Tom Crean plans to spend every possible minute recruiting this spring. He may have no other choice.

Indiana's new men's basketball coach takes over a program rocked by a phone-call scandal that led to allegations of major NCAA violations and the resignation of Kelvin Sampson. He inherits Indiana's self-imposed recruiting sanctions and could face more when the NCAA rules in the case.

Even more sobering: Crean may have to replace all five starters, could lose two key recruits and might have only six players back from last year's team.

There's no doubt that Indiana won't be an easy sell.

"The ranks of high school players are greatly diminished now, and not knowing what the NCAA will do could have a great impact, too," said recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports. "I don't think anyone can give you a time estimate on how long it's going to take to reconstruct."

But Crean, who once scouted for Gibbons, is a prize recruiter known as a high-energy guy who identifies with today's young players. Gibbons thinks he can get the job done, even if it means scouring the junior college ranks, the prep schools or going overseas to find talent.

The new coach has already started making the rounds.

"He called me Wednesday night," said incoming freshman Matt Roth, a guard from Washington, Ill. "He was really enthusiastic for being up all day, dealing with all those interviews and questions, and I was really impressed."

Indiana thought its recruiting class had been established when it signed four players in the fall: Roth, one of Illinois' most prolific 3-point shooters; Devin Ebanks, one of the nation's top forwards from St. Thomas More Academy in Connecticut; Terrell Holloway, who at 6 feet is ranked among the nation's top 20 point guards; and forward Tom Pritchard, who led Lakewood St. Edward in Ohio to the state semifinals.

But things unraveled when Sampson resigned amid the phone-call scandal on Feb. 22.

Ebanks and Holloway had out clauses in their national letters-of-intent so they could be released without penalty if there was a coaching change. Ebanks' prep school coach, Jere Quinn, said he's already received the release.

Now, Crean is re-recruiting them.

"Coach Crean spoke with Devin on Tuesday night," Quinn said. "He was really excited about going to Indiana, so it's a shame it fell through. One of the big selling points for Indiana was coach Sampson."

But Quinn said Ebanks is still considering the Hoosiers, along with four other schools.

Indiana has one advantage: His mother likes the people in Bloomington.

"I'd say it's a one-in-five chance he ends up there (Indiana)," Quinn said. "Last summer, Indiana was everything Devin wanted and his mom was very comfortable with the administration and the university. And his mom and his AAU coach will have a great influence in his decision."

The Hoosiers also might find a way to keep Holloway.

After reopening the recruiting, Holloway listed Marquette among his new choices — and Marquette just happens to be Crean's former employer.

Still, persuading players to jump into Indiana's messy environment could prove difficult, even for a talented recruiter like Crean.

Interim coach Dan Dakich kicked two players, starting guards Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis, off the team Tuesday before Crean was hired. Crean has not said whether he will reinstate them.

Big Ten freshman of the year Eric Gordon is scheduled to announce Monday whether he will turn pro, something most considered a foregone conclusion before he even enrolled at Indiana.

Plus, the Hoosiers still face a June hearing in front of the NCAA's infractions committee.

Among the sanctions Indiana self-imposed are a one-year extension of the NCAA's recruiting restrictions on phone calls and off-campus visits, and the loss of a scholarship for the 2008-09 season. Anything more handed down by the NCAA could hurt recruiting for the next several years despite the possible enticement of immediate playing time at a school that owns five national titles.

"If they get probation and can't go to the NCAA tournament, that could have a significant impact on future recruiting," Gibbons said. "Crean's a great recruiter, a great coach, but he's starting virtually from scratch. They have one of the top traditions in all of NCAA basketball and are, perhaps, at an all-time low in terms of availability to field a team."

Crean said tradition is what brought him to Indiana. Now he's banking on it to move the program forward.

For some players, that may be enough.

Roth said the only time he had second thoughts about coming to Indiana was when the NCAA allegations surfaced.

"Then it hit me that I was going to Indiana for more reasons than just to play basketball," he said. "I wanted to be a part of Indiana basketball."

See More at www.wsbt.com