Almost a year ago to the day, I referred to Indiana University’s men’s basketball program as UNLV East in a column, a handful of mud directed at coach Kelvin Sampson for his disregard of the NCAA’s rulebook.

During the Bob Knight regime, the mere mention of the squeaky clean, curfew-abiding Hoosiers in the same sentence as coach Jerry Tarkanian’s renegade Runnin’ Rebels could be construed as downright insulting.

Well, IU fans, be prepared to be insulted, because UNLV East is what the program is fast evolving into, in light of yet another NCAA investigation involving Sampson and impermissible telephone calls.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Lubbock, the 67-year-old Knight is either:

A. Laughing his you-know-what off.

B. Absolutely disgusted that what he spent 29 seasons in Bloomington building is showing signs of coming apart at the seams.

C. Feigning disinterest.

D. Daydreaming about some west Texas fishing spot.

Actually, the answer “E. All of the above” might best describe where Knight is on this one. Surely the coach is gaining satisfaction watching the good name of the institution that hired and ultimately fired him, but part of him has to hurt, too.

Since Knight was fired from IU in 2000, the toughness that was a staple of Hoosiers hoops began to dissipate under his successor, renown nice guy Mike Davis. With Sampson calling the shots, Indiana appeared to regain its toughness on the basketball court, but no longer was the tower of law-abiding behavior it once was.

Many Indiana fans thought Sampson should have lost his job when this latest dose of embarrassing news surfaced. Had it been late spring or early summer, he probably would have.

Timing is everything and, in this case, Sampson had it. IU would have been foolish to clean house with preseason practices already under way and the Nov. 12 opener against Chattanooga fast approaching.

Then again, IU has been foolish before. Check out Knight’s two successors thus far.

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