Who is Kelvin Sampson?

This is my farewell to college basketball 2008. I’ll remember the domination of Memphis, the outstanding freshman class (Beasley, Love, Mayo, Gordon), and the unforgettable championship game for years to come but this is what’s really going to stick with me.

These are the moments we dread. These are the situations we hate explaining to our children. These are the times we fortify ourselves against the criticism to come.

The Bob Knight era famously ended at Indiana University in 2000. Since then the basketball program, the school, hell the entire state has been looking for a hero, someone that would come and raise the standard back to where Knight placed it. First this coach would come, then the players would follow. Eventually the wins would start to pile up, leading to Big Ten supremecy, yearly tournament invites, and in time, national championships. It would all start with a man.

Kelvin Sampson was that man. he would got to the epicenter of basketball nation and resurrect a sleeping giant. Star recruits would flock to Bloomington in order to learn the finer points of the game from an intense, passionate leader. he would bring pride back to Hoosier nation.

Somewhere along the way Kelvin Sampson fell short. Tedious as it was, somewhere in between rescuing a program and breath life back into it Sampson fell victim to the allure of greatness. A program that could finally see the light of success after seasons of mediocre performances had all of it power sapped in an instant. As quickly as it appeared it was gone.

Somewhere in Sampson’s mind, the road to success did not have to be paved with a rock solid mixture of integrity and character. A little here, a little there; surely skirting the rules wouldn’t hurt. This wasn’t football crazed Oklahoma after all, this was Indiana. Any risk would be worth the reward that coachable, dynamic talent would deliver.

It would be worth the risk because the ultimate goal was to get players. Young men who would take his system and showcase it nationwide. Young men who would show what a combination of talent, hardwork and good coaching could produce. Young men who would give Sampson a seat at the table only reserved for the greats. The Coach K’s, the Jim Boehiems, the Jim Calhoun’s. Even more so as a minority, he’d be mentioned with the Nolan Richardson’s and John Thompson’s and John Chaney’s; great coaches who developed kids and won a ton of games along the way. Instead he’s disgraced and mentioned with the likes of Jim O’Brien, Jim Harrick and Larry Eustachy. He’s left to defend himself against venomous accusations. He’s left alone.

Perhaps this situation is most heartbreaking because it’s a coach. It’s not an actor or a politician, it’s a coach. A leader of men, a teacher, a father figure. The history of black struggle, yea even minority struggle, in this country finds roots in a percieved mental inferiority. The belief that we could not incorporate all of the skills needed to develop, motivate, and teach others. That we could play but we couldn’t coach. For all of the progress we’ve made situations like this don’t help the cause.

The fall of Kelvin Sampson from basketball grace meant more than another coach pushing the envelope a little too far. This wasn’t Clem Haskins all over again, this was me and you. Maybe it’s not fair for one man to shoulder the expectations of many others but I rooted for Indiana this year. Not because of the freshman phenom or the rugged senior leader; but because of Kelvin Sampson. I believed.

A part of me saddened when his tenure ended.

We almost shook up the college basketball landscape, instead we fell swiftly from grace.

Thankfully our spirit is not easily broken and our heads don’t stay bowed for long.

Somewhere another coach is preparing himself for his ascent into stardom. Hopefully he’s learned from our mistakes.

Let’s hope he sprints past pitfalls and escapes shame and suffering those pitfalls bring.

Let’s hope for the players he coaches and the thousands that will bear witness.

Most of all let’s hope for us.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Bobby Knight, Clem Haskins, Coack K, Eric Gordon, Indiana University, Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Jim Harrick, Jim O'Brien, John Chaney, John Thompson, Kelvin Sampson, Kevin Love, Larry Eustachy, Memphis Tigers, Michael Beasley, Nolan Richardson, O.J. Mayo, University of Oklahoma. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.