INDIANAPOLIS (AP) —Tom Crean is bringing two assistant coaches from his Marquette staff to Indiana, one of whom has ties to former coach Kelvin Sampson.

Crean hired Bennie Seltzer, who spent nine seasons as Sampson's assistant at Oklahoma, and former Ball State coach Tim Buckley on Thursday. Both were on Crean's staff at Marquette last season.

"These gentlemen are two of the hardest working and most loyal individuals I have known and their insight, abilities and experiences will be a great asset for our student-athletes," Crean said in a statement released by the university.

One assistant coaching job remains open.

Seltzer's addition is an odd twist for a program that has attempted to distance itself from Sampson and a scandal over alleged recruiting phone calls since the NCAA made its most serious accusations in February. Sampson accepted a $750,000 buyout nine days after the NCAA alleged he committed five major recruiting violations since coming to Indiana in 2006.

Crean replaced Dan Dakich, who went 3-4 as the Hoosiers' interim coach, on April 1.

Seltzer played under Sampson at Washington State, then joined Sampson's staff at Oklahoma in 1997 after a professional career that took him to Turkey, Venezuela, Poland and Holland. He left in 2006 and wound up at Marquette under Crean.

While Seltzer played a minimal role in recruiting at Oklahoma, he was on the staff during Sampson's first NCAA scandal. The NCAA ruled Sampson and his staff made 577 impermissible calls between 2000 and 2004, and Oklahoma imposed reductions in scholarships, recruiting calls and trips.

Seltzer was not implicated in those violations and was the only assistant retained by Sampson the next season.

"I trust Tom Crean and his judgment," IU trustee Phil Eskew said. "Bennie worked with Crean at Marquette, and he's our coach. I trust his opinion 100 percent."

Seltzer spent most of his time at Oklahoma working with the Sooners guards, scouting and assisting in film exchanges and after two seasons at Marquette, Crean was convinced he was a good fit for the Hoosiers.

"The two years Bennie spent at Marquette, he did an outstanding job in many areas and our players loved him," Crean said through a team spokesman. "His record speaks for itself."

Seltzer, 37, still holds the career record for assists (473) at Washington State and ranks among the top 10 in school history in points, 3-pointers and steals.

Buckley's hiring was no surprise.

Buckley was Crean's top assistant at Marquette in 1999-2000, then took over as Ball State's head coach in 2000. In six seasons with the Cardinals, Buckley went 143-139 and won the Mid-American Conference West Division title in 2001-02 _ the same season Ball State upset Kansas and UCLA in the Maui Invitational.

He was fired in March 2006 after Ball State finished 10-18, its worst season in two decades.

Buckley then went to Iowa for one season before returning to Crean's staff in 2007 and he will rejoin Crean for a third time in Bloomington.

"Indiana University offers one of the most tradition-rich basketball experiences you can imagine," Buckley said. "I am thrilled to be a part of coach Crean's staff and look forward to adding to the great history that exists at IU."

Buckley also spent five seasons as a Ball State assistant and one season as an assistant at Wisconsin under coach Stu Jackson. His first head coaching job came at Bemidji State, his alma mater in Minnesota, where Buckley became the fastest in school history to record 50 wins.

Now that Crean has two assistants in place, the Hoosiers can focus on rebuilding a program that has struggled since the NCAA allegations were made public two months ago.

Two players, starting guards Armon Bassett and Jamarcus Ellis, were dismissed from the team by Dakich. Incoming freshman Terrell Holloway has already announced he will attend Xavier after signing with Indiana last fall and forward Devin Ebanks is considering other schools. Indiana granted both players their release after Sampson's departure.

Big Ten freshman of the year Eric Gordon has already declared for the NBA draft, and unless Bassett, Ellis or both are reinstated, Crean will have to replace all five starters. Two of last year's starters — forwards Lance Stemler and D.J. White — were seniors.

Another complication is that Crean cannot call or visit recruits off campus and has lost one scholarship for next year because of the university's self-imposed penalties.