Interim head coach Dan Dakich addressed the media following IU’s 85-82 win over Northwestern. We’ve got the audio for you below:
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Statement via Indiana Media Relations from IU interim coach Dan Dakich:
Indiana University and the basketball program have played an important role in my life. I want nothing but the best for these players and the institution. The challenge ahead is to maintain the positive momentum that has been built within the team and to keep everyone as focused as possible during this difficult time.
No surprise here, but Rich Nye from WTHR-13 in Indianapolis is reporting that Dan Dakich will take over the head coaching duties for the Hoosiers starting Saturday at Northwestern. This confirms what E reported on ITH about a week ago. Here is an excerpt from the report:
A source close to the situation tells Eyewitness Sports that officials from the IU administration have met with assistant basketball coach Dan Dakich about taking over the basketball team as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
The source says that by Friday afternoon, Kelvin Sampson and the university will likely reach a financial settlement ending his employment, or Sampson will be suspended pending termination under the terms of his contract.
Not a huge surprise as Dakich is the logical choice to finish the season at the helm. Indiana is expected to make a public announcement tomorrow regarding the findings of their one week investigation.
The Hoosier Scoop also acknowledged the report, but reporter Doug Wilson says another source close to the athletic department claims that Nye’s report is not entirely accurate.
(HT: Rick Bozich)
This is weird. Isn’t it? Isn’t it strange to be in this position right now? To gather, as I did last night, with friends at a bar, to celebrate another game with a Fat Tire and a sandwich, and to know all along that no matter what happens, your team’s coach is going down? He can beat your most hated rival (who just so happens to be the Big Ten’s top team) and still, against his will, it will be the last win of his tenure.
That’s two such wins now. The first was Saturday against Michigan State, a dominating performance that showed a resilient team rallying around their coach. The second was last night. Was it me, or did the focus seem to shift? Maybe it was because I was in a bar and couldn’t make out the commentary very well, but did last night’s audience — swept up in an important rivalry atmosphere — seem to forget about the sanctions for 40 minutes? I know I did.
It will be jarring to lose Sampson on Friday, but at this point, I’m not sure his presence is needed on the sidelines anymore. Stay with me here. It’s hard to complain about distractions after two very solid wins, but Sampson’s saga is a distraction. His assistants have been coaching this team all year; no doubt IU’s players feel just as comfortable with each of them as they do with Sampson. (Perhaps moreso, given the player-assistant-as-friends dynamic a lot of teams have.) It will be a difficult adjustment, seeing Dan Dakich running up and down the sidelines, but if the Hoosiers showed anything last night, it was a level of maturity and self-definition that gives me confidence in the coming games.
But that confidence doesn’t mean part of me won’t miss Sampson. He’s only been here for two years, yes, and even if this eulogy is premature (we still think Sampson’s going to be suspended Friday rather than fired), it will be a different place without him. He’s a frustrating coach, but if the past two years have taught us anything about his style it’s that his teams improve. They get better. They can make you miserable in November and December and even January, but come February and March they coalesce. They play hard together. They defend. And they’re fun to watch.
It’s a shame we can’t have a third year, but it’s a self-inflicted shame. And we know what we have to do. The dog might be cute. You might love the dog. But if the dog can’t control his bite, you put him down. It sucks, and it’s sad, but it’s best for everybody.
From IU Media Relations:
Bloomington, Indiana – Indiana Men’s Basketball Coach Kelvin Sampson announced today Director of Basketball Operations Dan Dakich will return to the bench as an assistant coach for the Hoosiers.
“Dan is someone who can do a lot of things to help our program,” Sampson said. “He has been a tremendous asset to our staff and he offers a true sense of what it means to be a part of the Indiana basketball family.”
The Indiana native began a 16-year association with the IU program in the fall of 1981 after graduating from Andrean High School in Merrillville. He played for the Hoosiers from 1982-85 and was a team captain during his junior and senior seasons as the Hoosiers finished with an 84-39 record during his career. As a player, he helped Indiana win one Big Ten title, earn three NCAA Tournament berths and finish as the NIT runner-up his senior season. Dakich also spent 12 seasons on the IU coaching staff from 1985-97. Dakich helped the Indiana program win 73.7 percent (283-101) of its games over the 12 years he served as an assistant coach while the Hoosiers were winning over 70 percent of their Big Ten contests. He was a graduate assistant from 1985-87 before being named full-time prior to the 1987-88 campaign.
Prior to returning to IU, he spent 10 seasons as the head coach at Bowling Green State University and posted the third most wins in school history with 156. Along with fellow assistants Ray McCallum and Jeff Meyer, the Hoosiers have a combined 37 years of Division I head coaching experience among the group working with Sampson who is in his 25th year as a head coach.
