Hoosiers to Hire Sampson: Indiana officials are completing a deal to hire Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson as the next Hoosiers’ coach, replacing Mike Davis, who resigned in February. Davis’ resignation became effective when the Hoosiers lost to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Sampson comes to Indiana after coaching Oklahoma for 12 seasons and compiling a 279-109 record with the Sooners. He has a career record of 455-257, which includes a stint at Washington State in addition to Oklahoma. He is a master at recruiting talented JuCo players to supplement strong freshman classes. To some observers’ surprise, Indiana officials selected someone outside the Indiana coaching family, which had been a complaint about Davis during the weeks leading up to his resignation.
Sampson could bring some NCAA sanctions with him to Indiana, depending on the decision of an NCAA infractions committee. Sampson and his staff made more than 550 improper phone calls to recruits, and Oklahoma must appear before the committee in late April. If NCAA officials determine the infractions are serious, they could impose recruiting restrictions on Sampson that would apply to his tenure with the Hoosiers. [3/29/06]
