You may remember that back at Oklahoma, Kelvin Sampson made nearly 600 illegal phone calls to recruits and created a little issue with the NCAA.
After that, he was banned from recruiting off-campus in his first season at Indiana, but the phone problems have apparently continued. Sampson blames them on assistant Rob Senderoff, who, he says, set up three-way calls, some of them in violation of NCAA rules.
According to Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz, though, Senderoff made about 35 calls he shouldn't have, which is exactly what got Sampson in trouble previously.
Indiana is denying him a half-million dollar raise, which is a considerable penalty, and docking a scholarship, which is not. Senderoff is also going to be punished, with a salary hit and no off-campus recruiting through next July.
Kravitz is calling for Indiana to fire Sampson and his A.D., Rick Greenspan, as well, and he does have a point.
For all his faults, and he has a lot of them, and for all the times he embarrassed Indiana, Bob Knight never embarrassed the school by getting in trouble with the NCAA. Stuff a cop in a trashcan? Sure. Chunk a chair? Legendary. Pull his team off the floor and forfeit to the Soviets? Naturally. But cheat?
Part of the legacy Knight left with Indiana was that of a high-strung, angry prima donna who seemed to seek out conflict with just about anyone. That part will live on a long time, unfortunately.
But there is a noble side to what he did there as well, and aside from his considerable charity work, it includes a perfectly clean NCAA record and graduating the great majority of his players. There was never the slightest question of cheating or bending the rules under Bob Knight. Sadly, that's no longer the case, and Kravitz is probably right. Indiana is really losing its way.