One of Indiana University's all-time greatest basketball players was driving back from a trip to Ohio on Wednesday with a real feeling of satisfaction and a sense of pride.

"I'm excited about the hiring of Tom Crean as our new basketball coach," said former Hoosiers All-American Kent Benson, in a telephone conversation. "I think IU has finally got it right. This is good. I truly believe this is absolutely the right hire.

"Crean has the character, integrity, expertise, knowledge, experience and personality that's needed to do the job. He's demanding of his players, straight forward and he knows the game of basketball. He's a class act. He's going to be great for Indiana basketball, and, I think, for Indiana University."

Crean, who was introduced as the Hoosiers' new head coach at a news conference on Wednesday, will have the arduous task of cleaning up the school's image and the mess created by former IU head coach Kelvin Sampson.

Sampson resigned under pressure Feb. 22, amid an NCAA phone call scandal that included allegations of five major NCAA rules violations.

"I've been hard on the decision-makers the last couple of years, because they missed the boat big-time and were totally wrong with what they did (hiring Sampson)," Benson said. "But they corrected it. I'm going to give credit to the powers that be and (Athletic Director) Rick Greenspan for making the right decision this time.

"We're back on track. I truly believe this hire will give IU basketball the character and integrity it had before Sampson arrived."

Benson said IU basketball had become the laughing stock of the country under Sampson's direction.

He said the school gained some credibility by getting rid of Sampson and sending him away with a $750,000 buyout.

Benson said IU then looked foolish again when it appointed a search committee to look for a new head coach while interim coach Dan Dakich, an Andrean grad, prepared the team for its NCAA tournament first-round game with Arkansas.

"This year's team was good enough to win the Big Ten title and go a long way in the tournament, but the problem was their attitude," Benson said.

Benson said he believes Dakich was the correct hire as interim head coach.

"Dan knows the game, he knows how to coach and is a great people person, but I don't believe he was the long-term answer to the program," Benson said. "I'm not knocking Dan Dakich. I think he did a great job under the circumstances. He couldn't control the kids' attitudes or their actions, but that was no fault of Dan's. It wouldn't have mattered who the coach would have been.

"We've got the long-term answer in Crean. I'm excited about the future of Indiana basketball from here on out."