Sampson to Be Coach at Indiana

Indiana will hire Kelvin Sampson as its next basketball coach, delivering him from an Oklahoma team under investigation for possible recruiting violations to lead one of the most prestigious programs in the country.

Sampson broke the news to his Sooner team Tuesday. Indiana players were also informed, a relative of one of the players told the Associated Press.

Details were being worked out Tuesday, and the deal was expected to be announced shortly, said a person close to the talks who requested anonymity because negotiations were ongoing. No news conference was scheduled.

“I was caught by surprise a little bit,” said Taylor Griffin, a freshman forward for the Sooners. “He made the decision. I guess it’s better for the program. I guess it’s better for him.”

Sampson, 50, AP’s coach of the year in 1995, will succeed Mike Davis, who announced last month he was resigning.

Oklahoma officials declined to comment Tuesday. Telephone messages left for Indiana Athletic Director Rick Greenspan and spokesman Pete Rhoda were not immediately returned.

Sampson leaves Oklahoma behind amid an NCAA investigation into more than 550 impermissible phone calls to recruits by Sampson and his assistant coaches. Oklahoma officials are scheduled to appear before an NCAA panel April 21.

NCAA spokesman Erik Christiansen said it is up to the committee on infractions to determine if any penalties would follow Sampson to Indiana.

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Rick Majerus has met with Arizona State Athletic Director Lisa Love about the Sun Devils’ coaching job.

A person familiar with the meeting confirmed Tuesday that the two met this week in Milwaukee, where the former Utah coach lives.

In December 2004, Majerus accepted the job at USC but resigned five days later, saying he was “not fit enough for this job from my standards.” Love was a USC athletics administrator at the time.

Majerus, currently a college basketball analyst for ESPN, could not be reached for comment. An Arizona State athletic department spokesman said Love would not comment.

The 58-year-old Majerus has a career record of 422-147 in 20 seasons at Marquette, Ball State and Utah.

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Ron Everhart, who built successful programs at Northeastern and McNeese State, will be the next basketball coach at Duquesne, replacing Danny Nee, a person familiar with the decision told the AP.

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Hofstra Coach Tom Pecora agreed to a five-year contract after a season in which the Pride went 26-7 and twice beat Final Four team George Mason.

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The John R. Wooden Award Committee announced its All-American Team as well as the five finalists for the 30th annual Wooden Award, to be presented April 8.

The five finalists are Randy Foye of Villanova, Adam Morrison of Gonzaga, J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams of Duke and Brandon Roy of Washington.

Others on the All-American team are Dee Brown of Illinois, Glen Davis of Louisiana State, Kevin Pittsnogle of West Virginia, Allan Ray of Villanova and Craig Smith of Boston College.

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Renaldo Balkman scored 23 points and South Carolina earned a chance to defend its NIT championship with a 78-63 win over Louisville in the semifinals. On Thursday, the Gamecocks will play Michigan, which beat Old Dominion, 66-43, in the other semifinal game.