Indiana showed Kelvin Sampson the door a little over a week after the NCAA served notice of five major violations committed under his watch in less than two season in Bloomington. Assistant coach Dan Dakich was named interim head coach and if that name sounds familiar to UNC fans it’s because he was the guy who shut Michael Jordan down during the Sweet Sixteen game versus the Hoosiers in 1984. Yeah, there are plenty if Tar Heel fans that still are not over that one.
The decision to part ways with Sampson came amid a potential player revolt which culminated in several Hoosiers missing practice today. Now the Hoosiers can put this behind them and the promotion of an assistant coach this close to the NCAA Tournament is reminiscent of Michigan giving the same job to Steve Fisher in 1989. Indiana had been playing extremely well of late so it remains to be seen whether that will continue or if they can put together an inspired run to the Final Four.
February 23, 2008 at 10:07 am |
The buyout terms seem pretty “cheap” to have Sampson walk away. Or at least compared to what UCLA paid Neuheisel and Ohio State is having to pay o’brien. This hire always seemed curious to me, obviously in hindsight, given his prior track history. He can coach so maybe he lands somewhere in 2-3 years off the beaten track.
If they don’t keep Dakich after the season, the search will be interesting given that a certain head coach is, at present anyway, retired to the good life in Lubbock.
February 23, 2008 at 12:17 pm |
I think there may have been provisions in his contract to give Indiana the leverage to settle with him cheap. BTW, one anonymous donor accounted for 500K of the 750K buyout.