1 year later, the pain of the Sampson's fallout still stings Hoosier Nation

Kelvin Sampson • Five “major” recruiting violations • Feb. 13, 2008

Friday marks exactly one year since the above date – one that will likely live on in the minds of Hoosier fans. Never mind the fact that someone from Wisconsin nicknamed the “Polar Bear” had just banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to bust the Hoosiers - the NCAA had slapped IU’s program in the face 12 hours earlier with accusations that would make the loss irrelevant.

If the night is truly darkest before the dawn, then things for the cream and crimson were approaching pitch black.

Hoosier basketball would undergo unforeseeable changes over the next 12 months. The athletics director, the head coach, the assistant coaches and everyone but Kyle Taber and Brett Finkelmeier exited stage right. New personnel were brought in, stretching from Marquette to The Gambia. The slate hadn’t just been wiped clean – someone had bought a whole new drawing board.

Multiple reports, investigations, resignations, proclamations, pride restorations and press conferences later, the Hoosiers find themselves here, once again on Feb. 13.
It might be Valentine’s Day weekend, but don’t expect there to be any love lost when the Hoosiers (6-17, 1-10) play No. 20 Illinois (19-5, 7-4) Sunday at home.

IU coach Tom Crean fittingly received his first Big Ten blowout on Jan. 10 at the hands of the Fighting Illini, IU’s bitterest rival since Sampson pulled the Eric Gordon rug out from under Illinois coach Bruce Weber.

Weber’s memory: not that short.

His team opened the game on a 21-2 run in January and rarely eased off the accelerator the rest of the way.

On Sunday, the Hoosiers will have the chance to respond inside their own Assembly Hall. Although they have yet to win on the road, IU is 5-7 at home and has been able to hang with talented Big Ten teams when facing them on Branch McCracken Court.

With only seven conference games and the Big Ten Tournament remaining, this year’s team might not win a third as many games as last year’s Hoosiers, but the stench of IU’s old regime is finally beginning to fade.

A year ago, an IU fan caused a stir wearing a T-shirt that read “Bring Back Bobby!” to a game. The team was winning, but a recruiting scandal did not sit well with the loyal fan base. Ushers asked him to remove the shirt, but the defiant fan, a symbol of Hoosier Nation’s distaste with the state of the program, didn’t back down.

Now the defiant fans regularly pack Assembly Hall to cheer proud for a team that has tied the school record for most losses in a season by mid-February.

Last season, rumors swirled about the players’ off-court doings.

Now accountability rules, as Crean declared in a press conference Monday while seated next to a humbled Devan Dumes. The junior guard was suspended indefinitely the day before, for his seedy on-court actions. Instead of running from the news, Crean and Dumes made it, apologizing for the elbow flailing with Dumes adding, “I never meant to hurt anyone.”

Crean said the length of Dumes’ suspension would remain internal, and it is not clear whether the team’s top scorer and best on-the-ball defender will return for Sunday’s rivalry.

The first time the two teams played, Dumes was forced to sit out all but three minutes after being benched from the starting lineup for missing the team bus. The junior entered the game late in the first half only to sprain his left ankle minutes later.

Even if Dumes were to play against Illinois, the IU player could have a lot on his mind. On Tuesday, the Indianapolis Star’s Bob Kravitz reported Dumes’ mother and 8-month-old daughter had recently been hospitalized for various health issues.

Without Dumes, the Hoosiers lost 62-54 at Minnesota on Tuesday. The loss marked IU’s sixth conference loss of 10 points or fewer this season.

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just tired of being close (to winning),” Crean said. “Maybe it would be easier for me if we were getting blown out. I think we can win and I want the players to think they can win.“

Much like they did a year ago, IU Athletics will hold a stripe-out Sunday to try to create a chaotic home atmosphere.

As IU has shown over the past year with their dismissal of Sampson, former assistant coach Rob Senderoff and a slew of players, the Hoosiers aren’t willing to do whatever it takes to win – not if “whatever it takes” includes breaking rules.

But Crean and new IU Director of Athletics Fred Glass have shown they will do whatever it takes to win IU fans back after the toughest year in the program’s existence. Just over a month into office, Glass has implemented $5 balcony seats, free T-shirts at one game and promotions such as Sunday’s stripe-out.

Following the team’s 13th loss in 14 games on Tuesday, Crean reached out to his supporters once again.

“I know our fans have been behind us all year,” he said, “and a packed Assembly Hall on Sunday is what we need right now.”