Wednesday, March 29, 2006
An Excellent Choice For Indiana!
Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson is leaving the school to become the next head coach at Indiana, multiple sources told ESPN.com.Dick Vitale says:
Sampson already told OU athletic director Joe Castiglione of his plans and was scheduled to meet with the Sooner team Tuesday afternoon.
A press conference announcing his hiring at Indiana could take place as early as Wednesday afternoon in Bloomington.
There is no doubt that Sampson brings a special winner's mentality. He did a terrific job at Oklahoma, leading the Sooners to the NCAA tournament in 11 of his 12 seasons there. Oklahoma won 20 or more games each of the last nine seasons, including a 31-5 mark and Final Four trip in 2002. His squads averaged over 23 wins per campaign during his stint in Norman.I'm happy! He fits the profile.
The Oklahoma program became one of the elites of the Big 12. He also worked to get the facilities upgraded big time. That aided the Sooners in recruiting.
He also built a winner at Washington State, winning 20 or more games in two of his final seasons at Pullman. Sampson led the Cougars to the NCAA tournament in 1994, the school's first trip in over a decade.
So, I don't have a name right now, I have a profile. Under 35. At a mid-major, maybe even Division II. Mid-westerner. Winning 65-70% of his games at a school with no real history of basketball success, 75-85% if the school has a history. Strong on fundamentals, I mean really strong. And good values off the court, high graduation rates.He's not coming from a mid-major, but other than that - suits to a "T"! - Well, make that a motion offense and a man-to-man helping defense.
Related Tags: Indidna University, basketball, Indiana basketball, Kelvin Sampson
