Spurs Brazil
03-13-2008, 03:39 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA031308.01C.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.388aa4c.html
Buck Harvey: Sampson latest for Spurs rehab
Web Posted: 03/12/2008 10:49 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Kelvin Sampson serves a purpose with the Spurs, especially when it comes to officiating.
He knows about bad calls, after all.
That's one joke, and the venue he now calls home (the AT&T Center) sets up a few others. He lost one of the best jobs in college basketball by committing the same telephone-recruiting infractions he committed at Oklahoma, and in doing so he's become as popular as a dropped call.
"Can you hear them now, Kelvin Sampson?" a Texas columnist wrote last month. "Good, now go away."
But that's just it. Sampson didn't go away. He's traveling with the Spurs at Gregg Popovich's invitation, when Sampson should be home doing what humiliated coaches do. He should be staring at a telephone that never rings.
He instead hangs with a franchise known for doing things the right way, and he was in New Orleans on Wednesday night. It's the defending champs and the indefensible, and this disconnect says more about Popovich than it does about Sampson.
Popovich has made a habit of reaching out.
The Spurs didn't hire Sampson, contrary to a report by an Indianapolis television station. Sampson also doesn't do much now except observe.
Sampson seems relaxed, and he spends his time before games talking to refs and players. But underneath is likely a rage of emotions; he can't undo what he did.
When Indiana hired Sampson in 2006, he was already facing NCAA probation for making 577 improper phone calls while coaching at OU. Then an NCAA report this winter accused Sampson of committing five major rules violations at Indiana involving the same infractions.
None of this makes sense. Why did Sampson, with his success and stature, repeat the same crime? Wouldn't anyone know better, especially a past president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches?
But Popovich knows better, too. He separates the deed from the man, and he sees both a talented coach and a friend who needs help.
Bob Knight once did the same, and this came with the same contradiction that aired Wednesday on ESPN. Then Knight debuted as a member of the media.
Knight once ran the cleanest of programs at, coincidentally, Indiana. But twice he hired coaching outlaws of an earlier era. Tates Locke and Norm Ellenberger did more than speed dial a few recruits.
Coaching rehab is now centered in San Antonio, and this extends through a franchise that once gambled (albeit wrongly) on Jerry Tarkanian. The head coach of the Austin Toros is Quin Snyder, who had his own Sampsonian fall at Missouri.
His tie? R.C. Buford, who goes so far back that he once recruited Snyder.
P.J. Carlesimo was another project, although with a twist. Carlesimo didn't do anything wrong, unless Latrell Sprewell grabbing your neck is a crime.
Still, Carlesimo's coaching career had stalled. He'd failed at two NBA stops, and Sprewell's attack had painted Carlesimo as someone who couldn't relate to athletes. Popovich changed that.
Now it's Sampson's turn. He and Popovich were assistants on George Karl's World Championship staff in 2002, and Popovich calls Sampson a "buddy."
Popovich sees more in Sampson, too. His teams were always well structured at OU, and this season's Hoosiers had promise. If Sampson were with them now, preparing for the Big Ten tournament, would he have a chance to come to San Antonio in another way this spring — with a Final Four team?
The Hoosiers seemingly realize as much. They mentioned Sampson repeatedly after Indiana's final home game, and a dozen students honored him that night in their own way. They wore blue-oxford shirts and red ties, which was Sampson's trademark look.
Now the look is different. Now Sampson sits behind an NBA bench with the posture of the uninvolved. He could pass for security.
But this is meaningful for him. Without Popovich, Sampson would be home, feeling both embarrassed and alone. Now there's a sense he has a way back.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected]
Buck Harvey: Sampson latest for Spurs rehab
Web Posted: 03/12/2008 10:49 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Kelvin Sampson serves a purpose with the Spurs, especially when it comes to officiating.
He knows about bad calls, after all.
That's one joke, and the venue he now calls home (the AT&T Center) sets up a few others. He lost one of the best jobs in college basketball by committing the same telephone-recruiting infractions he committed at Oklahoma, and in doing so he's become as popular as a dropped call.
"Can you hear them now, Kelvin Sampson?" a Texas columnist wrote last month. "Good, now go away."
But that's just it. Sampson didn't go away. He's traveling with the Spurs at Gregg Popovich's invitation, when Sampson should be home doing what humiliated coaches do. He should be staring at a telephone that never rings.
He instead hangs with a franchise known for doing things the right way, and he was in New Orleans on Wednesday night. It's the defending champs and the indefensible, and this disconnect says more about Popovich than it does about Sampson.
Popovich has made a habit of reaching out.
The Spurs didn't hire Sampson, contrary to a report by an Indianapolis television station. Sampson also doesn't do much now except observe.
Sampson seems relaxed, and he spends his time before games talking to refs and players. But underneath is likely a rage of emotions; he can't undo what he did.
When Indiana hired Sampson in 2006, he was already facing NCAA probation for making 577 improper phone calls while coaching at OU. Then an NCAA report this winter accused Sampson of committing five major rules violations at Indiana involving the same infractions.
None of this makes sense. Why did Sampson, with his success and stature, repeat the same crime? Wouldn't anyone know better, especially a past president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches?
But Popovich knows better, too. He separates the deed from the man, and he sees both a talented coach and a friend who needs help.
Bob Knight once did the same, and this came with the same contradiction that aired Wednesday on ESPN. Then Knight debuted as a member of the media.
Knight once ran the cleanest of programs at, coincidentally, Indiana. But twice he hired coaching outlaws of an earlier era. Tates Locke and Norm Ellenberger did more than speed dial a few recruits.
Coaching rehab is now centered in San Antonio, and this extends through a franchise that once gambled (albeit wrongly) on Jerry Tarkanian. The head coach of the Austin Toros is Quin Snyder, who had his own Sampsonian fall at Missouri.
His tie? R.C. Buford, who goes so far back that he once recruited Snyder.
P.J. Carlesimo was another project, although with a twist. Carlesimo didn't do anything wrong, unless Latrell Sprewell grabbing your neck is a crime.
Still, Carlesimo's coaching career had stalled. He'd failed at two NBA stops, and Sprewell's attack had painted Carlesimo as someone who couldn't relate to athletes. Popovich changed that.
Now it's Sampson's turn. He and Popovich were assistants on George Karl's World Championship staff in 2002, and Popovich calls Sampson a "buddy."
Popovich sees more in Sampson, too. His teams were always well structured at OU, and this season's Hoosiers had promise. If Sampson were with them now, preparing for the Big Ten tournament, would he have a chance to come to San Antonio in another way this spring — with a Final Four team?
The Hoosiers seemingly realize as much. They mentioned Sampson repeatedly after Indiana's final home game, and a dozen students honored him that night in their own way. They wore blue-oxford shirts and red ties, which was Sampson's trademark look.
Now the look is different. Now Sampson sits behind an NBA bench with the posture of the uninvolved. He could pass for security.
But this is meaningful for him. Without Popovich, Sampson would be home, feeling both embarrassed and alone. Now there's a sense he has a way back.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[email protected]