Down at Indiana, you would have thought Kelvin Sampson and his staff would have taken every precaution to avoid the embarrassment and humiliation of the latest telephone scam.

Think about it, he came to Bloomington with all kinds of controversy and accusations out of Oklahoma. The NCAA found that over 500 impermissible phone calls while coaching the Sooners over a span from 2000-04. Sampson was found to have made over 200 of them. Oklahoma imposed its own penalties for violations, but the NCAA deemed they weren't enough. On May 25, 2006, the NCAA banned Sampson from taking recruiting trips or calling recruits for one year.

There were stipulations placed upon his hire at Indiana. The feeling was Sampson would be under a zero tolerance policy. No recruiting violations would be tolerated.

I spoke to Kelvin Sampson and he stated that they did not cheat, but they made an error in judgment. He said they came down heavy on themselves with sanctions. Sampson believes they are moving forward and that the administration is supportive.

They have promised there will be no dilemma in the future. My reply was simple … it is going to be tough because of the perception after the Oklahoma phone call fiasco. The timing of this situation is absolutely brutal.

He claims he unknowingly was patched in to calls with an assistant and a recruit. Under previous sanctions, Sampson was not allowed to call a student athlete, but the player was allowed to call him.

You know that around college basketball circles, the perception is going to be very negative. Other coaches will bang away at Indiana, using this information in negative recruiting.

Sampson has a dilemma on his hands right now. Indiana responded to the 10 three-way calls by issuing a swift response. Indiana's self-reporting and punishment is a start, but the NCAA could rule on harsher penalties down the line.

It will be interesting to see how Sampson cleans up this mess. Stay tuned as this soap opera in Bloomington keeps going on. For those who were critical of The General, Robert Montgomery Knight, I simply ask ... was there ever any talk, conversation or innuendo about any violations?