Pitt Panther Prowl

Glad Jamie Dixon is Our Coach

This post may be a bit off topic, but I wanted to say that I am glad that Jamie Dixon is the coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers. He is a classy guy who brings more than winning to the program. He brings class. He brings character. He brings emotion. And he has achieved his success the right way.

This article from espn.com is why I am posting these comments right now. The article is about Kelvin Sampson and the newest allegations of recruiting violations that have been brought against him and Indiana. I think it is a shame that recruiting violations by a coach end up costing the university more than the coach. Kelvin Sampson had recruiting violations at the University of Oklahoma for making over 575 illegal calls to recruits. When that caught up to him, he left for Indiana, and left OU to deal with his mess.

Now Sampson is in his second year at Indiana, and has brought the problem with him. Shortly after arriving at Indiana, he got in trouble again, but Indiana decided to keep him on. According to espn.com, an announcement will be made Wednesday about more allegations that could have serious consequences for Indiana and Sampson. The problem is, the consequences on Sampson will be that he loses his job. He can always get another one somewhere else and get a clean slate. From what we have seen regarding the lack of character in college football coaches (think Bobby Petrino and Rich Rodriguez), there is no reason to believe that Sampson wouldn’t be given another chance. Indiana, on the other hand, could face post season bans, and has already been docked 1 scholarship with the potential for more.

Sampson was told he was no longer allowed to take part in three way phone calls that originated from his coaching staff. So he had other people place the calls. Or, he just flat out lied and said he had no idea he was on a three way call. It really makes you wonder; why would somebody already under the microscope for cheating cheat in the exact same way so soon after getting caught? It is beyond comprehension. The only real answer is that he is just a bad guy and therefore does bad things without thinking about it at all.

Winning is fun. But I am happy that we have a classy coach that wants to win the right way. I would take Jamie Dixon and never getting past the sweet 16 before I would ever take a Kelvin Sampson, even with the promise of a championship. I feel bad for Indiana. But let’s face it, they knew who Sampson was and what he did at OU. So in the end, they got what they paid for.

Update (2-13-08 12:51 pm): According to the rivals.com report regarding these violations:

Sampson knowingly participated in three-way phone calls with Senderoff and prospects Yancey Gates, William Buford, DeJuan Blair, Demetri McCamey, Ayodele Coker and Devin Ebanks. He also participated in speakerphone calls with Senderoff and prospect Marcus Morris.

Note DeJuan Blair’s name being amongst those that Sampson tried to improperly recruit. Thank goodness for us Sampson couldn’t land Blair even with cheating.

There also was the allegation that Meyer had provided prospect Derek Elston, who later committed to Indiana, an improper benefit when he gave Elston’s high school coach a backpack and a t-shirt during an IU basketball camp with the understanding Elston was to receive the items when he returned home.

The school will face sanctions because Kelvin Sampson thought that he could buy a kid’s favor with a t-shirt and backpack? If you are going to get sanctions brought on your program for giving gifts illegally, make it a gift worth giving. I just hope it was a really nice t-shirt.

Sampson was present during one or more recruiting calls placed by Senderoff to prospect Kenny Frease in which Senderoff made phone calls to the student-athlete, then handed the phone to Sampson. Sampson also spoke with the mother of prospect Bud Mackey via Senderoff’s cell phone while Senderoff was with Mackey’s mother.

I guess that’s one way to get around not being allowed to make calls yourself. It really makes you think that a guy like Sampson just believes he is above the rules.

The espn.com coverage of the story offers the [in my opinion] most damning allegation against Sampson:

Sampson “acted contrary to the NCAA principles of ethical conduct when he knowingly violated recruiting restrictions imposed by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.”

So even while under sanctions, he believed he could get away with breaking the same rules. It makes you think his condition is pathological. It will be interesting to see what happens to Kelvin Sampson as a coach, and if he would lose his job, if anyone else would want him (which I am certain they will).