Stallings worthy pick at Indiana
Want a sure bet? Sorry, I'm not about to name the 2008 NCAA men's basketball champion.
More certain is that Collinsville native Kevin Stallings will be mentioned often as a successor to current Indiana University Coach Kelvin Sampson.Due to legal constraints related to the recent NCAA announcement of five major recruiting violations by Sampson, IU could wait until June to bid adieu, but even if suspension becomes an alternative, get ready to hear "Stallings."
While Sampson has made his name as an abuser of telephone recruiting first at the University of Oklahoma and now at Indiana, Stallings continues to bring credit to his name at Vanderbilt U. in Nashville, Tenn.
In his ninth season at Vanderbilt, the 47-year-old Stallings has made the Commodores a consistent Top 25 team while competing in the challenging Southeastern Conference.
How tough is the SEC? Even after posting a 22-4 overall record by late February when Sampson was about to lose his hair and/or wings, Vandy was at 7-4 and in third place in the East Division of the SEC behind Tennessee (10-1) and Kentucky (7-3).
Hold on! On Feb. 12, No. 19 Vanderbilt smashed Kentucky, 93-52. The 41-point difference not only marked the fifth-largest loss in Wildcats history but also avenged a 79-73 double-overtime Vandy loss Jan. 12 at KU.
Named the SEC Coach of the Year last season when Vanderbilt was 22-12, Stallings is about to lead the Commodores to their third NCAA tournament appearance since he took over in 1999. In addition, he also has guided two Vandy teams to the National Invitation Tourney.
Wouldn't winning nearly 60 percent of his games at Vanderbilt (often called the Harvard of the South) make Stallings an easy target for Indiana?
There's more. Prior to Vanderbilt, Stallings posted a 123-63 record at Illinois State with consecutive MVC league and tournament titles in 1997 and '98. Coincidentally, ISU fell from the '98 NCAA tourney in an 82-81 overtime loss to Tennessee. This season, the Vols are a cinch to win the West Division of the SEC.
A winner during his playing days at Collinsville High (two state tourney appearances), Belleville Area College (national tourney) and Purdue (NCAA and NIT Final Fours), Stallings paid his dues as a collegiate assistant coach.
After serving at Purdue from 1982-88, he was at Kansas from 1988-93 before taking the head position at Illinois State.
His move from Illinois State to Vanderbilt and an opportunity to coach in the SEC was as logical as his return to the Big Ten would be now.
Is that a stretch? Am I caught up in wanting a former Kahok (oops, that's an Indian) to replace Sampson, the only Native American to take a team to the NCAA Final Four as he did at Oklahoma in 2002?
Am I still seething over the loss of Chief Illiniwek, the University of Illinois mascot who brought far more honor to Native Americans than Sampson?
Am I angry because Sampson not only stole All-America high school guard Eric Gordon from Illinois, but, according to the NCAA investigation, was in charge when an assistant coach made three impermissible phone calls to then prospective student-athlete Demetri McCamey, a current Illini freshman?
Am I boiling because even if Sampson is suspended from coaching, the Indiana team and any of its postseason success will be linked forever to a crook?
Am I of growling stomach because Sampson has so much money he was able to ignore losing the $500,000 bonus he received last fall when Indiana first reported his violations?
Or, am I upset that a sleaze like Sampson eventually will make big money as a National Basketball Association coach while an ethical person like Stallings continues to win at a university where he receives more bonus money for academic performance (all of his seniors have earned a degree) than postseason tourney appearances?
OVERTIME: McCamey, a 6-foot-3 guard from St. Joseph High School (Bellwood, Ill.) scored an Illini season point high of 31 in an 83-79, double overtime loss to Indiana on Feb. 7 at Champaign
McCamey netted seven of 13 three-point field goals in the game that caused Illini officials to later apologize to Indiana U. for some of the spectator taunting of Sampson and Gordon...
Of the NCAA violations directed at Sampson, documentation shows an IU assistant making 22 impermissible phone calls from March 1 through July 17, 2007, to Jonathan "Bud" Mackey.
The MVP of last season's Kentucky high school state finals while a junior at Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.,), Mackey currently is playing at Harmony Community (Charter) School in Cincinnati where he transferred after being kicked out of Scott County for possession and sale of 1.6 grams of rock cocaine.
A nationally regarded 6-4 guard, Mackey had orally committed to Indiana but now faces a possible prison sentence (5 to 10 years) after being indicted in early February by a Scott County grand jury.
"I'm getting a quality education so that I can qualify for college," Mackey was quoted as saying recently although Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has other thoughts regarding the Harmony school.
In a lawsuit that seeks to reclaim some of the $31.9 million Harmony has received in taxpayer dollars since 1998, Dann referred to the 2006-07 school year when Harmony academic scores were 41.7 points beneath the state average of Ohio public schools.
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