Kelvin Sampson will go on-and-on about Eric Gordon, but not his phone habits

Kelvin Sampson, who recently went out the back door of Hotel Deca between two dumpsters to avoid the media at the NCAA hearings, has apparently taken on the role of public relations manager for Eric Gordon. Rather than giving us the explanation we all deserve about his repeated acts of stupidity while in Bloomington, out the back door Kelvin talked to Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman about EJ and his future in the league.

The willingness of Sampson to speak to Mayberry was likely contingent on an agreement that the NCAA mess would not be discussed. (He might not ever talk, but please, pester him until he finally caves.) Anyway, here is Kelvin pronouncing his man love for Gordon:

“I don’t see how this kid could miss. He’s good. He’s really, really, really good, and he has a chance to be great.”

“The thing he can do is score, and his size is not going to be a factor (in the NBA). He is a shade under 6-foot-4, but he weighs right at 215 pounds, maybe a little more. He’s a great athlete. He has great explosion off the dribble and has great range.”

“If you saw him in college this year, he got double-teamed and he was the focus of everybody’s scouting report but still succeeded. He’s the real deal. There’s not any question in my mind about this kid.”

“Eric is going to be a prolific scorer at some point. I think the maturation process for him has a lot to do with how good the team is that drafts him. If he goes to a team that’s building and is probably a couple years away from making the playoffs, that probably can speed his maturation up some, kind of like Kevin Durant.”

“You have to understand that Eric turned 19 last year. So he’s still a kid that’s a freshman in college. He’ll have some growing pains. But the thing he has is unbelievable ability. He’s one of those kids that are going to get better every year, too.”

That’s actually a pretty good scouting report. Too bad it didn’t cover how to answer your phone without looking at caller-id or the art of three-way calling. You should really talk to us about those two things, Kelvin. You are the expert.

{HT: Cannot Falter}

Quinn Buckner on 93.9 The Ticket

Quinn Buckner, a member of the 1976 National Championship team and one of the best IU players ever, will join Rick Bozich and Jody Demling at 2:12 EST today on The Front Row Ticket. Those of you in the So. Indiana/Louisville area can listen on 93.9 FM and out of town listeners can stream the show at 939theticket.com.

Gary Parrish: Emmanuel Negedu to Tennessee

Gary Parrish of CBS Sportsline got the news straight from the mouth of Negedu, who also considered Indiana, Memphis and Georgia Tech. Not a huge shocker by any means, as the whispers the past few weeks seemed to indicate that Tennessee and Memphis were the schools to beat. Ultimately, Negedu’s relationship with the Volunteer coaching staff sealed the deal.

Rob Senderoff talks about the hearings, his future

Instead of sneaking out of the back door without comment like our old friend Kelvin, former IU assistant Rob Senderoff actually showed his face out in Seattle during the NCAA hearings and yesterday, he spoke with David Carducci of The Record-Courier:

“I was glad to have the opportunity, but it was still an incredibly difficult process. First of all, having my integrity in question, and then having to read about it every day in the newspaper and online, and having what I thought was misinformation reported about me, it was all very difficult. With that being said, I put myself in the situation that allowed all of this to happen, and I can’t blame others for that. The way this has all been so public has just made it harder. But that’s part of working at Indiana.”

“My reputation up until (Indiana) had been spotless. And my reputation from this point on will be spotless. But I have to work doubly hard to cleanse my reputation now. I built a reputation through 12 years of doing things the right way. That has been destroyed. It is gone. And now I’m starting at ground zero again, and I have to prove myself even beyond what I’ve done before because now there is a perception that I do things wrong. And I’m not going to do anything wrong from this point forward. Going through this process has taught me how important it is to dot every “i’ and cross every “t.’ I am going to have to live with all of this forever. Even if the ruling (by the NCAA) is in my favor, I still did some things wrong, and I’m going to have to live with that.”

It’s nice to see Senderoff, unlike Sampson, is taking some accountability for what went down. Listen, the guy made some bad decisions, but the fact that he’s standing up and taking blame should be good for something, right? I’ve met Rob a couple of times and he’s one of the nicer guys in coaching. Here’s to hoping he gets things going in the right direction despite the carnage he left behind in Bloomington. As for Kelvin, well, that’s a different story.

Around the Hall: Gordon, Vaden, UNC and more

– Eric Gordon completed his third and final pre-draft workout on Monday for the Los Angeles Clippers. Gordon also worked out for Seattle and New York, but the Clippers at No. 7 seem to be the most realistic option of the three. “He’s got pro 3-point range,” Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said afterwards. {Catching the Clippers}

– Our old friend Robert Vaden came to his senses and pulled his name out of the NBA Draft on Monday. Vaden was projected as a second round pick at best by a majority of the mock drafts. {Indiana Daily Student}

– The thought of IU matching up with North Carolina in Maui just got a lot scarier. Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson and Danny Green all pulled their names out of the NBA Draft, making UNC the overwhelming choice for preseason No. 1. {AOL FanHouse}

– 2009 commitment Bobby Capobianco was invited to the NBPA Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville, Virginia and will team up with Stephan Van Treese and Roger Franklin. Van Treese visited Bloomington on Monday and met with Indiana coach Tom Crean. {ESPN.com}

Negedu’s coach: A lot of words, little substance

As much I like to follow recruiting, there are some things that drive me crazy. One of those things is when a recruit, parent, coach, representative or handler takes a list of schools and discusses it with a reporter. Take Emmanuel Negedu’s coach at Brewster Academy, Jason Smith, for example. Smith talked to Adam Zagoria of the Zagsblog about the four schools in the running for Negedu and the result was a big pile of nothing:

Indiana has tremendous tradition and passion for basketball. The previous staff recruited Emmanuel, so he was familiar with the University, but it was a great chance for him to get to know Coach (Tom) Crean and hear about his style and track record of player development. They are rebuilding and would offer a shot at immediate playing time. He is very familiar with Bloomington, since he lived there and played for Indiana Elite. A few of his former teammates at IU definitely make it an attractive option. Emmanuel enjoyed getting to know Coach Crean. It’s very evident he’s a high-energy, upbeat coach who Emmanuel reports works non-stop…constant motion.

Indiana has tradition and passion for basketball? Who knew? I know some of you are waiting anxiously on a decision from Negedu, but all signs point to Tennessee or Memphis. Luckily we have Kyle Taber* back to hold down the paint.

{HT: Basketblog}

*For the record, Kyle Taber is a fine lad who I enjoy watching play basketball.

Report: Comcast, Big Ten Network close to a deal

I know, I know, you heard rumblings that a deal could be close all of last season. Meanwhile, you grew tired of the posturing from both sides and got a dish or switched to RCN because you wanted to see Eric Gordon and D.J. White from the comfort of your living room instead of a bar stool. I don’t blame you.

According to a report late last night by Teddy Greinstein of The Chicago Tribune, a deal between Comcast and the Big Ten Network should be announced this week:

Comcast, which had been losing customers to DirecTV, the Dish Network and RCN Cable, will have video-on-demand features that will allow customers to access their favorite team’s greatest games and replays of condensed, “snap-to-snap” games, according to sources.

The BTN completed the deal without caving on its central demand: that the channel be placed on expanded basic, rather than a sports tier, in the eight-state footprint. Only Philadelphia will be excluded.

So not only will Comcast carry the Big Ten Network, they’re going to have some on-demand features and condensed games for your viewing pleasure. Probably not enough to get you to climb up on your roof and take down the dish, but for those of you still left in the dark due to this fiasco, this is good news. Better late than never, right?