The problem for Indiana and Tom Crean is they can’t just go back and start over.
If they’d met under different circumstances, their relationship might be altogether different. But IU was broken when Crean came along, smashed into a million pieces, and he took the considerable time and care necessary to restore it to working order.
MORE: 16 most-hated college hoops players of all time
Time does not heal in sports. Time warps.
But it's long past time for the whole of Indiana to appreciate what it has.
The three long years Crean required to return Indiana basketball to respectability fundamentally altered the chemistry between coach and fan base.