OT: IU w/ 5 MAJOR Violations!!!

[PacerGuy]

http://www6.comcast.net/sports/articles ... a-Sampson/

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3243793

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... /802130516


.......

[bravesatl]

sampson is as good as gone...the search for another coach has already begun...

this takes a huge hit on recruiting, say bye-bye to stephenson...

our program is gonna be the laughing stock of the major NCAA teams for years to come now...thanks sampson

[JoshB914]

Sampson is a clown. He always has been and always will be. We clearly cheated to get Gordon as well. I'm an IU grad but I had to agree with a lot of Illinois fans in their reactions to that whole thing.

[fdefore]

ridiculous

[Grang33r]

WOW. Last night i was watching college game night on ESPN and they had breaking news around 1am saying NCAA has told Indiana about these violations. ESPN said they don't think it'd cost him his job. They said they didn't have all their facts but when i saw it, they didn't seem to be too harsh about the situation, it seems really bad. They gotta big game tonight and its a stretch of 3 stright huge games and the Ratliff news and now this. Unreal.

[cdash]

I dont think we cheated to get Gordon; I think Sampson violated an unspoken code among coaches that you cant recruit a player who has already verbally committed, but I dont think he cheated. Besides, something tells me thats not the first time something like that has happened, the Illini and their fans just made a big deal about it because: a) he was a top shelf recruit; b) he is the only top shelf recruit Weber had gotten since he got to Illinois; and c) their team sucks and like all fan bases they want to blame it on other people.

All that is beside the point though. I think Sampson is going to lose his job over this, and I think he absolutely should. It was a questionable hire to begin with because he brought NCAA sanctions with him, and IU at least made one smart move by putting clauses in his contract that if more sanctions came, they would have just cause to fire him. Well, more sanctions have come. Rick Greenspan might be on thin ice too. He probably wont lose his job over it, but he put himself on the line by hiring Sampson with the baggage that accompanied him.

If Sampson is canned, the interesting part is: who succeeds him as coach? We were turned down by quite a few coaches two years ago when we hired Sampson, and if we are under NCAA sanctions, that certainly doesnt make the job any more attractive to coaches. It'll be interesting to see how the administration handles this, but I think there will be quite an uproar if Sampson isnt relieved of his duties.

[PR07]

I'm sure he's not the only coach that does this, but the fact that he continued to do so even after getting caught earlier pretty much disgusts me. I think he's probably gone at year's end, but who knows?

[Scoot McGroot]

I think we simply have to wait until we find out what the NCAA is going to rule on.


In all honesty, if we fire him and go into a coaching search, we need to know exactly what kind of a situation we're in with the NCAA when we start asking coaches to come aboard. It's completely unfair to ask coaches to come aboard without knowing what our penalties will be.

[cdash]

Good point Scoot.

[bravesatl]

I'm sure he's not the only coach that does this, but the fact that he continued to do so even after getting caught earlier pretty much disgusts me. I think he's probably gone at year's end, but who knows?

plus he lied about it again and again...

[fdefore]

I'm sure he's not the only coach that does this, but the fact that he continued to do so even after getting caught earlier pretty much disgusts me. I think he's probably gone at year's end, but who knows?

this is where i'm at. there was a column recently about bob knight and how he "cheated the least and won the most" and someone quoted said that knight was really the only coach who he'd never even heard whispers about cheating or rule violations.

i think its fairly widespread to different degrees but the fact that he was such an arrogant jackass as to do this when he is under a microscope AND to lie about it. unbelievable.

i dunno what needs to be done -- fired now or after the season -- but i can't imagine he'll be employed in august.

[count55]

-= original quote snipped =-



this is where i'm at. there was a column recently about bob knight and how he "cheated the least and won the most" and someone quoted said that knight was really the only coach who he'd never even heard whispers about cheating or rule violations.

i think its fairly widespread to different degrees but the fact that he was such an arrogant jackass as to do this when he is under a microscope AND to lie about it. unbelievable.

i dunno what needs to be done -- fired now or after the season -- but i can't imagine he'll be employed in august.

Of course, one could argue that Knight took ample opportunity to vent his ability to be an arrogant jackass in other avenues.

[fdefore]

-= original quote snipped =-



Of course, one could argue that Knight took ample opportunity to vent his ability to be an arrogant jackass in other avenues.

sorry wasn't meaning it to be a defending knight post. i just referenced it as far as my "i realize a lot of coaches violate recruiting regulations to one degree or another" but sampson's repeated violation despite the increased scrutiny means that he's a f%#ktard.

[ajizzle]

I really hope that Sampson didn't overstep his bounds on this one, b/c I think he is the right coach for IU at the right time. His brand of ball wins games, and w/ all of the talent that may still be here next year, I'd hate to see all of that thrown away.

IU Bball hasn't been prominent since the mid-90s, only showing flashes of brilliance amidst the rest of the college game. I was extremely p'd when guys like Jason Gardener and Sean May left for other programs, and for many other fans and boosters, I imagine that those type of players leaving was the final straw that led to Davis' firing and Sampson's eventual hire, among other factors.

I think that these allegations are too murky to hold in the long run. I mean, "misleading information" can be a lot of things, and I just don't know if it'll stick.

I like what Coach has done so far, and I want him to stay... but it ain't lookin good right now...

[cdash]

I really hope that Sampson didn't overstep his bounds on this one, b/c I think he is the right coach for IU at the right time. His brand of ball wins games, and w/ all of the talent that may still be here next year, I'd hate to see all of that thrown away.

IU Bball hasn't been prominent since the mid-90s, only showing flashes of brilliance amidst the rest of the college game. I was extremely p'd when guys like Jason Gardener and Sean May left for other programs, and for many other fans and boosters, I imagine that those type of players leaving was the final straw that led to Davis' firing and Sampson's eventual hire, among other factors.

I think that these allegations are too murky to hold in the long run. I mean, "misleading information" can be a lot of things, and I just don't know if it'll stick.

I like what Coach has done so far, and I want him to stay... but it ain't lookin good right now...

I dont have any fundamental issues with his actual coaching. For all intents and purposes, he seems to be a pretty decent coach. The main issue for me, and I dont think im alone here, is that he has put a black eye on a once-proud program. The worst part is, we had it coming. Greenspan hired him knowing he was bringing NCAA imposed sanctions with him, which in a sense ties his fate to Sampson's. He stuck his neck out for him, and Sampson burned him. An important thing to note here, the current IU president was not part of the hiring of Greenspan or Sampson. This makes it unclear just how supportive the administration is of Sampson or Greenspan.

Now in replying directly to the quoted post: I think it is fairly obvious that Sampson was the wrong coach at the wrong time. We hired four years after he made his lone trip to the Final Four, and he was under NCAA sanctions. Seems like really bad timing to me. As for the talent here next year, I am inclined to disagree. Gordon and White are gone after this season. The only impact recruit signed is Ebanks, and now you have to think that with the latest allegations on Sampson and his murky (at best) future at IU, Ebanks might reopen his recruiting. If Sampson is kept on as coach, the repurcussions are even greater. His recruiting will take a huge hit, the NCAA will monitor his every move like its open-heart surgery, and perhaps most important, it will divide the Hoosier fan base once more. I can tell you right from the vibe around campus and at the Wisconsin game tonight that he is not a popular man in Bloomington right now. Alumni are furious, students are furious, common sense would say that the administration is furious, and all of that goes a long way in the college sports world. Another factor to note in this case is that the NCAA is a lot more lenient on universities when they take swift action themselves. If we immediately fire Sampson (and the members of his staff who committed violations) and dock ourselves a few scholarships for a few years, it is extremely likely that we would receive little or no further punishment from the NCAA. That means no post-season ban, or at least the chances of it diminish greatly.

I also do not agree with you that these allegations are "murky". If they were murky, the NCAA wouldnt have called them major infractions.

Lastly, not only do I not want Sampson to stay, I think at this point he almost couldnt stay. Like I stated earlier, he has very few allies in this fight. Greenspan might be his only one, and that would only be because his fate is linked with Sampsons. The alumni, boosters, former players, students, basically the entire IU family, is furious that this man has put a black eye on a program that has taken great pride in its integrity over the years. If he stays, the administration runs the risk of ticking off a lot of donors and boosters. What I am saying is, its not just our basketball program that is hurt by this, it hurts the entire university.

[ajizzle]

I don't think he's gonna stay, but hindsight is 20/20.

A lot of Hoosiers loved Sampson coming here, and his brand of basketball wins. He's defense first, hard-nosed, and a minority. After all that this program had been through w/ Knight, Brand, Davis, etc., Sampson gave us hope... a throwback to kind of what Knight did when he was coaching. Good D, motion offense, good bball IQ, among other attributes.

As far as talent for next year, Crawford was gonna be next in line, and the boy can play. Throw in Bassett, Thomas, Ellis, and Holman, I'd like the starting 5. Throw in the new recruits, and we'd have a solid team, especially if Crawford continued to grow.

Sampson's recruiting issues were a problem, but I thought that we would've had the proper guidance in place to double- and triple-check up on our recruiting process. Apparently, we didn't.

I completely agree that it hurts the entire university, but nobody was predicting that this was gonna happen, especially not to this extent. Nobody thought that we'd do anything after Knight left, and 2 years later, we were in the Final Four. We've been through bad times, and come back strong. With Sampson, who won 3 straight Big 12 Tourneys just 5 years ago, and had won the regular season title in '05, he wasn't that far removed from success... and guys like Calipari and Pitino showed me that you can fail miserably and still come back and be very good.

Again, we'll see how solid these "major" violations are, b/c if it's coming down to how much he said or didn't say, then that's very unclear. It's not like there's a definitive charge, like his previous violations were; unless they have e-mails, texts, or recorded convos w/ the recruitees, IDK how solid these violations are.

I still like Sampson and think he could be successful at Bloomington... but I know a lot of fellow Hoosiers don't agree. I would like him to stay and get his house in order, b/c I think that he can bring the tradition of winning back to where it belongs.

[cdash]

I don't think he's gonna stay, but hindsight is 20/20.

A lot of Hoosiers loved Sampson coming here, and his brand of basketball wins. He's defense first, hard-nosed, and a minority. After all that this program had been through w/ Knight, Brand, Davis, etc., Sampson gave us hope... a throwback to kind of what Knight did when he was coaching. Good D, motion offense, good bball IQ, among other attributes.

As far as talent for next year, Crawford was gonna be next in line, and the boy can play. Throw in Bassett, Thomas, Ellis, and Holman, I'd like the starting 5. Throw in the new recruits, and we'd have a solid team, especially if Crawford continued to grow.

Sampson's recruiting issues were a problem, but I thought that we would've had the proper guidance in place to double- and triple-check up on our recruiting process. Apparently, we didn't.

I completely agree that it hurts the entire university, but nobody was predicting that this was gonna happen, especially not to this extent. Nobody thought that we'd do anything after Knight left, and 2 years later, we were in the Final Four. We've been through bad times, and come back strong. With Sampson, who won 3 straight Big 12 Tourneys just 5 years ago, and had won the regular season title in '05, he wasn't that far removed from success... and guys like Calipari and Pitino showed me that you can fail miserably and still come back and be very good.

Again, we'll see how solid these "major" violations are, b/c if it's coming down to how much he said or didn't say, then that's very unclear. It's not like there's a definitive charge, like his previous violations were; unless they have e-mails, texts, or recorded convos w/ the recruitees, IDK how solid these violations are.

I still like Sampson and think he could be successful at Bloomington... but I know a lot of fellow Hoosiers don't agree. I would like him to stay and get his house in order, b/c I think that he can bring the tradition of winning back to where it belongs.

What does Sampson being a minority have to do with anything? I agree that this team will be talented next year, but we have problems scoring in the post this year, I cant imagine how bad it will be next season with DJ gone.

I dont necessarily think no one saw this coming. The guy had sanctions on him when he got here. Now, I dont think anyone expected him to be stupid enough to do the same thing again while on probation, and then proceed to lie about it to the NCAA and the university, but we had it coming when we hired him. I dont really understand why you think nobody expected us to do anything after Knight. Last I checked, IU has five national championships, and only three of them were won under Knight. IU basketball is bigger than Bob Knight.

When did Calipari and Pitino fail? If you are talking about their NBA stints, that should come as no shock. Most college coaches who jump to the NBA fail miserably. They never have (and likely never will) fail as college coaches.

There are definitive charges too, I mean, that is what the NCAA notified IU of. I would say the violations are pretty solid, the NCAA doesnt speculate, if they sent IU a notice of infractions, you can rest assured that they have a plethora of evidence to back up their claims.

Sampson's career at IU is over for all intents and purposes. You are in the extreme minority in wanting him to stay. He isnt even coaching that well. Talent-wise, we are one of the top 7 or 8 teams in the country. Yet, we havent beat one good team yet and have struggled through many games with lesser opponents. There are plenty of other good coaches out there who are more than capable of winning at IU.