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Crean: “We’ve paid a price. Let’s move forward.”

by in Media | October 7th, 2008

crean233444.jpgCall it what you want — I’ll call it wishful thinking — but Tom Crean feels the Indiana program has suffered enough and it’s time to move on. Crean says the self-imposed sanctions are sufficient and would be disappointed if the NCAA decides that more significant penalties are appropriate:

“It’s hard for me to talk to (recruits) and feel like it’s going to be a lot more than what it has already been. I’d be shocked. I really would.”

Crean said the ability to recruit and award an equal number of scholarships is “paramount to your success past, present and future.”

“And right now, as we look at the future of the program, we have been hit extremely hard by that. We’ve paid a price. Let’s move forward and let’s give ourselves a chance to get back on a level playing field.”

As much as I would like to see this story end with no further penalties, I would be shocked if the NCAA doesn’t do something based on the time and energy they’ve committed to the situation. The ideal scenario for the program would be a post season ban for the upcoming season as it’s highly unlikely that a Kyle Taber led club has a chance to make it to March. However, the loss of additional scholarships beyond this season could be catastrophic because the 2009 class is already one scholarship over the limit. Additionally, it’s important that Crean rectifies the academic problems from last season immediately as a low APR score holds the potential for more scholarship losses.

Indiana responds to NCAA allegations

by in Media | September 29th, 2008

rgreen.jpgVia The Hoosier Scoop, Inside the Hall has obtained IU’s response to the NCAA as well as a statement from Athletic Director Rick Greenspan. Here is the statement from Greenspan:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University has submitted a written response to the NCAA Committee on Infractions regarding Allegation 6 which charges the University with “Failure to Monitor” in the Association’s ongoing investigation regarding the men’s basketball program.

“We have submitted our response as instructed by the NCAA,” said Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan.  “President McRobbie has consistently stated his strong belief that the IU athletic department met or exceeded standards in the area of monitoring, and we hope for a successful adjudication of this allegation.”

The Athletic Department has also released three documents that include the complete detailed response sent to the NCAA Infractions Committee:

Obviously, there’s a lot of information to dig through in these documents, but let’s hope this is the last significant development in this whole ordeal and the NCAA reaches a verdict before the season tips off. The last thing Tom Crean needs is the uncertainty of a fiasco he had no involvement in hanging over his first season in Bloomington.

Open thread: Friday the 13th in Seattle

by in Media | June 13th, 2008

sampso132324.jpgUpdate #2: The hearings concluded late on Saturday and The Hoosier Scoop has comments from Rick Greenspan, Jerry Meyer and Rob Senderoff’s attorney. The case is now in the hands of the infractions committee and it could be as long as six weeks before the results are made public.

Update: The hearings will continue into Saturday. No big news from Friday, but reporters from the AP caught up with Sampson and here’s what he had to say about the hearings: “It went well. It’s a process. We’ll be back tomorrow.” That’s some groundbreaking stuff, Kelvin. IU officials had no comment.

Today, Kelvin Sampson has his date in court with the NCAA — the day he’s supposedly been looking forward to in order to set the record straight. So what happens on this Friday the 13th? Does Sampson win the court over and pull out an O.J. Simpson-esque victory? Does the courtroom turn into a scene from A Few Good Men … YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

And most importantly, how worried are we the NCAA is going to drop the hammer and further sanction the men’s basketball program when a decision is announced a month or so from now? A little worried? Sort of worried? Not really worried because the penalty will be light if there’s any penalty at all?

(Those of you looking for specifics of how everything will go down, Mark Alesia of The Indianapolis Star has you covered.)

Holler at us in the comments with thoughts and we’ll do our best to get some coverage up as the day unfolds.

Also, for some background on how it’s all come to this, check out our time line with links to coverage after the jump…

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Someone’s not telling the truth (hint: he’s pictured)

by in Media | June 6th, 2008

kelvinclose2.JPGAnother day has passed and more digging into the NCAA case summary is complete. This time, it’s excerpt from an interview with Kelvin Sampson where he denies ever being on a three-way call where he and Rob Senderoff talked simultaneously.

Here’s what Sampson said on November 13, 2007: “There was never, there was never an instance where I was on the phone with a kid where Rob Senderoff talked.”

However, interviews conducted by Mark Neyland of the NCAA enforcement staff with Yvonne Jackson (mother of Devin Ebanks), Will Buford, DeJuan Blair, Yancey Gates and Demetri McCamey tell a different story.

Transcripts of those conversations after the jump.

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Jerry Green: “No way that could’ve been an accident”

by in Media | June 5th, 2008

jgreen.jpegJerry Green, the former director of basketball operations, spoke to the NCAA assistant director of enforcement Mark Neyland back in December as part of the investigation into impermissible phone calls. Green was with Sampson at Oklahoma in 2005-2006 and spent a season in Bloomington before retiring in May of 2007.

Here’s a transcript of Green’s conversation with Neyland, from the NCAA case summary:

Neyland: Now, it’s uh, Indiana University has reported a, a number of phone calls, uh, that, uh, they believe have violated the Committee on Infractions’ sanctions that were in place. I guess the, the, the question I, I have to ask you, uh, as being sort of overseeing the compliance of that, in your mind, how, how could that have happened?

Green: In my opinion, I don’t, I don’t, I, I see absolutely, uh, no way, uh, that that could’ve been an accident, that they, it had to have been done purposefully because there was too much information that was given to the coaching staff, uh, in my opinion, to keep them from making a major mistake. That they were informed, maybe not the first day, maybe not the first month, but after it got going, everybody, in my opinion, knew the process, what we needed to do and I, I don’t see any way possible it could have happened, uh, legally.

Kelvin Sampson might or might not check caller ID

by in Media | June 5th, 2008

sampsontx.jpgThe most interesting part of my first glance through the NCAA case summary was Kelvin Sampson’s explanation of his practices for checking caller ID. There are a lot of “uh’s” and contradictions. What’s that you say? You’re not surprised? Me either.

November 13, 2007

Mark Neyland, NCAA assistant director of enforcement
Mike Glazier, Sampson’s legal counsel
Kelvin Sampson, former head men’s basketball coach

Neyland: And what about in terms of caller ID? Were there numbers popping up on your phone?

Sampson: Yes.

Neyland: You could actually see the numbers?

Sampson: Sometimes, sometimes it wouldn’t matter. If it was a number that wasn’t plugged in, uh, as, uh, I would answer the phone not knowing who it was and, like, take my sheet and see if that, uh, corresponded.

Glazier: And make sure you’re clear on, on between cell phone and home phone, too.

Sampson: Yeah, The home phone, the caller ID didn’t show up until after the second or third ring. It only showed incoming call. There was no caller ID on my home phone.

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