I was all about getting rid of Mike Davis at the time, but it’s tough to look at the success he had and not be envious of that now. We just had much higher expectations at the time. He was a really good recruiter, but not so great on the development. Bracey Wright and Marshall Strickland were really good players, but didn’t improve a lot under Davis. Hindsight being what it is, you have to wonder what might have happened if we would have given him time to mature as a coach. Although, he didn’t last long at UAB.
Sampson was definitely a case of the administration’s holier than though attitude. They wanted it both ways. In truth, it was the administration that killed IU basketball, not Sampson. They decided to give us the death penalty for text messages when the NCAA probably would have slapped us on the wrist. Let’s face it, they removed that rule a year or two later. That’s how important it was. The things that Sampson allowed behind the scenes were much worse than text messages. The guy was a really good coach though. The best we’ve had since Knight.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, wow, how much more dysfunctional can we get? Seems like we can’t go anywhere but up from here, but that’s how I’ve felt since Sampson got removed. If there’s a way to screw it up, I’m pretty sure the administration will find it.