Gregg Doyel

It's only a matter of time, now. Tom Crean cannot coach the Indiana basketball team much longer. When would be too long? The Hoosiers' first exhibition is Thursday night. That would be too long.

Less than two days after one drinking IU basketball player was injured by a car driven by another drinking IU basketball player – neither of whom is of legal drinking age – two other Hoosiers were suspended by the school for failing a drug test.

Those two Hoosiers – the ones suspended Monday for drugs, not the ones involved early Saturday morning with alcohol; it's getting difficult to keep this stuff straight – are sophomores Stanford Robinson and Troy Williams.

That brings to five the number of IU basketball players who have been cited for alcohol violations, failed drug tests or – in the case of Robinson – both.

Five players out of 13 on scholarship. All busted for one thing or another. All since February. That's damn near half the team, and if you consider that the official police report from Saturday says Devin Davis also had been drinking (he's under 21) on the night he reportedly walked into traffic and was hit by Emmitt Holt, that brings the number of Hoosiers identified as drinking illegally, or drinking and driving, or failing a drug test, or some combination thereof, to six.

Six out of 13. Their names: Hanner Mosquera-Perea (charged with OWI in February); Yogi Ferrell and Robinson (cited for under-aged consumption of an alcoholic beverage and possession of false identification outside of a Bloomington bar in late April); Holt (cited for illegal consumption of alcohol, and for operating under the influence of alcohol under the age of 21 -- he also was suspended Monday for four games); Davis; and now Robinson (him again) and Troy Williams being suspended for failing a drug test.

This isn't a problem. This is an epidemic. And it falls on Crean for two reasons:

One, he recruited these guys. Every one of them. He and his staff identified them in high school, targeted them, got to know them, signed them, brought them here.

Screwed that up, clearly.

Two, he's now their coach. Not their father, but something close to a father figure. As close as it gets on a college campus, honestly. He's their leader, mentor, role model. Or he should be. And if he's not? He's doing something wrong.

Tom Crean is doing something wrong.

IU athletics director Fred Glass doesn't see it that way.

"People are upset about it," Glass told the Star's Zach Osterman. "I'm upset about it. I understand it. I'm upset about it. I don't like it. Tom doesn't like it. But I'm confident Tom is the solution, not even part of the problem."

Lots of Indiana fans agree with me. I know that because I wrote something similar a day ago when those two Hoosiers screwed up – the ones involved in the alcohol-related car accident, not the ones who failed the drug tests; it's getting difficult to keep this stuff straight. But what I wrote on Sunday, that Crean needs to enter the realm of Zero Tolerance 2.0, was met by lots of you with agreement on Twitter and the comments below the story. Some Indiana fans were saying my story wasn't even harsh enough, that Crean didn't deserve zero tolerance; Crean should be fired now.

How much of that is because of what's happening off the court?

And how much because of what's happening on it?

Crean has had more losing seasons (three) than NCAA Tournament bids (two) in six years at Indiana. After averaging 28 wins and reaching the Sweet 16 in 2012 and '13, Indiana dropped to 17-15 last season.

Doesn't matter. Not the point. You can say Tom Crean is under-performing, failing as Indiana's coach, and I'd agree.

But I'm not talking about basketball.

Follow Star columnist Gregg Doyel on Twitter: @GreggDoyelStar.