Indiana University has hired Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson as its next head basketball coach. Honest.In case you’ve been in a coma, or haven’t stopped searching the internet for American Idol news, Indiana University has hired Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson as its next head basketball coach. Honest.
Since Mike Davis announced his resignation, media outlets and internet message boards have buzzed with the names of potential replacements. Big names, such as Tom Crean, Mark Few, John Calipari, Rick Majerus, and of course, Steve Alford. Kelvin Sampson was mentioned about as often as Dean Smith and Pat Summit. IU apparently made plays for Few and Calipari, and were told “no thanks”. Why? Well, Few and Calipari are obviously happy where they are, and enjoy the money they make. Sampson, on the other hand, jumped at the opportunity. He wants the job. He’s excited about the chance to coach in Bloomington.
That’s why it’s a great hire. Sampson is a proven winner, averaging 23 wins per season at Oklahoma. He’s had nine straight 20 win seasons. He’s been to a Final Four. And, he’s done all of this at a school where football is more important than, well, anything. Even American Idol. Honest.
Besides his impressive resume and experience, Sampson will bring the type of basketball that Indiana desperately needs. He stresses defense and rebounding, two sore spots for the Hoosiers this year. IU players looked afraid to bend their knees while guarding opponents last season, and didn’t crash the boards hard enough in the brutal Big 10.
Many IU faithful expected and wanted Steve Alford to roam the sidelines at Assembly Hall. He’s an Indiana legend, and it seemed inevitable that he’d end up coaching the Hoosiers. But, his coaching record simply didn’t dazzle IU Athletic Director Rick Greenspan, nor should it have. One NCAA tournament win in seven years at Iowa. One. That means no Final Fours, no Elite Eights, no Sweet Sixteens, heck, only one Thrilling Thirty Two. An overall winning percentage lower than Mike Davis, who many IU fans had been trying to run out of Bloomington for years. A less than stellar recruiting record. Other than his legacy as a great IU player and native son, Alford really had no qualifications for the job. Oh yeah, he did have one qualification – his link to the past – Robert Montgomery Knight.
Sampson represents exactly what IU needs. A fresh start, and a clean break from Knight. Greenspan made a gutsy decision, and it is one that will undoubtedly cement his legacy at IU, either as a failure or a genius. Here’s hoping it’s the latter.
4 replies on “Surprise! Sampson to Coach IU”
Honest The honest thing kind of bugged me. There is one thing to worry about with Sampson, OU is being investigated for recruiting violations. The violations have to do with the amount of times a school is permitted to contact a recruit. Sampson and OU went absurdly over their allotment.
Still liked the article, and for the most part I agree that Sampson is a great hire.
Umm.. Kelvin Sampson was more of a mistake than anything, he has done nothing with OKST since thier final four, and bobby nights back up was setting up for a run, you can read a article argueing the signing of Sampson on my website http://www.fourthngoal.com
the link to the article is: http://www.fourthngoal.com/NCAA/NCAA2.html
Wow If you honestly think that Dan Dakich or Steve Alford are BETTER COACHES than Kelvin Sampson, you are sorely misinformed. Stating that Alford will “fill the seats” is an irrelevant and ignorant statement. The seats will be filled by W’s, and keeping D.J. White in Bloomington won’t hurt. I think Sampson will do both. You say that Sampson was coach of the year, but “that was in 1995”. Are you kidding me? When has Alford even been the best coach in the Big 10? He has a sub-.500 Big Ten record, 1 NCAA win at Iowa. Dan Dakich? Yeah, he was a great IU assistant, and guess who else was? Mike Davis. I rest my case.
hey hey hey good arguement, i didnt write the article one of my writers did, ill have him take a look at your comment.
thanks…