It's been a rough year for the Indiana Hoosiers basketball program, and while the rebuilding process has begun, the 2008-2009 season may as trying as it's even been in Assembly Hall.

Tom Crean will enter his first season as head coach with one returning scholarship player in Kyle Taber, a former walk-on who isn't expected to take the Big Ten by storm. Since college basketball programs are allowed 13 scholarships, this left the former Marquette coach with more openings than he could possibly fill with capable bodies.

The incoming class of Hoosiers includes two junior-college transfers and five high schoolers. In addition, IU accepted the transfer of Jeremiah Rivers from Georgetown which despite the fact he can't play this fall, he will still absorb one of the allotted scholarships.

Some challenging math reveals that Indiana will have nine scholarships taken this season. What to do with the other four? Creative self-imposed discipline, of course.

Indiana announced on Wednesday that in addition to taking away one scholarship this year as a self punishment for Kelvin Sampson's rule breaking, it will take away two others in anticipation of penalties resulting from the Hoosiers low grade in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate.

How noble.

Bobby Bowden is even impressed, who's known for disciplining his best players against the Chattanooga State powerhouses of the college football world.

These three self-imposed penalties hardly qualifies as discipline. Indiana had no chance of fulfilling these final spots, being that we're into July and the recruiting period has long since been completed. Sure, Crean could hand some spots out to a few tall kids on campus, but that doesn't serve the greater good of the program. The 2008-09 season will be a wash, so might as well kill two birds with one stone.

Since Indiana is one of the more prominent basketball programs, you can bet the fine folks at the Indianapolis headquarters will merely applaud this move. You have to love the NCAA.