Indiana's Cheaney leaving for job at S..

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Bloomington, Ind. • Indiana is losing former star Calbert Cheaney to Saint Louis, where he will be a full-time assistant coach for fellow former Hoosier Jim Crews.

Cheaney has been the Hoosiers' director of basketball operations since June 2011. Cheaney was a sophomore in high school when Crews said he first met him, and he joins a school that's 54-16 the last two seasons.

"I have known Jim Crews for a long time, and I'm eager to work with him and the rest of the SLU staff," Cheaney said in a statement. "This is a great coaching situation to step into."

Coach Tom Crean issued a statement late Tuesday night, crediting Cheaney with helping Indiana to reclaim a prominent spot on the national college basketball map over the past two seasons. Crean also said he believes Cheaney has a bright coaching future.

"He is of high character and has a great combination of work habits and work ethic," Crews said. "Calbert is very good at transferring his knowledge to the players."

Cheaney won the Wooden, Naismith and Big Ten player of the year awards following the 1992-93 season, when he averaged 22.4 points and 6.2 rebounds. With 2,613 career points, Cheaney is still the Big Ten's career scoring leader.

Cheaney replaces Jim Whitesell, associate head coach the last two seasons at Saint Louis before taking an assistant coaching job at St. John's earlier this month. Whitesell has 24 seasons of head coaching experience at three NCAA levels.

Indiana's Cheaney leaving for job at Saint Louis