Dominic James was ecstatic upon heard that Buzz Williams would be staying at Marquette and replacing Tom Crean.

``I thought everyone was going to leave,” the junior point guard said. “I was surprised when Buzz got the job.”

``He’s a workaholic and let’s us know his every move,” James added. “He’s hungry.”

James said he’s expecting Williams, who spent one season as the head coach at New Orleans, to keep much of what Crean implemented – with a few changes.

``I know he’s defensive-minded,” James said. “He’s also going to give us more freedom on the offensive end and isn’t going to dictate everything He’s let the offense be more free-flowing.”

The senior trio of James, Wesley Matthews and Jerel McNeal (who has tested the waters) will team with junior Lazar Hayward to form arguably the best group of perimeter guys in the Big East.

However, Williams will need increased production from the Marquette frontcourt. Dwight Burke is a solid big man, but it’ll likely fall to sophomore Trevor Mbakwe, an athletic 6-foot-7 forward who missed most of last season due to injury.

Williams has also raved about incoming freshman Chris Otoule out of Texas.

``We need more consistency from our frontcourt,” James admitted. “It’s been that way since I’ve been here.”

``Trevor is a guy who can definitely help us now that he’s healthy,” he added. “He’s a raw talent, but now that he’s healthy we’re starting to see him rebound and play above the rim. We didn’t really see that last year because of the injury.”

RANDOM NOTES: The loss of Doc Rivers’ kid, Jeremiah, from Georgetown may not appear to be a significant blow to the Hoyas, but the sophomore combo guard was a lock-down defender on the perimeter and that’ll be difficult to replace. … North Carolina reserve forward Mike Copeland’s career may be over after he suffered a torn ACL in a recent pick-up game.

Indiana hit a home run.

Indiana needs Tom Crean as much as the Marquette coach needs the tradition-rich program in Bloomington.

Sure, IU is going to take a short-term hit. However, Crean is a relentless recruiter who can coach – and he’ll be ideal in the community as well.

The die-hard Hoosiers fans will love him – more than they would have loved Tony Bennett, Lon Kruger, Mike Montgomery or whoever else that Indiana athletic director Rick Greenspan could have legitimately wooed.

Greenspan saved his job with this hire.

This is a young, dynamic 41-year-old coach who has made inroads with the state of Indiana. His best player, Dominic James, hails from the state.

He’s fearless, but he also knows how to do things the right way.

Case in point: He had his entire Marquette team come over and introduce themselves to me a couple years ago after a shootaround. That’s the only time I’ve ever seen that happen.

They say he eats, breathes and sleeps basketball. However, hours before a game last season, he asked me to join him and a couple of his assistants and we went to a bookstore. He said he tried to hit a bookstore in every city.

Crean may have made his share of enemies in the industry, but that’s usually the mark of someone who is fearless and successful.

It’s going to take a couple of years to get Indiana back to what it once was – or even what it was at the start of this season. Crean can sell – and now he’s got a Cadillac instead of a Toyota.

But it’ll happen.

Kelvin Sampson can coach. The guy has won at least 20 games in 11 consecutive seasons. He may not get the opportunity to do it again as the head man at Indiana.

When Sampson walked off the floor following the Hoosiers victory over Purdue last night, it may have been for the final time.

The administration is expected to make a decision on his status prior to Indiana’s next game, which comes Saturday against Northwestern.

According to sources, a decision still has not been made on Sampson’s future. It’s unlikely he will coach another game on the sideline for the Hoosiers, but not completely out of the question.

There is one scenario that would have Sampson continue to coach the Hoosiers until the end of the season before he is fired. The more likely routes would be that Sampson is suspended, fired or comes to a financial agreement with the school later this week.

All of this could have been avoided if Sampson had just come out and said, “My bad.” All he had to do was say he messed up and he would have been given a second (well, maybe a third) chance.

Just look at Jason Giambi. Or wait to see how fans react to Andy Pettitte.

However, Sampson is now accused of five major NCAA violations – including lying to investigators.

Was he wrong? Absolutely.

Are there coaches who have done worse acts than making an abundance of phone calls?

No question.

CREAN ADDS KEY PIECE

Marquette guards Dominic James, Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews can match up with just about anyone.

However, it’s Tom Crean’s frontcourt that has been questioned.

Ousmane Barro has been inconsistent in the middle.

Well, Crean just got some much-needed help in the form of athletic 6-foot-8 freshman forward Trevor Mbakwe, who was cleared and played limited minutes in the rout over Pittsburgh on Friday.

Mbakwe is Crean’s most talented inside player, but he’s missed most of his freshman since after a knee injury sustained back in November.

``He can definitely have an impact for us,” Crean said. “There’s no doubt about it.”

Don’t be shocked if Crean increases Mbakwe’s minutes down the stretch and in the Big East tournament and the Minnesota native becomes an important piece of the team in the NCAA tournament.

MCDONALD’S NEEDS A CHANGE

We touched on it yesterday, but this McDonald’s All-American Game is getting out of hand.

Kids grow up dreaming of playing in the game and you’ve got people making decisions that shouldn’t be involved.

How else do you explain the inclusion of Mike Rosario and Larry Drew into the game?

Rosario made the cut because his coach is Bob Hurley and he plays for a high-profile high school. Drew earned the invite because he is committed to North Carolina, it’s a weak point guard crop and his high school coach led the west squad in last year’s McDonald’s Game.

Neither is one of the Top 24 players in America.

The voting panel for the McDonald’s Game is embarrassing.

There are too many guys on the panel who have a political agenda, aren’t objective and/or don’t see the majority of the players in the mix for this prestigious honor.

I am not taking shots at these guys, but Dave Krider hasn’t been on the AAU circuit in years. Mike Sullivan is exclusively a New York guy, Vince Baldwin works for Nike, Tim Stevens is a writer from Raleigh who watches a handful of kids.

The voting panel needs a major overhaul. Here’s my suggestion for what it’s worth. Use the following 10 guys, who see more basketball than anyone and don’t have any political agendas:

Dave Telep, Scout.com – The best in the business. Period.

Justin Young and/or Jerry Meyer, Rivals.com – Take your pick. You can’t go wrong with either.

Clark Francis, Hoop Scoop – A veteran who is out on the road as much as anyone.

Rob Harrington, Prepstars – He’s completely objective and can evaluate talent.

Van Coleman, Hoopmasters – He’s a fixture in the spring, summer and at high school events.

Tom Konchalski, H.S.B.I. – One of the most respected analysts in the industry.

John Carroll, Scouts, Inc., ESPN – A former college and NBA guy who sees all of the elite players.

Frank Burlison, Long Beach Press Telegram – The best newspaper guy in the industry at covering preps and AAU.

Eric Bossi, Freelance Writer – He’s on the road as much as just about anyone and knows the Midwest as well as anybody.

Bob Gibbons, All-Star Report – He’s a big name and he’s out on the road a lot, but we question his objectivity.