Kelvin Sampson's Anonymous Donor

[tornado]

$550,000 of the $750,000 used to "buyout" Kelvin Sampson, and assure he won't sue, came
from an anonymous donor.
"The university said $550,000 of the buyout is coming from a donor who wants to remain anonymous, and the other $200,000 from athletic-department funds."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/collegesports/2004196727_sampson23.html

I just wanted to make it clear, that I am not the anonymous guy....

[Beninator]

Just speculation here, but I have to wonder if Mark Cuban had anything to do with this?

[MacabreMob]

IlliBraves was the donor.

[tornado]

Here's a good summary of all the potential replacements for Sampson that have been mentioned.

http://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=777327

Tony Bennett Record: Career (64-18 ), Washington State (64-18 )

Coaching background: Washington State head coach (2006-Present), Assistant at Washington State (2003-2006), Assistant at Wisconsin (1999-2003)

Bio: The son of well known former college basketball coach Dick Bennett, Tony Bennett was a two-time Mid-Continent Conference player of the year while playing for his father at Wisconsin-Green Bay. He played professionally in the NBA and overseas before beginning work as an assistant coach under his father at Wisconsin. He was part of the staff that led the Badgers to the 2000 Final Four. He again worked with his father when Dick Bennett became head coach at Washington State, before taking the reins as head coach prior to the 2006-07 season. In his first year as a head coach, he led the Cougars to a school record tying 26 wins and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1994.

Why Bennett: He's the son of a long-time Big Ten coach and his sister Kathi was Indiana's women's basketball coach for about six years. She resigned while Greenspan was Athletics Director so it's unclear what impact it will have on Bennett's candidacy. Bennett has excelled during his first two years at Washington State, but it's his only two years as a head coach.



Brad Brownell Record: College career (126-56), Wright State (43-16)

Coaching background: Wright State (2006-present), Head coach UNC Wilmington (2002-06), Assistant at UNC Wilmington (1994-2002), Assistant at University of Indianapolis (1992-94), Grad Assistant at University of Evansville (1991-92).

Bio: In his first season as head coach of Wright State, Brownell led the Raiders to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1993 and has quickly built the program to one of the top teams in the Horizon League. After winning the Horizon League last year, he was named the NABC District 10 Coach of the Year which covers all Division I schools in Ohio and Indiana. Prior to Wright State, Brownell served as head coach at UNC Wilmington for four years, guiding the Seahawks to two NCAA tournament appearances. He was also named coach of the year twice by the Colonial Athletic Association. In just under five years, Brownell has averaged more than 21 wins a season as a head coach.

Why Brownell: He's from Evansville, Ind. and played and/or coached with two Knight prot?©g?©s – Royce Waltman (former Indiana State coach) and Jim Crews (former Evansville and Army coach). Crews was hired at Army by Greenspan so the Indiana AD is already familiar with Brownell. Indiana is considered by many to be Brownell's dream job and he has a lot of support among high school coaches across the state.



Scott Drew Record: Career (90-92), at Baylor (70-81)

Coaching background: Baylor (2003-Present), Head coach at Valparaiso (2002-03), Assistant at Valparaiso (1993-2003)

Bio: Working as an assistant coach under his father at Valparaiso, Scott Drew was a big part of a 10-year Crusader run that included six NCAA Tournament berths and a surprising run to the Sweet 16 in 1998. He replaced his dad, Homer Drew, prior to the 2002-03 season and took Valpo to a regular season Mid-Continent Conference championship and NIT appearance. He inherited one of the biggest messes in college basketball history when he took over at Baylor in 2003. The Bears were reeling from major off court issues that escalated all the way to murder. Drew's record at Baylor isn't indicative of the huge turnaround he has engineered.

Why Drew: Drew has been one of the best college basketball stories of 2007-08 taking a program coming off of NCAA troubles and turning it into a contender this season. Being the son of Valparaiso head coach Homer Drew, he's a fan favorite and obviously will be well known around Hoosier high school recruiting circles.



Anthony Grant Record: College career (63-18 ), Virginia Commonwealth (63-18 )

Coaching background: VCU (2006-present), Assistant at Florida (1996-2006), Assistant at Marshall (1994-1996).

Bio: Grant learned the college coaching craft by spending 12 years on the bench with Billy Donovan during Donovan's tenures at Marshall and Florida. He left the Gators after winning the 2006 national championship to take over at VCU, where he guided the Rams to a NCAA Tournament berth and first round upset over Duke in 2007. He was a key factor in Florida's recruiting efforts that ultimately formed the roster of the back-to-back national championship seasons in 2006 and 2007. Grant was considered a likely choice by the Gators had Donovan stuck with his original decision to take the Orlando Magic head coaching position last offseason. He played college basketball at Dayton.





Chris Lowery Record: Career (93-38 ), at Southern Illinois (93-38 )

Coaching background: Southern Illinois (2004-Present), Assistant at Illinois (2003-04), Assistant at Southern Illinois (2001-03), Assistant at Southeast Missouri State (2000-2001), Assistant Coach at Missouri Southern State (1997-2000), Assistant Coach at Rend Lake Community College (1995-97).

Bio: In three seasons as head coach at Southern Illinois, Lowery has won three Missouri Valley Conference championships and two coach of the year honors. As an assistant under Bruce Weber at Southern Illinois, the Salukis went 52-12 including two trips to the NCAA Tournament and a Sweet 16 berth in 2002. He followed Weber to Illinois where the Illini won a Big Ten title in 2003. Prior to joining the Salukis' staff in 2001, Lowery was an assistant at Southeast Missouri State, Missouri Southern State and Rend Lake Community College.

Why Lowery: Success follows Chris Lowery. In 10 seasons at Southern Illinois as a player, assistant and head coach, all of his teams have advanced to postseason play. He's originally from Evansville, Ind. and went to the same high school (Harrison High School) and overlapped there with Brad Brownell and Hoosier all-time leading scorer Calbert Cheaney. He's familiar with the Big Ten having coached as an assistant under Bruce Weber at Illinois. The one drawback is Lowery recently signed a lucrative seven year contract extension with the Salukis.



Sean Miller Record: Career (105-40), at Xavier (105-40)

Coaching background: Head coach at Xavier (2004-present), Assistant at Xavier (2001-04), Assistant at N.C. State (1996-2001), Assistant at Pittsburgh (1995-96), Assistant at Miami, Ohio (1993-95), Assistant at Wisconsin (1992-93).

Bio: Miller smoothly transitioned into the head coaching seat at Xavier after previous Musketeer coach Thad Matta left to become Ohio State's head coach following Xavier's 2004 run to the Elite Eight. Miller's other main coaching tie is with current Arizona State coach Herb Sendek, who Miller served on staff with at Miami (Ohio) and N.C. State for a combined seven seasons. He earned a reputation as one of the Big East's best point guards in his playing career at Pittsburgh, where he won 1988 Big East Freshman of the Year honors and was a second team All-Big East selection as a senior.





Bruce Pearl Record: Career (387-105), at Tennessee (70-21)

Coaching background: Tennessee (2005-Present), Head coach at UW-Milwaukee (2001-05), Head coach at Southern Indiana (1992-2001), Assistant coach at Iowa (1986-1992), Assistant coach at Stanford (1982-86).

Bio: Over the years, Bruce Pearl has moved up the coaching ranks and has proven to be successful at every level. In his first two seasons at Tennessee, Pearl has led the Vols to an average of 23 wins per year, a SEC East Division title and two NCAA Tournament appearances. His 46 wins in his first two seasons are five more than another UT coach in his first two seasons. Pearl has also brought energy and excitement to the Vols. Last season, Tennessee was ranked 9th in the country in scoring offense and attendance has grown over 7,000 per game. Prior to joining the Vols, Pearl coached at UW-Milwaukee where he made it to postseason play three of four years including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2006. He also coached at Division II, Southern Indiana where he won a National Championship in 1994-95.





Kevin Stallings Record: Career (289-175), at Vanderbilt (166-112)

Coaching background: Vanderbilt (2000-Present), Illinois State (1994-2000), Assistant at Kansas (1989-1994), Assistant at Purdue (1983-1989).

Bio: In eight seasons at Vanderbilt, Stallings has taken the Commordores to six postseason appearances including two Sweet 16 appearances in 2004 and 2007. Last season he became the first coach to take two Vanderbilt teams to a Sweet 16 since the 64-65 format. He has had three 20-win seasons and was named SEC Coach of the Year last season. Prior to coming to Vanderbilt, Stallings had his first head coaching opportunity at Illinois State where he guided the program to two trips to the NCAA Tournament. He also became the first men's basketball coach in the Missouri Valley Conference to win back-to-back regular season and conference tournament titles in 1997 and 1998. He's also coached with some of the best in college basketball when he was an assistant under Roy Williams at Kansas and Gene Keady at Purdue.

[tornado]

Other names mentioned

Other Potential Candidates
Steve Alford- New Mexico

Alford is a Hoosier legend and has never been shy telling people before that Indiana is his dream job. But he may have second thoughts now that he seems to building a good situation out in New Mexico.

Rick Barnes- Texas

The well-traveled Barnes has taken three programs (Providence, Clemson and Texas) to the NCAA Tournament. He may be looking to emerge from the shadows of a football dominant school.

Tom Crean -Marquette

A long-time assistant under Tom Izzo, Crean recruits Indiana hard every year and was a popular name during the search two years ago.

Jamie Dixon - Pittsburgh

Dixon has had success at Pitt. Ben Howland's success after moving from Pitt to UCLA could help his cause.

Dan Dakich - Interim Indiana head coach

Dakich, a well known Indiana player, arrived in Bloomington last year just before all of the sanction news became public and therefore he's not considered part of the mess. He was the long-time head coach at Bowling Green, but the problem is his last few years at BG were not very good and he ended up resigning there last March. Being named the interim head coach may help his cause depending how the team finishes.

Mark Few - Gonzaga

It was reported during the last search that Indiana had approached Few with an offer, but obviously that fell through or never happened. He has a good situation at Gonzaga, but could get antsy for national title hopes.

Thad Matta ??“ Ohio State

He's been mentioned before for the job because he has such strong ties to the state and his wife is originally from Bloomington. Matta also grew up just outside the state and coached at Butler. It may be tough to leave Ohio State given the talent coming in and the money he makes there.

Scott Skiles - Former Chicago Bulls head coach

He's an Indiana high school legend with family in the Bloomington area and is currently looking for a job after the Chicago Bulls pulled the plug on him in December. One drawback is that he was an All-American at Big Ten rival Michigan State.


Randy Wittman ??“ Minnesota Timberwolves

Currently an NBA head coach at Minnesota, Wittman is a former Hoosier who played under Knight in the early 1980s. He received a lot of support among former IU players during the last search.


Jay Wright - Villanova

He's been one of the hot names over the last couple of years and with Villanova below .500 in the Big East, it may be easier to entice him to leave for IU.

[Braves4Life]

Just speculation here, but I have to wonder if Mark Cuban had anything to do with this?

Why would you think this?

Is he an alum?

Does he want Sampson as his coach?

[Beninator]

Why would you think this?

Is he an alum?

Does he want Sampson as his coach?

Just pure speculation that's all... I am pretty certain he is an IU alumn. He certainly has the deep pockets.

[lefty]

Of your list T...I like Bennett, Stallings, and maybe Few the best