NCAA, Sooners not done with each other after early exit
By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Writer
3/18/2006
View in Print (PDF) Format
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- One-and-done in the Big Dance, Oklahoma isn't done with the NCAA. And vice versa.
That's why the Sooner men's basketball program will remain a topic of interest for several weeks. Normally, elimination from the NCAA Tournament means the sport is mothballed until practice starts in October, while the fan and media focus returns to football for the next nine months.
But OU's upset loss in the first round Thursday to Wisconsin-Milwaukee doesn't mean Sooner hoops is going away. It could remain in the headlines for months, depending on the outcome of an NCAA investigation into rule violations by coach Kelvin Sampson and some of his current and former assistants.
That investigation into allegedly violating the rule on the number of phone calls made to prospects is precisely why Sampson will be back at OU next season if he's coaching on the college level.
Sampson's name has already been mentioned in various media reports for openings at Arizona State and Missouri. Maybe Sampson's agent is floating his name out there. It's either that or some media members are clueless or naive.
Any athletic director who attempted to hire Sampson right now would have some serious explaining to do to his school president
and board of regents. How can you justify pursuing a coaching whose program is under intense scrutiny by the NCAA?
Although he's denied it, there is probably more to this week's report in the Arizona Republic that Sampson has told some of his peers that he's ready to move on. He obviously didn't expect some of his close friends to tell the media what he confided to them in what he thought was private.
But for better or worse, Sampson and OU are apparently stuck with each other. He could flee to the NBA, where he has friends in high places because of his work with the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
But it's difficult (laughable, really) to imagine NBA players buying into Sampson's rah-rah style. His approach is better suited to the college game, where he has excelled and was considered a model citizen until it was revealed that he and his staff made 550 phone calls to potential recruits over a four-year period.
So, barring any unforeseen surprise the NCAA might spring on OU when Sampson, athletic director Joe Castiglione and president David Boren meet with investigators next month in Park City, Utah, Sampson will remain at OU.
Sampson's 13th season should be intriguing. As the Sooners walked slowly off the floor at Veterans Memorial Arena here Thursday, some of them in tears, following an 82-74 loss to lower-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee, one couldn't help but wonder when the school would again be a participant in March Madness.
OU will lose its three best players in seniors Kevin Bookout, Terrell Everett and Taj Gray. The underclassmen who return are all role players. None has demonstrated the ability to dominate on a consistent basis like the three departing seniors.
However, help is apparently on the way. During last November's signing period, Sampson landed five players with reputations good enough that OU's class was ranked as high as No. 4 nationally by one recruiting service.
It was three years ago at this time that Sampson's recruiting efforts were also being praised when he landed a trio of hot prospects in guards Drew Lavender and Lawrence McKenzie and forward Brandon Foust.
The fact that none of those players suited up for OU in Thursday's season-ending loss pinpoints the inaccuracy and fallibility of recruiting rankings. Those polls don't take into account a player's character or how he will fit into a system.
On the flip side, however, Kansas demonstrated this season how quickly a team can improve when prospects turn out as good as advertised. With a starting lineup made up totally with freshmen and sophomores, the Jayhawks shared the Big 12 Conference regular-season title with Texas and whipped the Longhorns in the league's tournament championship game.
So maybe Sampson can bring along the newcomers at a rapid rate. It would help if he can sign a junior-college big man this spring, someone like 6-foot-10 Jerome Habel, the center at San Bernardino (Calif.) Valley College who the Sooners reportedly are after.
Sampson's perpetual chip-on-the-shoulder mentality usually means he's at his best when he faces steep odds and doubters. While the 2005-06 season will go down as one of his weakest coaching efforts at OU, Sampson's body of work for the Sooners is commendable.
His history of success, which includes taking OU to the 2002 Final Four, is proof positive that Sampson can rebound from the precarious predicament he now finds himself in on and off the court.
After Thursday's loss, a dejected Sampson said: "I don't ever take for granted how hard it is to make the (NCAA) tournament."
It's about to get a whole lot harder for Sampson as he attempts to rebuild his team and his image.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dave Sittler 581-8312
[email protected] .