http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/ap/2006/03/28/ap2629319.htmlIndiana Finalizing Deal to Hire Sampson
Indiana will hire Kelvin Sampson as its next basketball coach, delivering him from an Oklahoma team under investigation for possible recruiting violations to lead one of the most prestigious programs in the country.
Sampson broke the news to his Sooner team Tuesday. Indiana players were also informed, one of the Hoosier players' relatives told The Associated Press.
Details were being worked out Tuesday afternoon, and the deal was expected to be announced shortly, said a person close to the talks who requested anonymity because negotiations were ongoing. No news conference was scheduled.
"I was caught by surprise a little bit," said Taylor Griffin, a freshman forward for the Sooners. "He made the decision. I guess it's better for the program. I guess it's better for him."
The 50-year-old Sampson, AP's Coach of the Year in 1995, will replace Mike Davis, who announced last month he was resigning. Davis went 115-79 in six seasons as head coach, was the first Indiana coach to win 20 games in each of his first three seasons and led the Hoosiers to the national championship game in 2002, two seasons after Bob Knight was fired.
The Hoosiers were 19-12 this year and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they lost to Gonzaga.
Stephanie Gilbert, who help raised nephew A.J. Ratliff in Indianapolis, said the Hoosiers' sophomore guard called her Tuesday to discuss the change, first reported by ESPN. Gilbert also said it was likely Ratliff would stay at Indiana.
"He's looking forward to meeting him and getting to know him," Gilbert said. "He seems pretty happy."
Ratliff initially declined to comment, denying that a team meeting was held. Later, he appeared to confirm Sampson's hiring to television crews in Bloomington.
"He's shown that he's a good coach by what he's done at Oklahoma," Ratliff said. "You've got to give him a chance. He's shown that he can win at Oklahoma, so I think he can come here and do the same."
Two other key Indiana players had said after Davis resigned that they were apt to transfer: D.J. White, the 2005 Big Ten freshman of the year, and Robert Vaden.
Gilbert said Sampson's hiring could change their minds.
"Once they meet with him, they'll probably need to see," Gilbert said. "I think, from the looks of it, they have a pretty good coach on their hands."
Oklahoma officials declined to comment Tuesday. Telephone messages left for Indiana athletic director Rick Greenspan and spokesman Pete Rhoda were not immediately returned.
Sampson leaves Oklahoma behind amid an investigation for possible recruiting violations. The NCAA is looking into more than 550 impermissible phone calls to recruits by Sampson and his assistant coaches, and Oklahoma officials are scheduled to appear before an NCAA panel in Utah on April 21.
As part of their self-imposed sanctions, the Sooners froze Sampson's salary for a two-year period beginning in 2005 and restricted him from receiving any postseason bonuses. His recruiting was also heavily curtailed.
NCAA spokesman Erik Christiansen said it's up to the committee on infractions to determine whether any penalties would follow Sampson to Indiana.
"It's all dependent on what the sanctions are, the severity of the bylaw violations and ultimately it's up to them," Christiansen said.
Such a thing has happened before: For instance, former Ohio State assistant Paul Biancardi was prohibited from recruiting until October 2007 at his new job as coach of Wright State University in Dayton over recruiting violations under former Buckeye head coach Jim O'Brien. The sanctions prompted Biancardi's resignation from Wright State two weeks ago.
When he resigned, Davis said he believed Indiana needed a former Hoosier to unify the pro-Knight and anti-Knight factions. But Greenspan turned down the opportunity to lure Iowa's Steve Alford, a former All-American who led the Hoosiers to the 1987 national title.
"Certainly there were those persons who wanted a coach to come from the 'IU family,' but I did not detect that being the majority of the people," said Ken Beckley, president of the Indiana Alumni Association president. "Most wanted us to get the best coach available that we could afford."
Sampson spent the last 12 seasons at Oklahoma, re-establishing the Sooners as a national contender. Oklahoma went 20-9 this year, and his name came up after the Sooners were upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament by Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Sampson gives the Hoosiers a widely respected coach and proven recruiter. He has been successful in both the Pac-10 and Big 12; he once served as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches; he has coached on five national teams; and boasts a career record of 455-257.
In 12 seasons with the Sooners, Sampson went 279-109 and made 12 straight postseason appearances, including the 2002 Final Four, Oklahoma's first trip to the semifinals in a decade.
The Sooners were upset in that game - by Davis' Hoosiers, who went on to lose to Maryland in the final.
Sampson took his team back to the regional finals in 2003. In 2004-05, the Sooners shared the Big 12 title and were ranked among the top 10.
Sampson is one of six coaches with 20 or more wins each of the past nine seasons. The others are Arizona's Lute Olson (15), Kentucky's Tubby Smith (13), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (10), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (9) and Connecticut's Jim Calhoun (9).
Sampson got his first head coaching job at Montana Tech in 1981 after spending only one season as an assistant there. After back-to-back conference titles, he moved on to Washington State where he was an assistant for two years before taking over as head coach. He led the Cougars to the 1994 NCAA tournament in his final season before coming to Oklahoma.
Sports Writer Jeff Latzke in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.
