Because as we grow up, don’t wait until you think we’re going to be good or don’t wait until projections say we’re going to be good. Be with us the whole way through and make a difference. I got to believe fans can help bring so much to this team, but I don’t think any of us can sit back and look at it and project wins. I don’t think we can do that. It’s just not where were at. What’s happened, and its not anybody’s fault, its not anybody in this program’s fault, the only way we’re going to find a solution is we’re going to be together. And that’s not a phrase to me, that’s a way of life. Indiana basketball has been a way of life for so many alums for so long.Q: Going back to Hoosier Hysteria, what did you think of the atmosphere and the turnout that night?CREAN: I thought the atmosphere was great, really did. Next year, it will be even more interesting to see what its like when we have a home football game on a Saturday, and there’ll be even more people in town student wise. I thought the student turnout was fantastic; I thought the support from the public, the city, the state was fantastic. Any time you have two national television networks in your building and no one else can say that, that is a big deal.Q: What are you looking for in the scrimmage Saturday you didn’t see from your team at Hoosier Hysteria?CREAN: That was really more of a get up-and-down the court exhibition, while now we’ll have a few things in place. We’re behind in a lot of ways. We have probably 12-15 different things in right now when you count plays, baseline out-of-bounds, sideline out-of-bounds. If we were at Marquette we’d have 50-55 things in already. It’s just where we’re at. That helps keep us in perspective of how far we have to go and how slow we have to take this. I will look to see who can play defense for longer stretches of time, who can get up and down the court. There will be less stoppage since it will be fully officiated. We’ll take statistics and do things of that nature, we’ll look at different combinations and we’ll wear the uniforms again. It will be fun for people to put names with faces and the jersey number and all those types of things. We’ll be very interactive; people can get autographs and meet the team. I’m proud of these guys, I want people to be proud of them as well. Whether it’s the student body who doesn’t know them or the public who doesn’t know them.Q: You only been practicing for a little less than a week, but what has stood out?CREAN: I think there attitude has been very good. The moment someone fatigues or the moment someone isn’t in a real competitive mindset we go after that. We keep trying to teach how important it is to compete on a daily basis. I don’t look at the basketball court as a classroom. I look at is as a combat zone for what we’re trying to get accomplished. When you get into the games and when you go against other people its nonstop competition. We’re doing a lot of stopping, a lot of teaching, a lot of correcting. A lot of building retention and repetition and things of that nature. But we want it to be extremely competition and full of energy. Our biggest focus is having that mental preparation when we’re teaching schemes.Q: You addressed the student body at IU Auditorium earlier this month, were you at all disappointed with the attendance?CREAN: No, I didn’t have anything to gauge it. I think the last time it had been done was Bob Knight, and I could certainly understand that being sold out or packed. I get that. No, there aren’t a lot of disappointments to me. What we went through, with the personnel that was in this program, and with what we had to deal with academically and off-the-court issues and attitudes – that was disappointing. Getting in front of the students, talking to a group of people, no matter how many there are, that’s never disappointing.Q: I’ve read you used to have a lot of fun at Marquette home games with the students. Do you have plans for similar things here?CREAN: I’d say a lot of impromptu things, not a lot of planned out things. I always thought the most important thing was to make sure the students knew how much we appreciated them, myself in particular. The students feel the same way here, I hope. We just got to make sure we have enough of them. Because there has been such a great student base for so long, that if we lose any of that student base, we’re still going to have to sell those tickets. And if the tickets start being sold in a public way, the tickets that were going to the students, it’s going to be hard to get those tickets back, because they are going to sell. I want everyone to experience and participate in this, there is nothing like a college student being able to be a part of sporting events. When you get a chance to be that way for Indiana basketball, when you look at the almost 300,000 alums in this state what being a part of it is like is a pretty special thing.Q: How are the student season ticket sales going?CREAN: I don’t think they are where they should be. I don’t want that to become a disappointment. Because we might be disappointed in the short term, but the students who don’t get them, or don’t choose to buy them, are going to be disappointed in the long term. This is a unique opportunity for everybody, it’s extremely unique for us. But there really has never been a student body that I could think of anywhere in the country that is going to be more needed than us as we go through these first few seasons here. That’s not to take away from anybody in the past or the future, but we are starting over. We need everybody to be a part of it. Not wait and see, but jump in with both feet. There’s a lot of talk about ownership. We always talk about ownership. But before you can have ownership, you have to invest. In the investment, it’s a daily process. We’re investing in a daily process in getting better inside this program. Were trying to get everything we can to go out and invest in how important the student body is. The investment return, in the land of economics, is coming in and support this and see how much you’re needed. It’s going to be unique. We’re going to try and make it a chaotic atmosphere in here, were going to try and play with extreme energy. With people on the floor who are going to represent thes students well. If people get caught up in the wins and losses right now, they are going to miss the point. We have to put ourselves in a situation where our home crowd is second to none, and the students are a big part of that.Q: Do you get the feeling students and fans are going to get behind this team?CREAN: The only thing I known about this is that I’m not going to tolerate people who don’t work and hustle and have energy and toughness are diving on the floor for loose balls. I wont put those people on the floor for consistent measures of time. I just won’t. I got a lot of letters when I first got here, and there were some ones that were disappointed in the way some players had participated and their energy levels on the court. But I wasn’t here, so I can’t put a lot of stock on it. And there wasn’t a lot of need to go back and watch film since none of those guys are here. But the bottom line is, I listened. I listened to the letters, the fans, the people who were out there. We made our own decisions, but we listened. And now this is what we got. A program that’s brand new, a team that’s brand new, we are going to need every bit of spirit. That’s what it’s about. If the passion is strong, the spirit is strong. That’s what gets you. And that’s what we need.Q: You’re in a unique position as a coach searching for a new athletic director. What characteristics are you looking for in the next AD?CREAN: First off, I have a great trust. I was part of the committee, which was a great experience for me, since I’d never really been on a committee before, and especially as intense as this one was. I have great faith in the leader of that committee, Bill Stephan and all the people the president put on there. To me, I’ll tell you the same thing I said in there, I think there needs to be someone who loves Indiana, someone who has a passion to be competitive and to work and keep building what we have. A person who looks at this as a great opportunity, not just as a challenge. And someone who can really come in and build on the work Rick Greenspan has done. Because frankly, I haven’t been here Rick’s entire tenure, but the things I’ve seen have been pretty impressive. That’s what we need, someone who can put a team together and build on the things that have been done. As far as me personally, I’m looking for someone I can partner up with, that we can work on things together and what it takes to build the atmosphere even more in the arena, what it takes to fundraise to make things better for the other sports programs. What it takes for us to produce revenue, get them involved in our recruiting. All of those things I’ve been able to do with Rick. I’m looking for an extension of that.Q: We’d heard the coaches had a meeting about the search for a new athletic director. What did the other coaches say in the meeting? Were you for the most part on the same page?CREAN: I don’t want to speak on behalf of the other coaches, but I would think they were looking for a lot of the same qualities, someone who has an appreciation for Indiana, someone who can tie people together, somebody that understood what each and every individual sport was about, what their needs were. And not unlike anything else, just a chance to really have an opportunity to grow their programs. That’s what everybody would want. That makes the most sense.Q: Do you know the timetable for when a selection will be made?CREAN: It’s out of my hands. I was a part of the committee, and its in Bill Stephan’s hands and President McRobbies’ hands, things of that nature. I have a great confidence and great trust for whatever they decide to do. Because I had an opportunity to be a part of it, I feel very good about the direction it is heading in.Q: You’re planning a Haunted Hall of Hoops event for Halloween. Do you have costume picked out?CREAN: I won’t wear a costume, I’m coaching. I will be leading the costume parade. If we have enough students in costumes, we’ll have some contests, some prizes. I want it to be interactive for everybody. We’ll have all the young people, the kids, I’ll lead them around Assembly Hall. There will be trick-or-treating in the building, an opportunity to get candy, meet the players…we’ll also get some work done that night…maybe my sweat suit will be a costume.Q: Have you named any captains yet?CREAN: No, I’m not really as locked into that as a time frame. That’s something that we’ll look at as time goes on. I’m not sure I can say if we will or won’t. Leadership is a constant. Everyone has to show leadership, whether it’s positive or negative, it’s going to be shown. As we go on, obviously that could be something where they come to the forefront. Right now we need everyone to do their part.Q: Are you more nervous or excited for your first game in Assembly Hall?CREAN: I really haven’t gotten to that point. I’m sure when it comes, you get nervous for every game. If your stomach is any indication, maybe it’s anxiousness. I don’t know if its nervousness, but I like it because, the way I get is, I play a lot of scenarios in my head, certainly I put it down on paper, but I think those things are positives. I don’t look at that. My stomach disagrees, my stomach doesn’t exactly feel positive, but that’s every game and that’s been since I’ve been an assistant coach.Q: You seem to be one of the hardest workers on this campus and are always busy. When do you sleep?CREAN: Well, I think there are a lot of hard workers, and I think my staff would be ahead of me in that area. With young children, and we’re up every morning with them to get things rolling, I try to make it a point that if I’m in town to take (my children) to school everyday, unless there is some reason I cant, a big reason. But I don’t know, I work better with seven than I do with four or five. I’d like to get it to that point, but obviously it doesn’t work that way a lot. I’m back on the coffee kick, coffee and tea. I try and stay awake, but inevitably, here it comes.
The press conference is over now. We'll have stories in tomorrow's paper and maybe another update tonight. Read below for the live blog of today's press conference.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s student section at men’s basketball games could be getting smaller, and its fate rests in the student body’s wallets.With the first home exhibition game just more than two weeks away, IU coach Tom Crean expressed concern about student season ticket sales in a one-on-one interview on Wednesday with the Indiana Daily Student.“I don’t think they are where they should be,” Crean said. “I don’t want that to become a disappointment because we might be disappointed in the short term. But the students who don’t get them – or don’t choose to buy them – are going to be disappointed in the long term.” AUDIO: Tom Crean interviewOne of the long-term disappointments could be fewer tickets available for the students in the future.Crean said Wednesday that if students don’t purchase their allotted amount, the tickets would be made available to the public.“And if the tickets start being sold in a public way, the tickets that were going to students, it’s going to be hard to get those tickets back because they are going to sell,” he said.The deadline for students to purchase season tickets passed on Oct. 6, but due to the lack of demand the IU Ticket Office has extended that deadline indefinitely. Individual calls were made by ticket office representatives this week to students who had purchased season tickets in the past but hadn’t bought any this season. The calls encouraged students to buy tickets while they’re still available, although the office declined to say when the actual deadline was.Calls and e-mails to IU Director of Ticket Operations Mike Roberts were not returned.At Marquette, Crean went to great lengths to reach the student fan base. He was instrumental in the school’s student section formation and made a point of acknowledging students before and after home games.Since arriving on IU’s campus, Crean has done a lot to reach out to students.On Oct. 6, he addressed about 500 students and answered questions inside the IU Auditorium. Since then, in various speaking engagements, he’s reiterated how vital student support is to the team’s success.“There really has never been a student body that I could think of anywhere in the country that is going to be needed more than us as we go through these first few seasons here,” Crean said.The first-year coach explained that he hopes students “invest” in the program before they claim “ownership.”“We’re investing in a daily process in getting better inside the program. We’re trying to get everything we can to go out and invest in how important the student body is,” Crean said. “The investment in return, in the land of economics, is coming in and supporting this and see how much you’re needed.”Rather than wait and see how the Hoosiers will do, Crean said “we need our student fan base to be so involved” and hopes students “jump in with both feet” in supporting this team.“If people get caught up in the wins and losses right now, they are going to miss the point,” Crean said. “We have to put ourselves in a situation where our home crowd is second to none, and the students are a big part of that.”
The Indiana Daily Student sat down for a one-on-one interview with Tom Crean on Wednesday. Below is a large portion of the interview in Q&A format.