Bennie Seltzer, who was recently announced as one of head coach Tom Crean's top assistants
last Thursday, has 11 years of coaching experience, has seen one of his former teams get to the NCAA Tournament eight times and average 25 wins per season, coached for the USA Basketball National Team Trials, and is a staple in the basketball record books at Washington State.
Seltzer coached under Sampson for nine years
So what's the big "problem" with him bringing his knowledge and experience to IU? His first nine years coaching were under former Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson.
Some people,
including Bob Kravitz of IndyStar.com, say that Seltzer could be a threat to the already damaged reputation of our great basketball program simply because he was an assistant to the infamous Kelvin Sampson. I say that this logic is ridiculous.
So Seltzer was Sampson's assistant. Despite massive NCAA investigation into the Oklahoma recruiting scandal and the extensive sanctions levied against the last unfortunate institution to foolishly employ Sampson, Seltzer was not implicated in any of the violations.
The one incident that could possibly be held against him
involved him helping to pay the bail of a player in Anchorage, Alaska, who was caught with a fake ID at a bar. And while this may technically constitute "an NCAA violation" it wasn't the same type of competititively advantageous strategy that Kelvin Sampson employed. I dare say it was probably the same thing that any coach would have done in the same situation.
Another fact that I believe supports Seltzer's cause is that he didn't follow Sampson here to Indiana following the disaster at Oklahoma. Instead he opted to work with squeaky-clean Tom Crean in a very successful Marquette program. Whether it was because he disagreed with some of Sampson's philosophies or he just wanted a change of landscape, he wasn't exactly attached to Sampson at the hip.
And even if he DID come here to Indiana with Sampson, it still doesn't necessarily mean that he is not a man of integrity. Nobody is questioning the integrity of assistant coaches Ray McCallum or Dan Dakich simply because they were part of Sampson's staff. Assistant coach Rob Senderoff was implicated in the violations, and subsequently resigned. People can logically question his integrity, but trying to extend the guilt to others who were part of the staff is simply wrong.
Although it may be easy to fall prey to faulty reasoning, it's not fair to put a great coach, and by many public accounts (including Crean's) a great man, on the hot seat simply because of guilt by association. We should not be questioning the character of Seltzer, we should be warmly welcoming another great addition to our revitalized program.
Discuss Seltzer's hiring in the forums.
Related links:
ESPN - Sooners haven't decided suspensions' length - Men's College Basketball
Player Bio: Bennie Seltzer :: Men's Basketball
Bennie Seltzer, Kelvin Sampson and Indiana | Inside the Hall | An Indiana basketball blog
Log in: HeraldTimesOnline.com
Bob Kravitz: IU, Crean could trip up on early calls | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star
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