Alexander Graham Bell

As it becomes popular to call for the head of Kelvin Sampson at IU, I'd like to share with you some endorsements published on Kelvin's own web site. Note that it's also clear that these endorsements were taken after Kelvin's departure from OU with NCAA violations already documented.


Dick Vitale, ESPN - "Kelvin Sampson brings a big-time, winners mentality to Indiana. He is a master communicator who has a great feel and understanding for building a winning team. He'll do a fantastic job guiding the Hoosiers."

Seth Davis, Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports - "Indiana hired a great coach and an even better person. His teams are defined by hard work, toughness and true togetherness. This is a great job by Indiana, a brilliant hire." To Davis's credit, his column earlier this week, is a pretty fair assessment of the situation, and he acknowledges he knows the coach person and hopes the charges are incorrect.

Thad Matta, Ohio State Mens BB Coach - "I have great respect and admiration for Coach Sampson and what he has accomplished at Oklahoma. I think he will be a tremendous asset to the Big Ten Conference. Coach Sampson has been a great friend and mentor for me. I'm excited to have him in the Big Ten." NCAA infractions committee next stop, Columbus.

Jay Bilas, ESPN Analyst - "Kelvin Sampson is going to bring a winning identity. He is an outstanding coach and a terrific person. The fans will love him. He is all about winning and a winning attitude." Lack of an ESPN Insider subscription (low budget free blog limitations) prevent me from seeing what Bilas published this week.

Bob Stoops, Oklahoma FB Coach - "I have always respected what a hard-nosed, tough, hard worker that he is. I love the way his teams play - the effort, defense, toughness, not turning the ball over. I have always identified with him on that. In addition to being a tough, hard-nosed coach, he is a great friend and a quality person to work with." Okay, that one scares me the most.

More on Sampson later this wknd.