ESPN has another report of possible major recruiting violations in the men’s basketball program at Indiana University. According to the AP, the university will make an announcement regarding the allegations later today. This comes on the heels of the university’s announcement in October that men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson had made 100 impermissible calls during a time when he was on NCAA probation for the same type of offense while he was head coach of the men’s basketball program at Oklahoma. According to ESPN, the new allegations may center around the possibility that Sampson lied about the calls he made while he was the head coach at Indiana.
We’ll have to wait and see what the report from the NCAA actually says, and what Indiana’s response is; the NCAA is not likely to rule on the matter until June, which means that Indiana will be able to compete in this year’s NCAA tournament - probably the only one they will get to play in with freshman phenom Eric Gordon, who will probably go pro after this season. (The Hoosiers could miss this year’s dance if they impose a post-season sanction on themselves, but that’s not likely, unless the report is incredibly damning. The Indiana athletic department is still trying to right their financial ship after revenues dipped due to an extended period of lackluster performance by the football team and the men’s basketball team - the two sources of the lion’s share of revenue for Indiana’s athletic department. A self-sanction would probably signal the symbolic end of Sampson’s brief career at Indiana, a move the university won’t take unless they absolutely have to.)
Personally...I’m on the fence. Like signal-stealing via videotape in the NFL, shady phone calls are commonplace in college basketball. You don’t hear about it all the time because it’s hard to track unless the school in question reports the activity - which is what Indiana did. Indiana has one of the cleanest basketball programs in the country - and this is one of those moments where you Bob Knight detractors are going to have to clench your fists and grit your teeth and acknowledge something good that Knight did. He ran a clean program at Indiana, and that has carried over since his uncalled-for firing by Osama Brand Laden in 2000. Well, until now.
The reason I’m on the fence about Sampson is that there was just no way to replace Bob Knight - arguably the best coach in the history of college basketball. (I said arguably - we can discuss it - I know that a lot of people would say John Wooden or Dean Smith or Mike Krzyzewski, and that’s fine. But any discussion about the best coach in the history of college basketball must also include Knight.) The post-Knight era at Indiana will have to include a number of coaches of lesser ability, accomplishment, and character. I can’t think of very many guys out there who are on par with Bob Knight. Krzyzewski would be one, and so would Tom Izzo and Jim Calhoun. Probably Roy Williams and Jim Boeheim, too.
The game is just far too competitive these days, especially since David Stern (the worst commissioner in the history of sports, other than Bud Selig) has allowed the National Bonethugs Association to pillage the ranks of college basketball and steal away all the super-talented kids after just one year of college hoops. You can’t do anymore what Bob Knight did during his first twenty-three years at Indiana (1971-1993) - a period when Indiana built a solid senior class over a period of years and won national titles in 1976, 1981, and 1987. But for a couple of fluke injuries and the miracle Christian Laettner turnaround shot, Indiana might well have had three more titles in that twenty-three year span - in 1975, 1992, and 1993. These days, the best kids - and even the ones who are only marginally talented (I’m talking to you, Kirk Haston) - are going pro after one or two (in Haston's case, three) years in college. Coaches have to cast their recruiting nets far and wide in an effort to find the next Greg Oden or Kevin Durant or Eric Gordon - or even Zach Randolph - and it’s inevitable that some will bend the rules as much as they can, and even break the rules when they think they can get away with it. I’m not saying it’s right - it’s just the way the game has changed, and the NBA bears the brunt of the blame.
I’m also on the fence because it’s obvious what Kelvin Sampson can do with talent once he’s corralled it - his teams at Oklahoma were always competitive, he fielded a good Indiana squad last year, and he has a potential Big Ten champion on his hands this year. If this year’s Indiana team can take their game to a slightly higher level in the next three weeks - a stretch that has them playing Wisconsin, Purdue, and Michigan State twice (all three teams are currently ranked) - then they may have a real shot to go deep into this year’s NCAA tournament, and a chance to win their first Big Ten title since 1993.
Bob Knight’s career at Indiana was tarnished because he was a boorish lout who did not know how to control his behavior or his anger and was never told to do so in any meaningful way by the athletic director or the university. Indiana cannot allow the same thing to happen with Kelvin Sampson. I’m not ready to say that the university should fire Sampson - but depending on the severity of these new alleged violations, it could become a necessary step if Sampson, like Knight, is unable to change his ways.
While acknowledging that Sampson is good enough to be the coach in Bloomington for the long term, athletic director Rick Greenspan, with the support of the university trustees, must make it clear, in no uncertain terms, that Sampson has no choice but to maintain the high degree of integrity that Bob Knight instilled in the men’s basketball program. To treat this unfortunate situation otherwise would be to damage irreparably the reputation and integrity not just of the men’s basketball program - but of the university itself.
12 comments:
I believe you are right about Sampson. This unfortunate habit he has with phone calls continues to follow him as each year. While I also loved Knight and what he did for Indiana basketball, I agree he should have been removed, although I will always state that Brand should thank Knight as he was made Pres of the NCAA. After this year, we will have another round of "Steve Alford for IU Coach" and that will most likely get people in the mood to dump Kelvin, if he doesn't get fired. I have no doubt that coaches like Izzo and Coack K do the same things, but the're just smarter about it.
First, IU had to know what they were getting into with Sampson. It's unfortunate, because I agree with you John, there was no clear way to go after Bobby. The most fun I ever had watching college ball was back with Cheaney and Co. playing Michigan back with the Fab Five. You had a good team with upperclassmen vs. the freshemen. I agree completely with the NBA reference, they have raped and pillaged the NCAA and it's just not the same anymore. The shady phone calls continue and will continue because it means more $$ for the coach and the University. I am interested in seeing other posts because like you said John, this is similar to taping in the NFL. It' s going to continue no matter what. I'm not saying I agree with it, but it's like people saying "the checks in the mail" - it's not going to stop.
Sampson was a HUGE MISTAKE on IU's part. He was already in trouble with the NCAA before he signed with IU, so they KNEW what kind of a coach he was, and that he was involved in shady operations. HUGE MISTAKE to hire him.
Steve Alford. That would have been the best option for IU. In his Iowa contract, he had a clause that stated if IU ever offered him the head coaching job, they had to let him out of his contract, no matter what. He played under Knight for a long time, and he won an Olympic Gold in '84 with Knight. He was a good product from a good system (and was supposed to be on the Pacers, before they decided to draft Reggie Miller instead...)
It's SAD that IU chose to go with someone who already had a poor taste coming with him and his recruiting team. Alford would have made IU respectable again, and would have (or should have) been embraced by the city, state, and college. He's a hometown boy who could have made a difference in the VOID left by the firing of Coach Knight. (Sorry, but I think he's one of the BEST coaches EVER. I'm a fan of his.)
Now, Sampson is tarnishing the IU name, and can't even beat ANY ranked teams in the Big Ten (I believe he is now 0-4 after losing to Wisconsin last night). Sampson needs to go. I didn't care for Mike Brown, but at least he wasn't involved in a shady recruiting and bringing negative attention to IU.
Maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll give Coach Knight another chance (I doubt it!), it was just fun to think about.
1. Mike Brown was George Bush's FEMA director who bungled Katrina. Mike Davis is the former IU head coach.
2. I don't know about last season, but this year they are 0-2 against ranked Big Ten opponents.
3. Huge mistake? Sampson got Eric Gordon. Clearly there are pros and cons, but almost all I'm reading are people talking up the cons.
All people want to do is blame Sampson for making calls that should not be against the rules anyway. It's at least as stupid as the sideline videotaping that was such a big issue in the NFL this year. If Sampson did, in fact, lie about it, then that's one thing, and I might be less quick to defend him.
There's simply too much pressure to win in big-time sports these days, and he was toeing a thin line and got caught. And remember, Indiana self-reported the calls in the first place. There are something like 117 Division 1-A schools, and I have to wonder how many of their coaches are making similar calls that are not being self-reported - because it is simply naive to believe that Kelvin Sampson is the only person doing this.
Hell...maybe Myles Brand is right about one thing. Maybe it is time to turn down the volume on college sports. If guys are going to get drawn and quartered over something this stupid, then there is a systemic problem that needs to be addressed in college athletics. Myles Brand is a worthless piece of shit, but on that one point he might not be entirely incorrect.
OK, time for me to get involved here.
1. I agree with John-O and echo the idea of almost guaranteeing that at least the majority of schools are doing this, or something equally shady.
2. I am so tired of the "lets get Steve Alford" idea. SHUT UP!! Why is this guy so desired? Do you realize that A. he left Iowa with a losing record. B. also got into trouble and lost scholarships there (although not as serious, nor as hyped as Iowa is no where near the program IU is) due to trying to cover up the Pierre Pierce assault situation. And C. After getting, for lack of a better way to say it, forced out of Iowa, how many teams came calling for this, apparent, can't miss young coach? 1! The New Mexico Lobos. Doesn't sound to me like he is quite the coaching genius that some IU people think he is.
3. Also, all of you people that are calling for Sampson's head now, where were you a month ago when we were a top 10 team? Or where would you be had this not come out until, say, May and we had a made a good run in March? Do you not all realize that Eric Gordon is at IU for one reason and that reason is Coach Sampson? You want to talk about Mike Brown/Davis (really? Mike Brown?!?!)? Sure, he ran a clean program. He also ended the, then, longest consecutive tourney appearances streak. He also was going to lose the top player in Indiana...TO F$#@KING ILLINOIS!!! So shut up about Davis not doing shady things. He was the mistake, not Sampson.
4. As for the NCAA, they are not safe from my wrath here either. I understand that you have to police things, but these rules are so convoluted that many prominent coaches have complained. Jim Calhoun (HE's at UCONN for those of you who don't know) last year said that when he started coaching the recruiting rules where a 10 page pamphlet. Now they are a 300 page novel. These guys have too many things to worry about to have to sift through the muck of these rules. Something needs to change.
5. Now, having said all of this, I have to say I don't see how he is not fired. I think it'll be after the year, but he will be fired, and I think he probably should be. Not for the calls, but for lying to IU and to the NCAA. That is what made this major. The calls themselves did not. Also, lets not pat ourselves on the back too much about blowing the whistle on ourselves. The only reason that happened was that the story was about to be leaked, so we did what any smart political candidate would do, and did it ourselves. Had that not been the case, you wouldn't have heard about this back in October.
So now, where does IU go from here? Well, unfortunately, they are going to go and get an ex-player, I can almost guarantee it. They kind of have to. IU is one of the most trustees led schools in the country and AD Greenspan took a risk going outside "the family" and got burned. So, look for Dan Dakich, Keith Smart, or maybe Alford to get the gig. Then, you can also expect some scholarship losses and, and this is the real sad part, a quick end to the return to relevance we had enjoyed over the past 2 years. We will have to deal with 3-4 years of struggling to win 20 and make the tournament. Remember the Kentucky situation in the '80s? That, I think, is what you can expect.
So those of you that want the job back in the IU family, you're about to get your wish. There just better not be a single one of you that dogs the team over the next few years, because this was your brilliant, naive, short-sighted idea on how to fix things.
Hey, Knight just retired why not try and get him back? Sampson is not a bad coach and he was the best option for IU. If they fire him IU will be in a world of shit for a long time. Alford sucks, notice that no one in Iowa was shedding a tear when he left. As a matter of fact they were practically begging him to go. And he's not exactly blazing any trails in New Mexico right now.
Actually Nagin and Blanco bungled Katrina. Mike Brown just bungled the clean up. But I don't know who could have done a good job on that one.
Sorry, I seem to have had Mike Brown - the former Indiana Pacers assistant coach/Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach - on my mind while I was typing. I apologize for making a mistake, I forget everything had to be perfect on this blog. I AM SORRY.
I'm also sorry that I think it would be a good idea to bring in a Former Mister Indiana Basketball/Olympic Gold Medalist/4-Year Bobby Knight Product/WINNING RECORD NCAA Coach (326-189), who has coached the 19-6 New Mexico Lobos to a winning record this season, WITHOUT any big name standouts. I can't begin to imagine what he could have done with IU's talent.
Oh, and Iowa is the other team I root for in the Big Ten (Family) and they are PISS POOR this season, and I bet they do regret letting Alford go. I can only imagine that Alford spent the last season lamenting about not getting an interview for the IU job, and Iowa probably got tired of it, and let him walk. Their 11-15 record is a HUGE disappointment, seeing how they've already lost more games than last season.
Alford is an amazing coach, I love his style and demeanor.
Sampson IS THE PROBLEM!!! No other coach was involved in illegal activities and then lied about it, then got caught, then brought tons of negative publicity to IU. No, sorry, you can't blame anyone but Sampson!!! Nice try.
The biggest problem for Steve Alford is the fact that the only place he really wants to be coaching is Indiana - and everybody knows that.
And before you go throwing out words like "amazing," you might want to dig a little deeper into his Wikipedia file than 326-189. His only NCAA tournament win came in his second season, they lost in the first round as a 3-seed in the 2006 tournament, and last year they became the first Iowa team with a winning record since 1977 not to play in the postseason.
That being said, I would still be willing to give him a shot at Indiana, even though I think there's so much expectation surrounding his appointment that he could do nothing but crash and burn.
The only way Indiana comes out of this well is if Sampson is cleared of lying; and that's possible, but maybe not likely. He's played fast and loose with the truth, and while he may be able to beat the rap of outright lying, he's been far from forthright.
The reason Sampson was brought in was that he had a good tournament record, and solid tournament play was something that suffered in the latter years under Knight and mostly suffered during Davis' brief tenure (excepting the remarkable 2002 title game run).
Maybe this is what you meant by amazing - and we'll go back to good old Wikipedia for these tidbits. Sampson's .721 is the highest career winning percentage for any coach at Oklahoma, his teams played in the NCAA tournament 10 out of his 11 years - including one Sweet Sixteen, one Final Four (2002, where they lost to Indiana), and a Great Eight. He also won three - count 'em, three - consecutive Big 12 tournament championships. HIs .645 overall win percentage is also better than .633 for Alford.
Now that's a postseason resume for you - and that's what Indiana was banking on when they hired Sampson. The pressure to win was such that Indiana took a chance on hiring a guy with baggage; and Sampson apparently had no idea of the differences in basketball culture between Oklahoma and Indiana.
Recruiting got out of control to the point that the NCAA had to bear down on it in large part because the NBA kept stealing so many good young players. Thus, recruiting rules became bloated to the point that it's almost impossible to do effectively without bending the rules. Scott's quote of Jim Calhoun is a good one. The number of hoops that the NCAA makes you jump through just to keep from being a rule-breaker is ridiculous.
Sampson made mistakes - no doubt about that. But Kelvin Sampson does not exist in a vacuum. There are larger forces at work that led him to make those mistakes. You want to point your finger at Sampson and scream, "Cheater! Cheater! Cheater!", okay. Just don't pretend you're telling the whole story.
Please don't tell me to shut up Scott. I was merely saying that I believed that people would make the argument for Steve Alford to return as that is what happens every time we have a problem. Also, I never thought Sampson was a good move. I knew his past would come back around and bite IU. From day one, I believed he was a good coach with some ethical problems that were made very public. I did not believe he was a good play for IU, and as such, do not feel that everyone who dislikes Sampson now was cheering his praises a couple months ago. I still believe that if we would have bought Majerus a new pacemaker, he would have been a solid coach. Always good to see you Scott.
Steve,
Wasn't directing that at you, sorry if you thought that. I was directing that at the people that are so short sighted that they think every IU coach has to come from the Bob Knight tree. It's the same thing at Duke, UNC, etc. There are really great coaches out there that have no link to Indiana.
I would have no problem with Majerus, with the exception of being worried he'd die of a heart attack at any second.
It also would be a little different if there was one of our guys that was a no-doubt young coaching superstar, but we don't have that. Alford was nothing more than average with some very talented Iowa teams. As John said he has 1 tournament win. That, does not a phenom make.
And as for his winning career record, that is because he spent a lot of his time at SW Miss. St. On the big time stage, he has been a far cry from the savior IU people want him to be.
So again, I am sorry if you thought that was directed at you. It was most definitely not. I have no problem with you not liking Sampson, or anyone thinking it was a bad hire. I thought, at the time, it was a great hire. Obviously, I have now been proven wrong. But, at least you are not bound to the idea of keeping the job in the family. That is what irritates me. So again, not directed at you my friend. So sorry, and great to hear from you as well, as confusing a medium as this is.
Another good point. Alford's winning percentage at Iowa was .589 - contrasted with a .677 at the other three schools combined. Oddly, for four of his eight years at Iowa, the team was exactly three games over .500 for the year.
If you want to bring in a Knight acolyte simply for the sake of bringing in a Knight acolyte, why not Mike Woodson or Randy Wittman? For reasons passing understanding, however, there is still tremendous anti-Knight sentiment at IU, in spite of everything he did for the university in his 29 years. I would be very surprised if the next coach in Bloomington was someone who was at all close to Knight.
And just one more thing, for now - does anyone else wonder whether this whole Sampson thing would be nearly as big a deal as it is if anyone other than Myles Brand were presiding over the NCAA when it went down?
The leader in the club house at the moment is Scott Skiles. Would be a perfect fit, I think. he has Knight's old school toughness and doesn't settle for lazy play, but he is a younger guy too.
What happened in Chicago was more his players fault than his. He is wired perfectly for a college job. Also, he's from Indy, so there is that connection as well.
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