Hoosiers set to start season like no other
BLOOMINGTON – Malik Story elevated for a dunk during the Cream and Crimson scrimmage Oct. 26 at Assembly Hall. The ball clanked off the rim and flew away.
Moments later, he had an on-the-court meeting with Tom Crean. The IU coach got in the freshman’s face, said a few words and then gave him on a pat on the back. Crean wasn’t upset with the miss but rather Story’s effort on getting back on defense.
Crean is stressing the fundamentals as he prepares for a season unlike any he has previously coached.
“We’ve got to build a team out of the individuals that we have by looking at what they need on a daily basis, starting with that mental toughness part and the ability to play through things,” Crean said.
“… I’ve caught myself trying to move too fast, trying to jump ahead of things, and it gets you back to the point where you’ve got to take every step for what it is, the step you’re on and then you go on to the next step.”
Crean has been on the move since taking the IU job April 2. He’s been up and down the state, meeting fans, holding gatherings with former players and trying to repair the damage from the previous season. He’ll begin with a team that has just two carryovers from last year.
Crean spent nine years at Marquette, where he went 190-64. He made five trips to the NCAA tournament, highlighted by the Dwayne Wade-led run to the Final Four in 2003. He said three things make IU stand out from his previous experiences: “Tradition, daily attention and passion.”
“The daily attention here is amazing, the way people feel about it,” Crean said. “I think it is because we are the state school and there are so many alums in this state, but really where ever you go, you see it. If you are wearing something Indiana and somebody recognizes you, that is a pretty good feeling, with the way people feel about it. Those three things. As much as I had a great feeling for this school and the program, I don’t think it did justice to what I’ve seen in the last six months for how people feel about it.”
The one word almost every Indiana player used to describe Crean is intense.
“He’s been stressing the intensity level it’s going to take to win at this level,” freshman guard Matt Roth said. “I know all the other stuff is going to fall into place. He wants to establish that intensity level.”
That was on display during the scrimmage, whether Crean was instructing guard Evan White to “bring the ball over faster” just before a timeout or telling center Tijan Jobe “Tommy is outworking you.”
“I believe I’m learning something every day,” freshman forward Tom Pritchard said. “He knows what expectations have to be and how we have to play. He’s a great leader.”
That includes trying to rally the fans for what most expect to be a difficult season.
“We’re trying to make it where people are excited about where it is going, and I’d be shocked, but more than that I’d be disappointed, if people weren’t,” Crean said. “I don’t look at Indiana as a place where there are fair-weather fans. I just don’t. I think this is different. I think it is completely different.
“That is what I was brought up to believe. That is what I saw when I was coming up as a coach, and that is what I believe is going to happen here as the head coach. It can’t be any different if we’re going to make the strides. If we’re out there selling this crowd, this atmosphere, this student body and this tradition every time we recruit, every time we speak. The recruits are paying attention to it.”
lpope@jg.net
Indiana’s biggest questions entering this season centered on its retooled defense.