IU Fans "Not Surprised" by Latest Round of NCAA Problems

Hoosier basketball fans waking up with heartburn Thursday morning may blame the spicy wings they ate or the heartbreaking last second loss to Wisconsin, but the real reason throngs of IU supporters will be wearing sour looks for the near future has more to do with the long term future of the program, and its coach Kelvin Sampson. The second year basketball coach is under the NCAAs microscope, with the college sports governing body accusing Sampson and his staff of making impermissible phone calls to recruits between March of 2006 and July of 2007. The NCAA restricts the number of times a coach can call a prospect, allowing just one call per month to for high school sophomores and juniors, and two calls per week for seniors. Sampson and his staff already had those limits cut in half due to earlier infractions. That happened when he was still coach at Oklahoma University, but the penalty took effect when he became head coach at IU. News of these latest allegations came as no surprise to Hoosier fans who gathered to watch the Wisconsin game at the Evansville Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant on Green River Road. "Indiana knew he had problems," said Tim Eagleton. "Its as much Indianas fault as it is his," he added. There are already calls for Sampson to resign, even though the university has not formally responded to any of the allegations. Basketball fans like Chris Miller think Sampson deserves a chance to defend himself. "Hes a good coach," Miller said. "These are just allegations now, weve got to wait until the facts come in."