IU players threaten to quit if Sampson relieved as coach.

Stu Ryckman · Feb 23, 2008

Hey Gerry...Rick Greenspan referred to Purdue as "The Other School" in his press conference (so I am told...didn't read it.)

He can't use "School Up North"...already taken! :lol:

Stu Ryckman · Feb 23, 2008

Here's a better article than the other one I posted;

Sampson out as Indiana coach; 6 players skip Dakich’s first practice
By MICHAEL MAROT, AP Sports Writer

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP)—As Indiana athletic director Rick Greenspan
pondered a resolution to the Kelvin Sampson mess, he kept thinking
about the implications for senior forward D.J. White.

Back in 2006, White lost his friend and former neighbor, Mike Davis,
when Davis resigned as Hoosiers coach.

Sampson joined that list Friday by accepting a $750,000 buyout,
waiving his right to sue the university for further damages, and
agreeing to turn the program over to interim coach Dan Dakich. Getting
rid of Sampson, which came in response to the NCAA’s report alleging
five major NCAA rules violations, still may not solve all of Indiana’s
problems.

White is among a group of players who threatened to sit out Saturday’s
game at Northwestern. Greenspan hopes the Hoosiers and White, ranked
No. 15 and in contention for their first outright Big Ten title since
1993, feel differently before the team plane leaves Saturday morning.

“I’m troubled by the impact this has emotionally on a man like D.J.
White,” Greenspan said. “He’s a good man and a good player, and he
just went through something like this two years ago. It’s not right.”

Unfair as it may seem now, Greenspan was left with few choices.

Indiana fans expect a clean program and were embarrassed by the slate
of allegations levied against Sampson. The program, which may still be
punished by the NCAA, would likely have faced more significant
penalties had Greenspan kept him.

Mending the players’ hearts will be difficult.

White, guards Armon Bassett, Jordan Crawford and Jamarcus Ellis, and
forwards DeAndre Thomas and Brandon McGee skipped Dakich’s first
practice Friday afternoon. By Friday night’s scheduled walkthrough,
Greenspan said most if not all of the missing players were back and he
expects them to play in Evanston, Ill., Saturday.

While Greenspan understands the players’ loyalty to Sampson, he
believes they will be motivated by their competitive nature to
continue winning.

“I think our young men are respectful and respectful of Indiana
University,” Greenspan said. “They have a chance to have a special
season, and my hope is that as we heal emotionally and get accustomed
to the staff, they’ll continue to play for that special season.”

Sampson also offered players his support in a statement released by
the university minutes before the official announcement was made.

“While I’m saddened that I will not have the opportunity to coach
these student-athletes, I feel that this is in the best interest of
the program for me to step away at this time,” Sampson said. “I wish
my players nothing but the best for the remainder of the season.”

Sampson’s two-year tenure at Indiana ended the same way it began, with
an NCAA hearing scheduled for alleged rules infractions.

He took the Indiana job in March 2006 and two months later was
penalized by the NCAA for making 577 impermissible phone calls between
2000 and 2004 when he was coaching Oklahoma.

Given the pending charges, many Indiana fans and some trustees thought
it was a mistake to even hire Sampson. When the phone calls and
accusations continued, it only created more angst among the fan base.

“In retrospect, I think there should have been greater
considerations,” trustee Philip Eskew Jr. said. “But you talk to the
man and he says, ‘I’m not going to do that,’ and I believe in giving
guys second chances. But when he goes back on his word, that’s
something else.”

The second wave of charges emerged in October when a university
investigation found Sampson and his staff made more than 100
impermissible calls while still under recruiting restrictions and that
Sampson participated in at least 10 three-way calls, another violation
of the NCAA’s punishment.

Greenspan called the violations secondary, imposing a one-year
extension of the NCAA’s recruiting restrictions and pulling a $500,000
raise. The Hoosiers also took away one scholarship for the 2008-09
season.

What the NCAA found, however, was far more serious. The report,
released last week, claimed Sampson provided false and misleading
information to investigators from both the university and the NCAA,
failed to meet the “generally recognized high standard of honesty”
expected in college sports and failed to promote an atmosphere of
compliance within the program.

The allegations unleashed a torrent of criticism, and many fans booed
Sampson during introductions during the Hoosiers’ next three games.
University president Michael McRobbie then announced the university
would take a second look at the charges, setting a Friday deadline for
Greenspan to make his recommendation.

“I think that decision was formed shortly after the letter of
allegations was received,” Greenspan said. “I think shortly after our
president said those allegations were troubling and deeply concerning
and that we’d work through this is when we came to the conclusion.”

Still, Greenspan worked long and hard to resolve the situation.

He met with the team Thursday night and worked in his office till
nearly midnight. On Friday morning, he met briefly with Sampson in the
coaches’ office. A few minutes after Greenspan left the coach’s
office, Sampson walked down a ramp with his wife, Karen, went into
another coaches’ office was not seen again inside Assembly Hall.

If there was any doubt about what was coming, it was virtually erased
when players, managers, assistant coaches and the coach’s son, Kellen
Sampson, left a team meeting with dour expressions about midday.

Just before practice started, the depth of the problems took on
another face.

While Indiana star freshman guard Eric Gordon said he expected to play
against Northwestern, White and other players never showed up.

Sampson led the Hoosiers into the second round of the NCAA tournament
in 2006-07 and had them in position to contend for a Big Ten title
this season. He broke the school record for most consecutive home
victories at the start of a career, eclipsing the mark set by revered
coach Branch McCracken, earlier this season.

But his success on the court could not overshadow the accusations of
what he did off it.

The 45-year-old Dakich, once considered a possible successor to coach
Bob Knight, will now get a chance to coach his alma mater. He is the
former head coach at Bowling Green and a former assistant under Knight
at Indiana. And he took the job vacated when Rob Senderoff resigned in
early November. Senderoff was also implicated in the phone-call
scandal at Indiana.

Dakich also was an assistant on Indiana’s 1987 national championship
team.

“I want nothing but the best for these players and the institution,”
he said in a statement. “The challenge ahead is to maintain the
positive momentum that has been built within the team and to keep
everyone as focused as possible during this difficult time.”

Assistant coach Ray McCallum, who the players wanted to take over,
became assistant head coach. McCallum was a head coach at Ball State
and Houston and has 25 years of coaching experience at the college
level.

Neither Dakich nor McCallum were implicated in the latest NCAA
allegations, and McCallum also was cleared of any wrongdoing while
assisting Sampson at Oklahoma.
Click to expand...

HoustonLarry · Feb 23, 2008

Why....

<t>Give him 750? Amazing.</t>

Terry O'Keefe · Feb 23, 2008

McCallum came with him from OU, so there was no way that IU could put a Sampson man in charge of the program for the rest of the season. Dakick goes back to the IU/Knight years so he was the logical choice.

Sid · Feb 23, 2008

The long state-wide nightmare is over!
Click to expand...

Hardly, Whobe. But at least he's gone.

ESPN reported that all the players will be present at the Northwestern game. That potential nightmare has been averted.

whobedis · Feb 23, 2008

You're right Sid....there still is Mitch :lol:

Tim Gentry · Feb 24, 2008

IU

<r>Not only were they present, they won the game! Go Hoosiers!! <E></E></r>

Sid · Feb 24, 2008

You're right Sid....there still is Mitch
Click to expand...

LOL! That's not what I was thinking, but point well taken. :lol:

I'm glad they got the win last night. Hopefully, they can recover and continue to have a great season.

Sid · Feb 25, 2008

Here is a link to a very detailed, fact-filled article about how the Sampson resignation came about and how the players and the coaches acted and reacted during the two days prior to the finalization of the separation agreement. For anyone interested in this, it's a must-read. It's too long to print out.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/SPORTS0601/802250363/1247/SPORTS

Terry O'Keefe · Feb 25, 2008

Interesting that it was all facilitated by an "unknown" donor who put up the money for Sampsons buyout. I think I read that IU has paid over 4 Million in buyouts of various coaches (Knight, Cameron, DiNardo, Adams, now Sampson). For an athltetic dept that is probably not rolling in it, that's got to be a heavy burden.

Terry

Sid · Feb 25, 2008

Interesting that it was all facilitated by an "unknown" donor who put up the money for Sampsons buyout.
Click to expand...

Yes, Terry. Very interesting.

Terry O'Keefe · Feb 25, 2008

So Sid was it you?

Sid · Feb 25, 2008

So Sid was it you?
Click to expand...

(Doing my best Jon Lovitz imitation)......Uh.......yeah.........I'm the guy.......I gave the money.........I did it..........

Seriously, do you think the media will be jumping out of its skin trying to find out the source of the anonymous donation? You betcha!

Terry O'Keefe · Feb 25, 2008

You know, come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen Jon Lovitz and You in the same room and you do bear a striking resemblemce.

Sid · Feb 25, 2008

......and you do bear a striking resemblemce.
Click to expand...

I resemble that remark! :roll:

Stu Ryckman · Feb 25, 2008

John Mellencamp? Mark Cuban?

Terry O'Keefe · Feb 25, 2008

Mark Cuban would be my bet.

Sid · Feb 25, 2008

Either one is a good guess. I would go with Mellenkamp because I'm pretty sure he attends most of the home games and they've named an athletic building after him.

Log in or Sign up

IU players threaten to quit if Sampson relieved as coach.

Stu Ryckman Well-Known Member

Stu Ryckman Well-Known Member

HoustonLarry New Member

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

Sid Well-Known Member

whobedis New Member

Tim Gentry Well-Known Member

Sid Well-Known Member

Sid Well-Known Member

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

Sid Well-Known Member

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

Sid Well-Known Member

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

Sid Well-Known Member

Stu Ryckman Well-Known Member

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

Sid Well-Known Member

Log in or Sign up

IU players threaten to quit if Sampson relieved as coach.

Stu Ryckman Well-Known Member

Stu Ryckman Well-Known Member

HoustonLarry New Member

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

Sid Well-Known Member

whobedis New Member

Tim Gentry Well-Known Member

Sid Well-Known Member

Sid Well-Known Member

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

Sid Well-Known Member

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

Sid Well-Known Member

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

Sid Well-Known Member

Stu Ryckman Well-Known Member

Terry O'Keefe Well-Known Member Administrator

Sid Well-Known Member

Useful Searches