For weeks, Hoosier fans, players and alumni have begged for answers regarding the new men's basketball coach. Tuesday afternoon, nearly five weeks after Mike Davis' resignation, IU nation received a response: Kelvin Sampson.\nIU reportedly contacted the former University of Oklahoma coach Monday night and agreed in principle to fill the vacant coaching position.\nBy Tuesday, The Associated Press reported that Sampson and IU were close to finishing the details of his contract negotiation.\nTuesday night, Ned Sampson, Kelvin's father, confirmed those reports to the Indiana Daily Student.\n"I've been watching it on TV, and it says he's going to IU," Ned Sampson said. "He said he's planning on coming to Indiana."\nThe AP also reported that Kelvin Sampson met with his now-former team Tuesday morning and informed members of his decision.\nDuring his 12 years at Oklahoma, Sampson led the Sooners to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Final Four in 2002 and an Elite Eight appearance in 2003. He coached the Sooners to nine consecutive 20-win seasons and had a career .721 winning percentage at Oklahoma.\nThe hire conflicts with earlier speculation that Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan would strongly consider an "IU guy," a former player who would look to re-unite the Hoosier basketball's former players, fans and alumni.\nBefore his resignation, former IU coach Mike Davis alluded to that idea.\n"I just think Indiana needs to have one of their own," Davis said during a Feb. 13 Big Ten Conference coaches' teleconference. "They need to have someone who has played here so they can embrace him. And they need that. I'm not upset about it. I'm not disappointed about it. I think they need that. They really do, because these players deserve something better."\nAt his resignation press conference Feb. 16, Davis again said that the IU basketball family needed to unite behind its new coach, whoever that might be. \n"I just felt like it was time for the former players, the fans, the alumni and anyone who loves Indiana basketball to be a part of Indiana basketball again," Davis said.\nIf those IU supporters are to rejoin with IU basketball, they will be forced to do so with a coach who has no ties to Indiana.\nSampson began his head coaching career at Montana Tech in 1981 after spending only one season as an assistant there. He moved on to Washington State University and was an assistant for two years before assuming head coaching duties. He accepted a position as OU head basketball coach after taking WSU to the NCAA Tournament in 1994. \nSampson is not without ties to the Big Ten, though. He served as a graduate assistant at Michigan State in the late 1970s under former coach Jud Heathcote. \nRecent reports indicated that IU's search committee had contacted two candidates -- Gonzaga coach Mark Few and Memphis coach John Calipari -- and attempted to initiate interest in the opening. The Indiana Daily Student was unable to contact Greenspan or Pete Rhoda, IU director of athletic media relations. Kenny Mossman, associate athletic director for communications at OU, said that Joe Castiglione, Oklahoma's athletic director, was not accepting phone calls Tuesday. Calls to Sampson were not returned.\nIU trustees Pat Shoulders and Cora Smith Breck­en­ridge said the trustees had not heard anything about Sampson or the search process. Shoulders said when IU football coach Terry Hoeppner was hired, IU President Adam Herbert called him after Greenspan re­com­men­ded Hoeppner to the president. Search committee members Bruce Jaffee, Julia Lamber and James Wimbush said they could not comment on any aspect of the search process.\nAfter ESPN.com initially broke the story Tuesday, SoonersIllustrated.com posted a statement from Sampson in which he confirmed he would be coaching at IU. Those quotes have since been removed from the Web site. \n-- Campus Editor Sam Nissen contributed to this report.