ucking:
Sampson gets his 1st huge victory at IU
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- While two Midwestern states were simultaneously celebrating and mourning the decision of a single 17-year-old high school senior, the young man of the moment, the top basketball recruit in Indiana and maybe the entire country, slept in the back seat of the family car.
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1 down? IU student Maneli Reihani wasn't satisfied Friday. He hopes IU also lands one of Eric Gordon's summer teammates, point guard Derrick Rose. - Rob Goebel / The Star
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<!--MAIN FACTS BOX--> </td> <td width="10">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- REMAINING TEXT --> Yep, Eric Gordon, who never lets you forget he is, first and foremost, another teenager who changes his mind 12 times before he finishes brushing his teeth, drove down here with his parents to commit to IU and partake in Hoosier Hysteria by napping all the way down Ind. 37.
Thousands of people, putatively adults, living and dying and sleeping and waking and wondering, "What's Gordon gonna do?'' and the kid is fast asleep, dreaming whatever it is future NBA stars who have the SATs this morning dream about.
Gordon, who will make it official Nov. 8 -- we think, although in recruiting, there's no such thing as a sure thing -- apparently has punched his ticket for Bloomington, ending months, even years, of manic recruiting, tea-leaf reading, speculating and general madness.
And Kelvin Sampson, who came here under the darkest cloud imaginable, has earned a huge victory -- no, make that HUGE VICTORY -- without his team ever having taken the court in a real game.
(Of course, Sampson couldn't acknowledge the news of the day, and joked when he encountered reporters who had encircled the senior Gordon for interviews in the hallway. "What've we got going here, folks?'' he wondered.)
On Monday, Gordon walked into North Central High School coach Doug Mitchell's office.
"I know exactly where I want to go,'' Gordon told Mitchell.
"Yeah?'' Mitchell said.
"I want to go to Indiana,'' Gordon said.
Mitchell countered, "A week ago, you were sure you wanted to go to Illinois. Are you sure?''
As he told the story Friday night in an Assembly Hall hallway, Eric Gordon Sr. laughed.
"That's exactly how it's been,'' the elder Gordon said as his son and their family watched Hoosier Hysteria. "One week, he goes on a school visit -- 17-year-old kids are really impressionable, and with fans and out here (at Assembly Hall), all the fans yelling and chanting his name, it makes a kid feel like he's Michael Jordan. And that's what would happen when he went to Illinois. Then he'd come to Indiana, the same thing would happen, and he'd say he wanted to go to Indiana.''
In the end, Gordon wanted to stay home. Nothing more complicated or, we think, sinister than that -- although you can bet there will be plenty of folks tracking this recruitment quite closely.
No, Bloomington didn't move closer to Indianapolis in the time between Mike Davis' resignation and Sampson's hiring, but with questions perpetually surrounding Davis' future, Gordon simply wasn't coming here. At the time he made his oral commitment, Illinois made the most sense. But when Sampson came along, and yes, the Gordon family welcomed IU's recruiting pitch, the player and his folks liked what they saw.
Now, of course, comes the raised eyebrows and the teeth-gnashing. The Illinois faithful are furious and will be crying foul for months to come. Plus, there's long been a gentlemen's agreement in the Big Ten; don't recruit somebody else's orally committed player.
Should Sampson have left Gordon alone after he said last November that he wanted to go to Illinois?
Only if the Gordons wanted to be left alone. And, believe me, the Gordons didn't want to be left alone.
This summer during the Nike Camp at IUPUI, I called the elder Gordon to check on rumors IU had continued the full-court press long after the Gordons had put up the stop sign on their front door. He quickly disavowed me of those notions. He not only had no problems with IU's recruitment of his son, but he welcomed the chance to hear the Hoosiers' pitch, especially now that Sampson was installed, and several longtime Gordon family friends, notably assistant coach Jeff Meyer, were entrenched here in Bloomington.
Whatever you want to say about Sampson -- and I've pulled no punches regarding the phone issues and the graduation numbers, although he's taken ownership of those missteps and is due a clean slate -- he is surely one heck of a recruiter. Or has terrific recruiters working for him.
No phone calls to recruits? No recruiting trips? If I'm the NCAA, the next time I have occasion to censure Sampson, I'm coming up with something harsher.
His last year at Oklahoma, he responded to the school's self-imposed sanctions by bringing in one of the nation's top five recruiting classes.
This year, with everybody wondering how badly IU's program would be wounded, Sampson landed the top recruit in Indiana and one of the best in the nation.
Did I mention the dark cloud that once hovered over Sampson?
Suddenly, amazingly, it's gone.
He's golden now.
Between Sampson and Purdue's Matt Painter, it appears the doors to Indiana have been locked.
Which, when you think about it, might be a good idea with Eric Gordon. You know, let him take the SATs this morning, then lock the door until Nov. 8. Just in case he falls in love with someone else.
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• Recruiting doesn't end until player signs
• Readers weigh in on Gordon
• Weber had too much to overcome in this fight
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- While two Midwestern states were simultaneously celebrating and mourning the decision of a single 17-year-old high school senior, the young man of the moment, the top basketball recruit in Indiana and maybe the entire country, slept in the back seat of the family car.
<!-- PHOTO & FACTBOX --> <!-- ARTICLE SIDEBAR --> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="210"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" height="5">
1 down? IU student Maneli Reihani wasn't satisfied Friday. He hopes IU also lands one of Eric Gordon's summer teammates, point guard Derrick Rose. - Rob Goebel / The Star
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<!--MAIN FACTS BOX--> </td> <td width="10">
Thousands of people, putatively adults, living and dying and sleeping and waking and wondering, "What's Gordon gonna do?'' and the kid is fast asleep, dreaming whatever it is future NBA stars who have the SATs this morning dream about.
Gordon, who will make it official Nov. 8 -- we think, although in recruiting, there's no such thing as a sure thing -- apparently has punched his ticket for Bloomington, ending months, even years, of manic recruiting, tea-leaf reading, speculating and general madness.
And Kelvin Sampson, who came here under the darkest cloud imaginable, has earned a huge victory -- no, make that HUGE VICTORY -- without his team ever having taken the court in a real game.
(Of course, Sampson couldn't acknowledge the news of the day, and joked when he encountered reporters who had encircled the senior Gordon for interviews in the hallway. "What've we got going here, folks?'' he wondered.)
On Monday, Gordon walked into North Central High School coach Doug Mitchell's office.
"I know exactly where I want to go,'' Gordon told Mitchell.
"Yeah?'' Mitchell said.
"I want to go to Indiana,'' Gordon said.
Mitchell countered, "A week ago, you were sure you wanted to go to Illinois. Are you sure?''
As he told the story Friday night in an Assembly Hall hallway, Eric Gordon Sr. laughed.
"That's exactly how it's been,'' the elder Gordon said as his son and their family watched Hoosier Hysteria. "One week, he goes on a school visit -- 17-year-old kids are really impressionable, and with fans and out here (at Assembly Hall), all the fans yelling and chanting his name, it makes a kid feel like he's Michael Jordan. And that's what would happen when he went to Illinois. Then he'd come to Indiana, the same thing would happen, and he'd say he wanted to go to Indiana.''
In the end, Gordon wanted to stay home. Nothing more complicated or, we think, sinister than that -- although you can bet there will be plenty of folks tracking this recruitment quite closely.
No, Bloomington didn't move closer to Indianapolis in the time between Mike Davis' resignation and Sampson's hiring, but with questions perpetually surrounding Davis' future, Gordon simply wasn't coming here. At the time he made his oral commitment, Illinois made the most sense. But when Sampson came along, and yes, the Gordon family welcomed IU's recruiting pitch, the player and his folks liked what they saw.
Now, of course, comes the raised eyebrows and the teeth-gnashing. The Illinois faithful are furious and will be crying foul for months to come. Plus, there's long been a gentlemen's agreement in the Big Ten; don't recruit somebody else's orally committed player.
Should Sampson have left Gordon alone after he said last November that he wanted to go to Illinois?
Only if the Gordons wanted to be left alone. And, believe me, the Gordons didn't want to be left alone.
This summer during the Nike Camp at IUPUI, I called the elder Gordon to check on rumors IU had continued the full-court press long after the Gordons had put up the stop sign on their front door. He quickly disavowed me of those notions. He not only had no problems with IU's recruitment of his son, but he welcomed the chance to hear the Hoosiers' pitch, especially now that Sampson was installed, and several longtime Gordon family friends, notably assistant coach Jeff Meyer, were entrenched here in Bloomington.
Whatever you want to say about Sampson -- and I've pulled no punches regarding the phone issues and the graduation numbers, although he's taken ownership of those missteps and is due a clean slate -- he is surely one heck of a recruiter. Or has terrific recruiters working for him.
No phone calls to recruits? No recruiting trips? If I'm the NCAA, the next time I have occasion to censure Sampson, I'm coming up with something harsher.
His last year at Oklahoma, he responded to the school's self-imposed sanctions by bringing in one of the nation's top five recruiting classes.
This year, with everybody wondering how badly IU's program would be wounded, Sampson landed the top recruit in Indiana and one of the best in the nation.
Did I mention the dark cloud that once hovered over Sampson?
Suddenly, amazingly, it's gone.
He's golden now.
Between Sampson and Purdue's Matt Painter, it appears the doors to Indiana have been locked.
Which, when you think about it, might be a good idea with Eric Gordon. You know, let him take the SATs this morning, then lock the door until Nov. 8. Just in case he falls in love with someone else.
<!-- TRAILER -->
royalfan said:
Talk to 99% of coaches who will tell you that you don't full court press woo a kid who has long since verball committed elsewhere. Not an NCAA rule, but a costomary practice among coaches. They just don't do it. Except for Sampson. There's no line he won't cross. That includes specific NCAA regs tool hence he's on probation. IU will be on probation within 4 years guaaranteed. These things come back to bite you in the ass. Reputation matters.
I forget the other infractions on Sampson and wish to pass. This incident does not make him scum.
Reminds me a little bit of John Calapiri. He was a ruthless recruiter. Jim Calhoun showed up at Marcus Camby's house at 8:00 AM the first recruiting day. He was too late. Calipari showed up at 12:01 AM. He was ruthless.
Charles Smith Committed to Villanova. He was there. Well at the very last second he switched to Pitt and Calipiri was an assistant and led the change. These teams played each other this night and punches were thrown from the two coaching staffs. Ruthless.
any more on Sampson? details?
Reminds me a little bit of John Calapiri. He was a ruthless recruiter. Jim Calhoun showed up at Marcus Camby's house at 8:00 AM the first recruiting day. He was too late. Calipari showed up at 12:01 AM. He was ruthless.
Charles Smith Committed to Villanova. He was there. Well at the very last second he switched to Pitt and Calipiri was an assistant and led the change. These teams played each other this night and punches were thrown from the two coaching staffs. Ruthless.
any more on Sampson? details?
From today's Chicago Sun-Times:
Gordon bounces Illinois
Star guard withdraws earlier commitment, chooses Indiana
<!-- Article Publsih Date -->
October 14, 2006
<!-- Article By Line --> BY HERB GOULD AND MICHAEL O'BRIEN Staff Reporters
<!-- boxscore --><!-- Article's First Paragraph --> CHAMPAIGN -- Bruce Weber no longer has his best recruit. In a major setback for Illinois basketball, Indianapolis North Central shooting guard Eric Gordon withdrew his verbal commitment to Weber late Thursday and committed to Indiana.
''Both coaches are great,'' Gordon's father, Eric Gordon Sr., told the Indianapolis Star on Friday, indicating that Gordon, who could turn pro after one year of college, decided it would be simpler to stay close to home.
''This will be an easy transition from high school to college. If you say basketball is a wash and you look at the school, the location, everything, he's made the best decision. I have to say Indiana is the best place for him.''
Weber is barred by NCAA rules from commenting. But considering the way the Gordon situation unfolded, Friday the 13th shapes up as one of the darkest days in his four years at Illinois.
Ignoring the commitment Gordon gave to Weber last November after he was hired at Indiana in March, new IU coach Kelvin Sampson, who preached integrity when he was president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, put a full-court press on the 6-4 guard, who is listed as the nation's No. 1 prospect by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.
''To lose the nation's No. 1 prospect is totally devastating to Illinois recruiting,'' Gibbons said. ''They had hoped to sign Eric Gordon and [Simeon's] Derrick Rose at one time. Now Illinois has lost them both. The impact is unfortunate because Bruce Weber is a good guy who does things the right way. All he could do was hope [Gordon] would stick to his word. So much for ethics.''
Among the tactics that raised eyebrows, Sampson hired Jeff Meyer, who was the elder Gordon's coach at Liberty University, as an assistant. Sampson, who was sanctioned for breaking NCAA rules at Oklahoma by making myriad recruiting phone contacts, also hired Travis Steele, a coach for the younger Gordon's AAU team, as a video coordinator.
This late defection leaves Illinois, which has recruited two big men and a point guard for the November signing period, scrambling for another shooting guard.
The chances of signing a fourth recruit are remote because at this point, all of the top prospects are taken.
Weber will take a lot of unfair heat from disappointed fans for again coming up short.
Players Illinois coveted but did not land include Julian Wright (Homewood-Flossmoor) and Sherron Collins (Crane), who both chose Kansas; Shaun Livingston (Peoria Central) and Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook North), who both chose Duke; Evan Turner (St. Joseph), who chose Ohio State, and the still-deciding Rose (Simeon), who didn't even put Illinois on his short list of five schools.
But considering that Gordon will be a short-termer in college, the greater damage involves the perception problem as well as missing out on other prospects because Gordon supposedly had committed.
''The only problem now is, he's going to have to answer a lot of questions,'' Gordon's father said. ''The Illinois fan base is going to be disappointed, and he's the kind of kid that's a pleaser, so that's going to be hard. That's one reason this decision was so tough. [But] he had to do what's best for himself.''
Saying the Gordon recruitment is the craziest situation he's seen in the 20 years he has been a recruiting analyst, Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye Report sympathized with the way the events unfolded.
''None of this was Weber's fault,'' Schmidt said. ''I don't care what school Eric Gordon chooses. This sends the wrong message when it comes to how to recruit any student-athlete. It says that verbal commitments are non-binding. It says you can go back on your word.''
One X factor in the Gordon recruitment was the departure of Mike Davis and the arrival of Sampson, who wasn't going to let a verbal commitment interfere with stopping the flow of prep stars to out-of-state schools. That group includes national prep player of the year Greg Oden and his Lawrence North teammate Mike Conley to Ohio State, Carmel's Josh McRoberts to Duke, Bloomington North's Sean May to North Carolina and Richmond's Dominic James to Marquette.
Weber is likely to take the high road in public encounters with the new Indiana coach.
But the Gordon episode is likely to turn up the heat on the Illinois-Indiana rivalry, which already has had its share of heated moments.
hgould@suntimes.com
Gordon bounces Illinois
Star guard withdraws earlier commitment, chooses Indiana
<!-- Article Publsih Date -->
October 14, 2006
<!-- Article By Line --> BY HERB GOULD AND MICHAEL O'BRIEN Staff Reporters
<!-- boxscore --><!-- Article's First Paragraph --> CHAMPAIGN -- Bruce Weber no longer has his best recruit. In a major setback for Illinois basketball, Indianapolis North Central shooting guard Eric Gordon withdrew his verbal commitment to Weber late Thursday and committed to Indiana.
''Both coaches are great,'' Gordon's father, Eric Gordon Sr., told the Indianapolis Star on Friday, indicating that Gordon, who could turn pro after one year of college, decided it would be simpler to stay close to home.
''This will be an easy transition from high school to college. If you say basketball is a wash and you look at the school, the location, everything, he's made the best decision. I have to say Indiana is the best place for him.''
Weber is barred by NCAA rules from commenting. But considering the way the Gordon situation unfolded, Friday the 13th shapes up as one of the darkest days in his four years at Illinois.
Ignoring the commitment Gordon gave to Weber last November after he was hired at Indiana in March, new IU coach Kelvin Sampson, who preached integrity when he was president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, put a full-court press on the 6-4 guard, who is listed as the nation's No. 1 prospect by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.
''To lose the nation's No. 1 prospect is totally devastating to Illinois recruiting,'' Gibbons said. ''They had hoped to sign Eric Gordon and [Simeon's] Derrick Rose at one time. Now Illinois has lost them both. The impact is unfortunate because Bruce Weber is a good guy who does things the right way. All he could do was hope [Gordon] would stick to his word. So much for ethics.''
Among the tactics that raised eyebrows, Sampson hired Jeff Meyer, who was the elder Gordon's coach at Liberty University, as an assistant. Sampson, who was sanctioned for breaking NCAA rules at Oklahoma by making myriad recruiting phone contacts, also hired Travis Steele, a coach for the younger Gordon's AAU team, as a video coordinator.
This late defection leaves Illinois, which has recruited two big men and a point guard for the November signing period, scrambling for another shooting guard.
The chances of signing a fourth recruit are remote because at this point, all of the top prospects are taken.
Weber will take a lot of unfair heat from disappointed fans for again coming up short.
Players Illinois coveted but did not land include Julian Wright (Homewood-Flossmoor) and Sherron Collins (Crane), who both chose Kansas; Shaun Livingston (Peoria Central) and Jon Scheyer (Glenbrook North), who both chose Duke; Evan Turner (St. Joseph), who chose Ohio State, and the still-deciding Rose (Simeon), who didn't even put Illinois on his short list of five schools.
But considering that Gordon will be a short-termer in college, the greater damage involves the perception problem as well as missing out on other prospects because Gordon supposedly had committed.
''The only problem now is, he's going to have to answer a lot of questions,'' Gordon's father said. ''The Illinois fan base is going to be disappointed, and he's the kind of kid that's a pleaser, so that's going to be hard. That's one reason this decision was so tough. [But] he had to do what's best for himself.''
Saying the Gordon recruitment is the craziest situation he's seen in the 20 years he has been a recruiting analyst, Roy Schmidt of the Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye Report sympathized with the way the events unfolded.
''None of this was Weber's fault,'' Schmidt said. ''I don't care what school Eric Gordon chooses. This sends the wrong message when it comes to how to recruit any student-athlete. It says that verbal commitments are non-binding. It says you can go back on your word.''
One X factor in the Gordon recruitment was the departure of Mike Davis and the arrival of Sampson, who wasn't going to let a verbal commitment interfere with stopping the flow of prep stars to out-of-state schools. That group includes national prep player of the year Greg Oden and his Lawrence North teammate Mike Conley to Ohio State, Carmel's Josh McRoberts to Duke, Bloomington North's Sean May to North Carolina and Richmond's Dominic James to Marquette.
Weber is likely to take the high road in public encounters with the new Indiana coach.
But the Gordon episode is likely to turn up the heat on the Illinois-Indiana rivalry, which already has had its share of heated moments.
hgould@suntimes.com
The highlites of the article:
Weber is barred by NCAA rules from commenting. But considering the way the Gordon situation unfolded, Friday the 13th shapes up as one of the darkest days in his four years at Illinois.
Ignoring the commitment Gordon gave to Weber last November after he was hired at Indiana in March, new IU coach Kelvin Sampson, who preached integrity when he was president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, put a full-court press on the 6-4 guard, who is listed as the nation's No. 1 prospect by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.
''To lose the nation's No. 1 prospect is totally devastating to Illinois recruiting,'' Gibbons said. ''They had hoped to sign Eric Gordon and [Simeon's] Derrick Rose at one time. Now Illinois has lost them both. The impact is unfortunate because Bruce Weber is a good guy who does things the right way. All he could do was hope [Gordon] would stick to his word. So much for ethics.''
Among the tactics that raised eyebrows, Sampson hired Jeff Meyer, who was the elder Gordon's coach at Liberty University, as an assistant. Sampson, who was sanctioned for breaking NCAA rules at Oklahoma by making myriad recruiting phone contacts, also hired Travis Steele, a coach for the younger Gordon's AAU team, as a video coordinator.
Weber is barred by NCAA rules from commenting. But considering the way the Gordon situation unfolded, Friday the 13th shapes up as one of the darkest days in his four years at Illinois.
Ignoring the commitment Gordon gave to Weber last November after he was hired at Indiana in March, new IU coach Kelvin Sampson, who preached integrity when he was president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, put a full-court press on the 6-4 guard, who is listed as the nation's No. 1 prospect by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.
''To lose the nation's No. 1 prospect is totally devastating to Illinois recruiting,'' Gibbons said. ''They had hoped to sign Eric Gordon and [Simeon's] Derrick Rose at one time. Now Illinois has lost them both. The impact is unfortunate because Bruce Weber is a good guy who does things the right way. All he could do was hope [Gordon] would stick to his word. So much for ethics.''
Among the tactics that raised eyebrows, Sampson hired Jeff Meyer, who was the elder Gordon's coach at Liberty University, as an assistant. Sampson, who was sanctioned for breaking NCAA rules at Oklahoma by making myriad recruiting phone contacts, also hired Travis Steele, a coach for the younger Gordon's AAU team, as a video coordinator.
