- There was an interesting piece from our good friend Jody Demling’s blog regarding 2008 recruit Bud Mackey earlier today that caught my eye. Rick Bolus, best known for his “blue chip” basketball camps he’s held since 1980, has ranked Mackey as the top player in Kentucky’s 2008 class.
Most national recruiting services rank Mackey below Mason County and UK recruit Darius Miller as well as University Heights and Mississippi St. recruit Scott Hopson.
That’s not the case with Bolus and I’m guessing a lot of that has to do with the fact that Mackey was the best player on the best team in the state last year. I’m really not sure if Bud is the best of the three players, but it makes for an interesting debate nonetheless.
- A quick note: IU football coach Bill Lynch will appear Wednesday just after 2 p.m. on a new Louisville based radio show with Demling and Courier-Journal Sports Columnist Rick Bozich called the Zonebusters. Those of you in the Louisville area can hear the show on 1570 AM and for those of you who are out of the area, you can stream the show at 1570thezone.com.
- Tyler Zeller has set the dates for his official visits this fall and IU will be the second school that the 6’11″ five-star center from Washington has a look at. Here’s a look at the schedule, according to 
You read how Big A — 
Media piling on Sampson in wake of sanctions
Updated, 10/16, 7:15 AM: Those of you hoping for a “this too shall pass” resolution to yesterday’s news regarding Kelvin Sampson’s latest sanctions for violating NCAA phone call rules are in for a rude awakening. It’s not happening, folks. Fan message boards are being overloaded, radio talk show lines are lighting up and talking heads from across the country are calling for, gasp, Sampson’s head.
A survey of prominent viewpoints from across the land revealed the following thoughts about Sampson:
Andy Katz, ESPN.com: Sampson has plenty of friends in the business. And when I say plenty, I would argue that the majority of coaches really do enjoy his company. But a number of them are perturbed by these latest violations. Some of his good friends even told me that they do think this will put a distinctive mark on the public perception of Sampson.
Will Leitch, Deadspin: The move is seen as a preemptive strike against any potential NCAA punishments. Indiana should be much better this year, thanks largely to recruit Eric Gordon (which Sampson swiped from Illinois, infuriating many of his fellow Big Ten coaches), but they’ve now officially wiped the regime of Bob Knight off the books. Say what you will about Knight, but this was never a problem with him. He was too busy strangling the players he already had.
Rick Bozich, Louisville Courier-Journal: Don’t fire up your search engine. Sampson committed similar violations at Oklahoma, then promised it would never happen in Bloomington. Sunday’s news suggests the man is either brash or careless. Doesn’t matter which side you pick. He’s still a repeat offender. IU uncovered the violations. IU reported them to the NCAA. IU is punishing the rule-breakers — Sampson and assistant Rob Senderoff. Sampson described the violations as “disappointing.” Losing to Purdue is disappointing. This is disturbing. Reckless also fits. So does ridiculous.
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