Dakich replaces Sampson on interim basis, will coach team Saturday

Sampson out, Dakich in. \nFor how long is anybody’s guess.\nIU Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan announced during a 9 p.m. press conference Friday night that former assistant Dan Dakich will replace Kelvin Sampson as head men’s basketball coach on an interim basis. \n“He has an opportunity to make something special happen out of a tough situation,” Greenspan said of Dakich.\nGreenspan said he did not believe Dakich would be “auditioning” to remove the interim tag and said it could be weeks before a search begins for IU’s next coach. \n“That will come in time, we understand that’s something we have to do, but I don’t think we have to do it today or tomorrow,” Greenspan said.\nDakich, a 1985 IU graduate, spent 10 years as head coach of Bowling Green and 12 years before that as an IU assistant coach under former IU coach Bob Knight. \nHe was hired as IU’s Director of Basketball Operations last summer and took over for former assistant coach Rob Senderoff when he resigned. Senderoff was implicated in an IU report that detailed more than 100 impermissible phone calls made by the IU men’s basketball coaching staff – the same report that ultimately sank Sampson. \nDakich did not speak at the press conference, but issued a release via IU media relations. \n“Indiana University and the basketball program have played an important role in my life,” Dakich said in the release. “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.”\nDakich is well known in IU basketball lore for defending legend Michael Jordan in his final collegiate game. Dakich held Jordan to 13 points in the game during the 1984 NCAA Tournament. IU beat the Tar Heels to advance in the tourney.\nMcCallum, an IU assistant coach for two years, was head coach at Ball State for eight years and head coach at Houston for four years before joining Sampson’s staff at Oklahoma.\nGreenspan did not specifically address why he picked Dakich and not McCallum for the interim slot.\n“I felt it was the right choice,” he said at the press conference.\nNeither coach was mentioned in the NCAA violations report – which both coaches believed was “important for the public to understand.” \nMcCallum has been on the IU coaching staff for the past two years; Dakich has been on the IU coaching staff for the past four months. \nDakich led IU’s practice Friday, though Greenspan said several players did not attend the practice. Greenspan said “most or all” attended a pre-game walk through Friday night in anticipation of Saturday’s game against Northwestern.\nAssistant coach Jeff Meyer, who was implicated in the NCAA allegations, will remain on staff, Greenspan said.\nGreenspan said he and Dakich had discussed the possibility of hiring another assistant coach to fill Sampson’s void but had “nothing conclusive.”\nFormer IU player Damon Bailey was in Assembly Hall on Friday night, but declined to comment on why he was there. \nGreenspan said he was unaware Bailey was near his office. \n- Sports Editor Matt Dollinger contributed to this report.