DISQUS

So we know Armon is gone now? Also, we aren't footslow (not even close) just lazy. Either way we end up in the same place but the quickness and overall athleticism certainly isn't lacking. If they can't play for Dakich these players should at least be able to play for D.J.

Pat Knight? Are you kidding?

I hope the housekeeping was done to avoid reference to our players as thugs. I have no problem if you remove my comment but you should have taken off the thug comments by the other poster without me having to call them out on it. Very disappointing and I hope similar comments will be removed on your own accord in the future or you will lose a lot of your visitors.

The rivalry with Illinois will never be gone. I never thought I would say this but beating them is even more satisfying than beating Purdue. I live in Chicago and find Illinois fans to be the most delusional, insufferable fan base I have ever encountered.

The only reason other places supposedly don't have problems with the call rule is that they are not investigated as closely as IU. From my understanding, almost every school reports minor violations of the sort that occurred at IU (not Oklahoma because of the numbers). We need to remember that IU self-reported this stuff which most schools don't do (UNC and the NBA players is a case in point).

As much as he drives me crazy, I love how Crawford has no conscience at the end of the game. He may not have scored up until that point but he has complete confidence he will knock down the free throws (which he then does).

This post is directed specifically to CoveyDale. I just wanted to thank you for being so wise as to know the exact reason why anyone supports Sampson at this point. Omnipotence is truly a blessing that few in life receive. It must be that all of us only care about making the final four. It could not possibly be the fact that some of us would like to see the NCAA allegations proven before we make any decisions. If only we were all so self-righteous as you and wanted Sampson fired as soon as IU initially self-reported the phone call violations! You did want that right? In the future, please refrain from making assumptions about the motivations of others. Some of us may even be intelligent enough to distinguish between allegations and proven facts. I am sure you are among the group of people who convicted the Duke lacrosse students (and many others who have been accused of breaking the rules or the law) without a trial. If Sampson is proven to be liar after given his due process we must fire him. Otherwise, everyone has a right to their personal opinions as long as they don't attack others or put words in their mouth. If you could quit doing so in the future it would be appreciated.

I believe the previous posts reflect the fact the relatively large contingent of IU fans who aren't ready to throw Sampson out on his ass before the NCAA's allegation that he lied is proven. As mentioned previously, the NCAA's has merely made allegations and has yet to provide proof that anything beyond what we were already aware of has gone on at IU. One specific point of note is that according to a member of the IU Athletic Board (either currently or formerly I am not sure), whose daughter attended law school with me at IU, the issue with the t-shirt/backpack is a complete non-starter. Every single player who attended basketball camp with Derek Elston received the same t-shirt/backpack on Sunday but Elston received his on Saturday because he was not returning to camp the next day. This example of the inaccuracy of the NCAA's allegations perfectly illustrates why we must wait until the facts come out before jumping to any conclusions. Prior to receiving this letter, everyone on this blog probably knew that the NCAA had it out for Sampson. How surprised would anyone be if some, if not all, of their allegations were false? Especially in light of the misinterpretation (at best) by the NCAA of the Derek Elston issue. We all have to remember, as stated by Butch Joyner, that the NCAA is a corrupt monopoly in the business of creating arcane rules that are only applied on an ad hoc basis. Their interest in this case is not the integrity of major college sports (if so I would assume they would spend more time on more egregious issues/violations) but rather to ensure that an individual who they have a problem with is punished to a level that is not commensurate with his (or his assistant's) actions. At this point we has IU basketball fans have two choices. 1. Let the NCAA run roughshod over the university and a good basketball coach by suspending or firing Sampson without gathering all the facts. 2. Stand up for our team's coach until we have evidence (not allegations) that he lied to the NCAA.

While I know that we are all concerned with the repercussions of taking the second approach, we need to remember the nature of the organization we are dealing with and the importance of not allowing the potential for vindictive punishment to cloud our thinking. Many organizations/individuals with better histories of honesty and integrity than the NCAA have ruined the lives of their targets with false/unproven allegations. Need I remember everyone of Duke lacrosse? Significantly more serious allegations that were eventually proven to be demonstrably false. For what it is worth, the IU Athletic Board member I spoke to seemed much more concerned with the behavior of the NCAA than that of Kelvin Sampson. Also, if it is proven that he lied to the NCAA and IU we must fire him.

These are all allegations by a corrupt, incompetent and hypocritical organization like the NCAA. Not that I think Kelvin should remain but the response by IU fans is shocking to me. Assuming he actually lied I see no reason to keep him around but we need to take a step back and think about all the programs that have done much worse without penalties at this juncture. Off the top of my head I would mention USC (Reggie Bush) and UNC (Pro players in pick up games with Tyler Zeller). Both instances are much worse than anything Sampson, or his staff, are accused of doing (whether the UNC athletic department admits it or not) and the NCAA has done absolutely nothing to punish either program. This is a clear case of the NCAA being out to get IU and gives guidance to other programs to avoid self-reporting at all costs. Right now I am ashamed to call myself an IU fan both for the alleged infractions of Sampson and his staff and (even more so) for the reaction of our fan base.