<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>A Thursday night meeting between Indiana athletic director Rick Greenspan and the school's basketball team became heated when players threatened to quit if the AD follows through with a plan to remove Kelvin Sampson as the Hoosiers' coach, two sources have told CBSSports.com. According to the sources, after Greenspan informed five selected players -- namely D.J. White, Eric Gordon, Kyle Taber, Lance Stemler and Adam Ahlfeld -- of his decision to replace Sampson he called a meeting with the entire team in an attempt to "prepare" them for Friday's official announcement that Sampson would either be suspended or terminated in time for the Hoosiers' weekend game at Northwestern. But before Greenspan finished his speech, the sources said an unidentified player stood up and insisted "if Sampson ain't coaching, we ain't playing" and that Greenspan responded with what he thought was a rhetorical question. "Greenspan asked if he should just cancel the whole season," one source said. "And the player told him 'We don't care what you do. But if Sampson ain't coaching, we ain't playing.' And then they just walked out." An Indiana television station shot video of the IU players leaving the meeting. The players declined comment upon exiting.</div> Link
Damn, this could lead to a major implosion. A TV station said they got a video, has anyone heard anything on which players threatened to quit?
IU players DeAndre Thomas (left) and Jordan Crawford leave Assembly Hall this afternoon. Indiana University men's basketball players walked out of a Thursday night meeting with athletic director Rick Greenspan, refusing to play the rest of the season if coach Kelvin Sampson is dismissed, a person familiar with the situation said today. During the meeting, Greenspan told players about what course of action the school might take regarding Sampson, the source said. The source was told Jamarcus Ellis walked out of the meeting. "As far as them playing, it depends on D.J.," the source said. "He's the leader. He's the cornerstone. Whatever D.J. does, they're all going to do." The players met again today. Afterward, WTHR-13 asked White if the players were planning a boycott. "The only thing I will say is, 'I will not say it's not true,'" the station quoted him as saying. Asked if the players are still planning to walk out after today's meeting, the source said, "I know they were. I don't know if they are now." IU has a practice scheduled for 3:30 this afternoon. Lance Stemler and Kyle Tabor already have showed up. Eric Gordon arrived for practice shortly before 3 p.m. Reporters repeatedly asked him whether players still were planning to boycott. "I don't know," Gordon said.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Feb 22 2008, 02:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Damn, this could lead to a major implosion. A TV station said they got a video, has anyone heard anything on which players threatened to quit?</div> Dont quote me, but I think Jimmy Chitwood wont play if Sampson is fired. I was looking for the clip on Youtube...Could find his last 2nd shot, but not the clip I wanted. Anyway this is stupid. Its not like IU wants to fire him, but he broke the rules and he needs to pay for it. The players shuld not run the asylum.
Tough cookies for those guys' misplaced loyalty. Sampson was a disaster for IU, and this is simply more at his feet if they don't play. Really, he problem for IU is they're suddenly realizing what they've gotten themselves into when the truth of the matter is they should have known all along who he was when they hired him. Obviously it hurts them more now, but that just underscores the fact they shouldn't have gotten themselves into that position in the first place.
Let's get this straight. They're going to college for free. They're rock stars not only on campus but in the State of Indiana. They'll never know what's it like most of them to pay back college loans. I mean, with all of that, the least they could do is play right?
