Closer to the truth?

The main question surrounding the ongoing NCAA investigation into the IU men’s basketball program is whether or not former coach Kelvin Sampson knew he was violating the probation put in place for his actions as coach of Oklahoma.\nWhile Sampson has maintained all along that he did not knowingly break any rules, interview transcripts released by the NCAA Thursday contradict the former Hoosier coach’s story.\nThe transcripts were released as part of the NCAA case summary for the upcoming hearing next week to adjudicate allegations levied against the University and Sampson for impermissible contact with recruits.\nFormer director of basketball operations Jerry Green said to investigators that he believed there was no way Sampson could have contacted recruits in violation of the probation without knowing it.\n“I see absolutely no way that (the NCAA violations) could’ve been an accident,” Green told NCAA investigators. “It had to have been done purposefully because there was too much information that was given to the coaching staff, in my opinion, to keep them from making a major mistake.” \nGreen, who served as director of basketball operations during Sampson’s first year at Indiana, said that everyone on the basketball staff knew what protocols were needed to comply with the probation that was transferred to IU from Oklahoma.\n“That they were informed, maybe not the first day, maybe not the first month, but after it got going, everyone, in my opinion, knew the process, what we needed to do and I, I don’t see any way possible that it could have happened, uh, legal,” Green said.\nIn addition to Green’s speculation, several recruits and parents of recruits told of instances when Sampson violated terms of the probation by taking part in three-way calls with former assistant coach Rob Senderoff.\nCurrent Illinois guard Demetri McCamey recalled having a three-way conversation with Sampson and Senderoff on the way home from an AAU tournament.\n"It was like a regular three-way conversation,” McCamey recalled in an interview with NCAA investigators.\nAs part of his probation, Sampson was prohibited from participating in any recruiting calls made by his assistant coaches.\nYvonne Jackson, mother of former Hoosier signee Devin Ebanks, also recalled have a three-way phone call with Sampson and Senderoff to NCAA investigators.\n“I would have to think that he might’ve known that he was being attached (on a call) to me,” she said. “How they did it, I don’t know.”\nDespite all of the interviews saying Sampson knowingly took part in three-way calls, the former Hoosier coach continued to tell NCAA investigators that he did not break the terms of his probation on purpose.\n“My first knowledge of the three-way call was in July (when the University began its investigation) when I went into Mr. Greenspan’s office,” Sampson said.