Indiana Welcomes Sampson

Indiana fans greeted new Hoosier Coach Kelvin Sampson with a standing ovation in Bloomington, Ind. His next job is keeping them on their feet.

Sampson took over one of America’s most prestigious basketball schools Wednesday and promised to keep Indiana’s tradition intact by doing three things: graduating players, running a clean program and winning titles.

“I came to Indiana for one reason: I think you can win championships at Indiana,” Sampson said. “I think together we can do some special things at Indiana University.”

But even as Sampson signed a seven-year deal that pays an average of $1.5 million annually -- what Athletic Director Rick Greenspan believes is the richest deal for a coach in school history -- his emotions seemed to cover a wide swath.

First, he thanked Oklahoma’s president, athletic director and fans for their support over the last 12 seasons. Then he sent an optimistic message about returning the Hoosier program to glory after going 19 seasons without a national championship. The students responded with their loudest applause of the day.

Sampson leaves Oklahoma amid an NCAA investigation, and any sanctions could follow him to Indiana.

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Miami guard Guillermo Diaz will skip his senior season and make himself eligible for the NBA draft after leading the Hurricanes in scoring the last two years. Diaz, a two-time second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection, signed with agent Jason Levien, meaning he cannot return for his final year with the Hurricanes.

Diaz averaged 17.2 points this season and finished with 1,477 points in 93 games, the 10th-highest total in Miami history.

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Washington State guard Josh Akognon, the Cougars’ top scorer, has been given his release from the team so he can transfer, Coach Tony Bennett said.

The 5-foot-10 sophomore scored 10.3 points a game, but his playing time decreased because he was uncomfortable with previous coach Dick Bennett’s rigid man-to-man defense.

Akognon, from Petaluma, Calif., scored 27 points at Washington in January and 25 second-half points at UCLA in the next game.

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Louisiana State’s Seimone Augustus, the 2005 winner, is among the five finalists for the John. R. Wooden Award.

Others on the All-American team are Duke’s Monique Currie, North Carolina’s Ivory Latta, Oklahoma’s Courtney Paris and Rutgers’ Cappie Pondexter.

The Wooden winner will be announced April 8.