IU recruits still analyzing new allegations

With the revelation of the five major NCAA infractions allegedly committed by IU coach Kelvin Sampson and his coaching staff, any lingering IU recruiting questions have exploded to a new level.\nFour players have signed letters of intent to play for the Hoosiers next year, one high school junior has verbally committed to IU and numerous other recruits have been on IU’s radar. They are now faced with a dilemma and are unsure of what their college basketball futures may hold.\n“I just called (IU assistant coach Jeff Meyer) today to talk about it,” said Derek Elston, the 6-foot-8 small forward who verbally committed to IU for the 2009-10 season. “They said that I’m still part of the family and I still love all those guys down there. I made a commitment and I’m going to stay with it. No matter what, I’m going to stick with it.”\nElston’s father, Darrell, a former North Carolina guard, said he was unaware of the “impermissible recruiting contact” when it happened but was sure that a high school player would not realize it was a violation. As for the overall situation with Sampson, Elston’s father hopes the situation doesn’t become too severe. He said the recently announced violations will have some impact on his son’s college decision.\n“I just hope that this is not real serious because Derek really enjoys this coaching staff and is pretty much set on going to IU,” he said. “If it becomes a little bit bigger, then I would hope he doesn’t change his mind. I hope it isn’t anything major.” \nTerrell Holloway, one of the class of 2008 signees, said he is concerned about any possible postseason sanctions or coaching changes, but said he does not know much about the situation. \n“I have to be concerned with the situation, because it has to do with me,” he said.\nWhen Holloway signed his national letter of intent in November, he said he was aware of Sampson’s October violations, but “this is obviously something new.” \nHolloway said he was not in a position to comment on the possibility of a new coach prowling the sidelines of Branch McCracken Court next season or the prospect of wanting to opt out of his letter of intent. He did say, however, that he is not looking at any other schools at the moment.\n“As of right now, I’m looking forward to being an Indiana Hoosier in the fall,” Holloway said.\nOf the five major violations listed in the NCAA report released Wednesday, one involves Derek Elston. The report revealed that Sampson and Meyer “engaged in an impermissible recruiting contact” this summer at a camp at Assembly Hall, when they gave the Tipton High School star “at least one T-shirt and a drawstring backpack.”\nAbout three weeks ago, members of the NCAA visited Elston at school and asked him several questions about the incident. While he said he did not want to talk about the situation, he said the NCAA went over the rules with him, discussed what happened and what went wrong, and asked him to be honest about the situation.\nElston’s father said he has noticed a drop in his son’s game performances lately, most specifically with his shooting, and he related it to the Sampson situation and the NCAA visit to Tipton.\n“I think the whole thing has really affected his play in high school; he hasn’t shot well the last three or four games,” he said.\nDerek Elston dispelled his father’s comments, however, citing two 32-point performances following the NCAA visit.\n“We just lost one of our point guards and that’s kind of got me down,” Elston said. “Nothing really with IU.”\nWhile Elston plans to stay committed to the Hoosiers, he is the only player who has pledged to play at IU for the 2009-10 season or beyond. And though Sampson’s future might currently be up in the air, so is recruiting, and thus the future of IU basketball.