Ace Happy
03-19-2007, 09:24 AM
Obviously, we are on a different level than IU, but we have a rich tradition at UE. I think there are some parallels in this article for UE fans.
Sampson's mission: Bring IU into present
March 17, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- At the time of his hiring in Bloomington, Kelvin Sampson spoke glowingly about the reputation and tradition of Indiana University basketball. The national championships, the All-Americans, the legends who'd graced the floor and the sideline during the years before his arrival.
And that was smart politics.
Only a fool comes to IU and treats the program's history like last week's news.
But Sampson, whose Hoosiers take on another legendary program, UCLA, tonight in an NCAA Tournament second-round game, knew deep in his heart that tradition wasn't going to be enough to restore IU's luster.
From the moment he walked into Assembly Hall, saw the primordial practice facilities, including the stuffy, windowless office where Bob Knight once ruled the campus, he knew there needed to be massive changes.
Seriously, how do you sell IU's history to a bunch of kids who were between 1 and 4 years of age the last time the Hoosiers reached the pinnacle of college basketball?
As D.J. White, Earl Calloway and Rod Wilmont gathered for a Friday news conference the day before tonight's game at Arco Arena, I wondered, "How old were you guys when Keith Smart hit the game-winning jumper?''
Initially, they looked at each other quizzically, until somebody told them it was 1987.
Calloway: "Um, I think maybe 1. I don't know.''
White started to nod.
"Actually, Rod was 6 that year,'' Sampson joked, referring to his fifth-year senior.” Or he might have been red-shirted that year.''
For the record, White was born Aug. 31, 1986, so he was 7 months old. Wilmont was born July 28, 1983; he was approaching 4. Calloway was born Sept. 30, 1983, also making him younger than 4.
With today's kids, ancient history is anything that happened before lunch. And anything that happened back in 1987, for all they care, the earth might as well have been covered in ice.
In that way, Sampson has done a deft job walking the finest line imaginable: embracing IU's history on one hand while insisting tradition isn't going to be enough to impress big-time recruits to come to Bloomington.
That's why his first priority when he arrived was to get the school a new, state-of-the-art practice facility. Recruits don't care much about your school's glory days.
They want to see bells and whistles and commitment.
And don't think Sampson is done. It wouldn't surprise me if someday -- maybe after he's had a run of success at IU -- Sampson does away with the candy-striped warm-up pants and puts names on the back of the jerseys.
I know, blasphemy.
Hey, it's 2007.
Why not?
"I think tradition is important, but I think the future is more important,'' Sampson said. "A lot of people want progress but seldom do they want change. There will always be a segment of society that wants to keep things the way they've been. But I don't know how you can have progress without change. Especially in this game. The commitment more schools have made to their college basketball programs has been incredible.''
Thirty years ago, when the IU's and UCLA's were still ruling the sport, those programs could sell their reputation and get by with facilities that were rapidly becoming outdated. But since then, the great arms race has leveled the playing field. Today, it seems almost everybody has a fancy new facility. In the cases of
UCLA and IU, both were guilty of believing that things would stay the same, that their glorious history would always keep them ahead of the curve.
Sampson's unstated message to his new community was this: Don't have Old School expectations when you have Old School facilities.
Whatever legacy Sampson ultimately leaves at IU, he will always be credited with taking the lead in the effort to bring this program into the new millennium.
"A lot of people want to hold onto that,'' Sampson said, referring to the antiquated notion that you can still be dominant with second-class facilities. "If you're not keeping up, if you're not on the cutting edge, you're getting passed.''
For UCLA's players, the program's history has a more immediate impact than it does in Bloomington. The Bruins have had more recent successes, having won the national title in 1994-95 under Jim Harrick. And the UCLA players are always reminded of the past, not just by those national championship banners, but by the
Bruins alumni who routinely come to games.
"The most important (alum) is John Wooden; he's at all our home games,'' Josh Shipp said. "That's a great thing to experience. Seeing coach Wooden or different alumni from time to time, it gives you confidence knowing these great players won here and someday, maybe we can follow in those footsteps.''
For IU's players, who were in diapers the moment Smart's shot went through the net, history is a vaguer concept and recedes a little bit more with each passing season.
As Sampson has shown the hidebound IU community, it's one thing to be inspired by the past. It's another to be held captive by it.
Sampson's mission: Bring IU into present
March 17, 2007
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- At the time of his hiring in Bloomington, Kelvin Sampson spoke glowingly about the reputation and tradition of Indiana University basketball. The national championships, the All-Americans, the legends who'd graced the floor and the sideline during the years before his arrival.
And that was smart politics.
Only a fool comes to IU and treats the program's history like last week's news.
But Sampson, whose Hoosiers take on another legendary program, UCLA, tonight in an NCAA Tournament second-round game, knew deep in his heart that tradition wasn't going to be enough to restore IU's luster.
From the moment he walked into Assembly Hall, saw the primordial practice facilities, including the stuffy, windowless office where Bob Knight once ruled the campus, he knew there needed to be massive changes.
Seriously, how do you sell IU's history to a bunch of kids who were between 1 and 4 years of age the last time the Hoosiers reached the pinnacle of college basketball?
As D.J. White, Earl Calloway and Rod Wilmont gathered for a Friday news conference the day before tonight's game at Arco Arena, I wondered, "How old were you guys when Keith Smart hit the game-winning jumper?''
Initially, they looked at each other quizzically, until somebody told them it was 1987.
Calloway: "Um, I think maybe 1. I don't know.''
White started to nod.
"Actually, Rod was 6 that year,'' Sampson joked, referring to his fifth-year senior.” Or he might have been red-shirted that year.''
For the record, White was born Aug. 31, 1986, so he was 7 months old. Wilmont was born July 28, 1983; he was approaching 4. Calloway was born Sept. 30, 1983, also making him younger than 4.
With today's kids, ancient history is anything that happened before lunch. And anything that happened back in 1987, for all they care, the earth might as well have been covered in ice.
In that way, Sampson has done a deft job walking the finest line imaginable: embracing IU's history on one hand while insisting tradition isn't going to be enough to impress big-time recruits to come to Bloomington.
That's why his first priority when he arrived was to get the school a new, state-of-the-art practice facility. Recruits don't care much about your school's glory days.
They want to see bells and whistles and commitment.
And don't think Sampson is done. It wouldn't surprise me if someday -- maybe after he's had a run of success at IU -- Sampson does away with the candy-striped warm-up pants and puts names on the back of the jerseys.
I know, blasphemy.
Hey, it's 2007.
Why not?
"I think tradition is important, but I think the future is more important,'' Sampson said. "A lot of people want progress but seldom do they want change. There will always be a segment of society that wants to keep things the way they've been. But I don't know how you can have progress without change. Especially in this game. The commitment more schools have made to their college basketball programs has been incredible.''
Thirty years ago, when the IU's and UCLA's were still ruling the sport, those programs could sell their reputation and get by with facilities that were rapidly becoming outdated. But since then, the great arms race has leveled the playing field. Today, it seems almost everybody has a fancy new facility. In the cases of
UCLA and IU, both were guilty of believing that things would stay the same, that their glorious history would always keep them ahead of the curve.
Sampson's unstated message to his new community was this: Don't have Old School expectations when you have Old School facilities.
Whatever legacy Sampson ultimately leaves at IU, he will always be credited with taking the lead in the effort to bring this program into the new millennium.
"A lot of people want to hold onto that,'' Sampson said, referring to the antiquated notion that you can still be dominant with second-class facilities. "If you're not keeping up, if you're not on the cutting edge, you're getting passed.''
For UCLA's players, the program's history has a more immediate impact than it does in Bloomington. The Bruins have had more recent successes, having won the national title in 1994-95 under Jim Harrick. And the UCLA players are always reminded of the past, not just by those national championship banners, but by the
Bruins alumni who routinely come to games.
"The most important (alum) is John Wooden; he's at all our home games,'' Josh Shipp said. "That's a great thing to experience. Seeing coach Wooden or different alumni from time to time, it gives you confidence knowing these great players won here and someday, maybe we can follow in those footsteps.''
For IU's players, who were in diapers the moment Smart's shot went through the net, history is a vaguer concept and recedes a little bit more with each passing season.
As Sampson has shown the hidebound IU community, it's one thing to be inspired by the past. It's another to be held captive by it.