Shocker. Indiana is going to hire Kelvin Sampson. It is amazing that someone of Sampson’s stature “would want to coach” at Indiana, since they fired a coach who went to the NCAA Tournament this season, and had made a Final Four.
I guess we can be thankful that they didn’t hire John Calipari.
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March 28th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
I personally have always thought Sampson was overrated. Look how many times his teams have lost in the 1st round. His teams hardly ever score more than in the 50s-ugly basketball in my opinion. You guys remember when we beat them like 7 years ago. I think the score was like 49-48?? He is actually one of the few people coaching a top 30 program that I would not take ahead of Herb.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
He has had some ugly tourney flameouts, for sure. Sendek to Oklahoma! LOL.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:06 pm
Sampson to Herb would be basically an exhange of equals. He’s a decent coach of the second tier, just like Herb.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:07 pm
Of course, given that they have some minor but smelly NCAA issues they could bring Herb in under that mantra.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:14 pm
Sampson is good coach IMO. This is a pretty interesting development because it seems that it came out of nowhere.
I wonder if Oklahoma will promote an assistant.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Yeah, heard that on Rome as I was going to lunch. Response in Indiana has not been positive either but Rome says great move for IU. Funny though, he was mentioning some other coaches and Sendek’s name never came up.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:31 pm
Andy Katz said they offered Mark Few 1.5 mil and he turned it down and that both IU and Mizz got shot down by Calipari
March 28th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
Wow…Personally, I don’t think they upgraded coaching nor do I think everyone at IU will support Sampson. If IU got shot down by Few and Calipari, maybe there is some truth to the “who are you going to get” mentality?
We know Herb’s name didn’t surface, but did Rick Barnes name come up for discussion at IU?
I wonder if they asked permission to speak to the Texas Tech head coach? I’d think the fans would support him?
March 28th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
Yep – I agree – this is a high risk hire. He can get better talent at Indiana, so he can probably duplicate his results in the Big 10, where he’ll face similar competition. The big question will be how he adjusts to the kind of talent he can bring in at IU. If his team’s were to play a little better offensively, that would make all of the difference in the world.
Also, he turned us down back in the day after Les resigned.
March 28th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
I must admit I’d never thought of Sampson as a remote possibility for the IU job. But Herb would be a wonderful replacement for Sampson. The man knows how to chop wood.
March 28th, 2006 at 3:12 pm
The new pruning laws implemented here in Raleigh will restrict Herb’s further adventures in wood chopping so the timing is right for a move! Go Herb go just please go.
March 28th, 2006 at 3:13 pm
“Andy Katz said they offered Mark Few 1.5 mil and he turned it down and that both IU and Mizz got shot down by Calipari”
Few must be a real chicken $#@$. He could make a hell of a lot more money coaching somewhere else considering what he’s done at Gonzaga. I think he’s just afraid he’ll get exposed if he goes to a big name school. He doesn’t have any competition in the WCC.
March 28th, 2006 at 3:22 pm
^Few is a northwest kind of guy. He likes trout fishing and the outdoors and it would take a mint for him to leave. He was on the radio a year ago talking about the northwest and his new dream home that he just completed. I took from the interview that he will never leave that region EVER!
March 28th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Not sure Calipari is an upper-midwest kind of guy, either. Think he’d be more comfortable on the east coast.
March 28th, 2006 at 4:29 pm
I heard Dave Glenn talking about the financial package Calipari has at Memphis. Anyone know the story about that?
Not all coaches are willing to jump at what may seem to be better positions. Few seems to fit the mold of a guy who wants to make sure he can be successful whereever he goes.
Mike Davis didn’t do a terrible job there afterall.
March 28th, 2006 at 4:39 pm
^ Right. David didn’t do a TERRIBLE job. He did a B-minus/C-plus job like Herb Sendek, if not a bit better. But he still needed to move on.
Also like Sendek, I think Davis might do quite well given a fresh start in a position that’s a better “fit.”
March 28th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
BJD95: At IU, a B-/C+ job won’t get it done with the fanbase or administration. That is probably why Few wasn’t interested. He probably didn’t want to risk what he has to go to a situation with such high expectations. Because if he doesn’t deliver, then he will be run out of town just like Davis.
While our administration doesn’t treat these situations the same way, our fanbase would certainly like to. So for guys like Few, they won’t want our job. When our job does come open, this is why I see the replacement coming from a mid-major level. I don’t consider this a bad thing either because there are a lot of good, young hungry coaches around the country.
March 28th, 2006 at 5:06 pm
^ And if Few really does have that kind of mentality, he’s not going to succeed at IU (or here) anyway.
I also wouldn’t be opposed to a hungry mid-major guy – I would just make Barnes and Calipari say ‘no’ first.
March 28th, 2006 at 5:17 pm
Rumored replacemets at OU are Mark Turgeon from Wichita and Dana Altman from Creighton. Don’t they want a big name to replace Sampson? Why is it no one mentions Sendek for these? Maybe b/c everyone else in CBB inner circles knows HS is a fraud.
March 28th, 2006 at 5:18 pm
I’d definitely make Barnes say “no” first…Not sure about Calapari. I’m a big fan of Belien, Donovan and Montgomery, too. There was someone else I identified this weekend and I’ve forgotten who it was.
March 28th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
herb is going nowhere lee has given him an unlimited leash. I think even if we missed the ncaa tournament next yr he would still be back for his previous work. The thought of this makes me want vomit. Also Coach Cal and Barnes want NO PART of this job. They will always be the 3rd banana no matter how well they finish or bring in kids.
March 28th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
Why should we knock Few for wanting to stay at Gonzaga. He has been there 17 or 18 years. I think he has a pretty special program going on out there, more power to him.
March 28th, 2006 at 6:49 pm
I hope I don’t get blindsided by a future surprise on this comment but THIS IS GOOD NEWS!! (On many levels…)
The ONLY way a “left field” hire like this occurs is because EVERYONE ELSE turned this job down. I think Sampson is WAY OVERRATED but he probably fits their desperate need for a big name to avoid having egg all over their faces after all of the other big names turned them down. Plus, this also fits IU’s desire to not look like a bunch of racists after everything that has gone down with Davis. For Sampson, this is a fresh start at what was or still is (depending on opinion) a premiere basketball school one step ahead of the NCAA mess he created and will be leaving at Oklahoma.
Rumors that Calipari said NO to Missouri and Indiana are VERY PROMISING. If Herb bombs next year and we FINALLY make the change, my only fear in getting Calipari would be BIG Memphis $, Kentucky if Tubby pulls a Mike Davis, or a total surprise somewhere that is not in the works right now (well, I guess you HAVE to add Jethro totally fumbling the deal in there as well).
March 28th, 2006 at 6:51 pm
ps – I would not have wanted Sampson unless WE were totally desperate after making a change, so I don’t consider missing out on him a loss at all. I am glad he will fill one of the premiere slots for at least the next couple years…
March 28th, 2006 at 8:06 pm
I’ve always admired Sampson’s team for a few of the qualities that Sendek’s have lacked–they always play with great effort, with great emotion, and with great togetherness.
It’s a surprising move, but Sampson’s a good coach that really IS a proven winner. I’d be surprised if he didn’t succeed. The only thing he didn’t do at OU was win a national title. Not too bad if you ask me.