Impatient Crean still trying to turn Indiana around

Published Nov. 25, 2009 1:01 a.m. ET

foxsports

It doesn't take long to come to the conclusion that Indiana coach Tom Crean isn't a patient man.

Just check the soles of his shoes.

If you do, you'll witness all the wear and tear they endure from his seemingly endless marching up and down the sidelines throughout each and every game.

But Crean is quickly realizing that the task ahead of him will force him to be more tolerant than ever before. And that he might want to invest in a few more pairs of Cole Haans.

Because Indiana is still a ways away.

"It's going to take more time than I thought," admitted Crean, who came from Marquette a little more than 18 months ago.

Crean has been given a free pass for the first couple years and rightfully so after the mess he inherited in the wake of the Kelvin Sampson disaster.

The Hoosiers will certainly be more competitive this season than they were a year ago — when they won just six games with a completely revamped roster in which not a single scholarship player remained from the Sampson Era.

But there's no way this team should have been the only program to head back to the mainland winless from the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. No disrespect to Boston University, but the Hoosiers shouldn't be dropping games to America East teams.

They also shouldn't be coming up short against a George Mason club that is just as inexperienced — if not more so.