Sampson didn’t kill IU program, so it’s stronger

Kelvin Sampson was just slightly ahead of his time.

Maybe that turned out to be a good thing for IU.

In juicy roundball irony, much of the serial texting to high school recruits that landed Sampson and the Hoosiers basketball program in the NCAA doghouse isn’t so bad after all.

Indeed, as of today, coaches are free to text away to students who have reached their sophomore year.

Here’s the real kicker — while no one in Bloomington relishes the memories of the program’s dark days, the Hoosiers are in a better place than if Sampsongate never occurred.

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. IU is hoops proof.

A program left for dead by a discredited Sampson just four years ago has been resurrected and elevated to new heights. A preseason No. 1 ranking will greet the Hoosiers when they open practice next October.

Would IU be this high if it had not gone through the lows? My answer is no.

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