We can throw names out there all we want to. The only proven coach that is available and is someone we could easily get is Kelvin Sampson. Say what you want about his history with the NCAA.....our program was resurrected by taking a chance on Bob Huggins. We took a gamble knowing he was a good coach and it paid off big time. The same can and should apply to Kelvin Sampson. The guy flat out wins. He turned around Montana Tech and Washington State....and was ridiculously good at OU and Indiana. He is turning around Houston right now.
At Oklahoma.....he finished in the top 3 of the league 10 times in 12 seasons. He won 72% of his games. He had a league title and 3 conference tournament titles. He took them to a Final 4, an Elite 8 and a Sweet 16. At Indiana he was 22-4 when they let him go.
The only issue with him is his history with the NCAA.
Oklahoma - he made 500 phone calls he was not supposed to make. What he did is now legal.
Indiana - he participated on conference calls with recruits which he was not supposed to do because he was still on probation (from the phone calls at Oklahoma)....and then lied about it to NCAA investigators.
That's it. The guy got caught making too many phone calls. He was literally working too hard. He never got caught giving cash or hookers to kids. He never got caught having grades altered. He made too many phone calls. What he did was way less of an issue that what Calipari or Pitino have gone through and I'm sure we would hire either of them in a heart beat.
Sampson is the guy if we want to do this right and if we want to win. He is a guy that can turn this program around and win this league.
At Oklahoma.....he finished in the top 3 of the league 10 times in 12 seasons. He won 72% of his games. He had a league title and 3 conference tournament titles. He took them to a Final 4, an Elite 8 and a Sweet 16. At Indiana he was 22-4 when they let him go.
The only issue with him is his history with the NCAA.
Oklahoma - he made 500 phone calls he was not supposed to make. What he did is now legal.
Indiana - he participated on conference calls with recruits which he was not supposed to do because he was still on probation (from the phone calls at Oklahoma)....and then lied about it to NCAA investigators.
That's it. The guy got caught making too many phone calls. He was literally working too hard. He never got caught giving cash or hookers to kids. He never got caught having grades altered. He made too many phone calls. What he did was way less of an issue that what Calipari or Pitino have gone through and I'm sure we would hire either of them in a heart beat.
Sampson is the guy if we want to do this right and if we want to win. He is a guy that can turn this program around and win this league.
