Same old song and dance for IU's Sampson

There is a reason why nobody likes Kelvin Sampson. It's not just because he put together some really good, and dirty (editor opinion) teams at Oklahoma, but rather the fact that he is constantly breaking NCAA rules. To Sampson, ethics is just some silly word that people throw around when he beats them out for a recruit (see Eric Gordon's recruitment). The violations started out with Ol' Blue Shirt making illegal (per NCAA) calls to potential recruits. It wasn't a couple or even a dozen, but 577. The NCAA decided that Sampson was restricted from making any calls to recruits, but was allowed to receive calls. It was soon discovered that he participated in a number of conference calls with potential players. Now, he's in big trouble. Sampson did it AGAIN, but this time he lied about it. The NCAA caught him, again.

This is a big blow to the Indiana program. Under former Head Coach Bob Knight, Indiana faced much scrutiny for his actions, none of which including NCAA violations. It seems that Indiana traded that spotlight for Sampson's aura of cheating. Sampson has already cost himself $500,000 and one scholarship, both sanctions brought on by the university, but with this new round, the NCAA will hopefully step up and punish Kelvin with major sanctions. If Indiana were smart, they'd start a new search for a head coach that doesn't have a knack for blatantly breaking the rules. They gambled bringing in a coach with a winning record on the court, but a losing record off the court, when they lured him away from Oklahoma. Now they need to go find a coach who won't break the rules, even if it means sacrificing a few victories each year. They are now looking like total fools for letting Mike Davis and Bobby Knight leave.

Davis took over for Knight in the 2000-2001 season, and led Indiana to the NCAA Finals in his 2nd season at the helm. After a series of non-Indiana like years, Davis resigned and took over the UAB program. Hall of Famer Knight brought 3 national championships to Bloomington during his 29 years, and 11 Big Ten titles. He was fired after a career marred by on and off the court shenanigans (not cheeky or fun shenanigans).

Indiana needs a new start. They have some great players at their disposal (assuming they return) and are a huge name in collegiate basketball. All they are missing is a coach that makes the news by winning, not through scandal.

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