The days since Knight: an IU basketball timeline

On Sept. 10, 2000, legendary IU coach Bob Knight was fired. In the decade since, the IU basketball program has seen four coaches, one national championship game and sanctions that wiped the program clean.

While the future may appear bright, here’s a look at how the Hoosiers endured the past 10 years.

TIMELINE
Sept. 8, 2000
IU freshman Kent Harvey tells campus police that IU coach Bob Knight grabbed him by the arm and berated him for speaking disrespectfully.

Sept. 10, 2000
Then-IU president Myles Brand fired the legendary Hoosier basketball coach for “defiant and hostile” behavior. The Harvey incident was the final straw and part of the administration’s “zero tolerance policy” with Knight. Brand fired Knight after he refused to resign. Knight finished 661-240 in 29 years as IU coach.

Sept. 12, 2000
IU assistant basketball coach Mike Davis was promoted to interim head coach, quelling what might have been a player revolt.
“I’m extremely happy, but I’m sad about the way it happened,” Davis said at the time. “I wish I could’ve been head coach under different circumstances.”

March 21, 2001
A seven-member selection committee elected to retain Davis as head coach, removing the “interim” tag from his title. In his season as interim coach, Davis compiled a 21-13 record, finished second in the Big Ten tournament and received a No. 4 seed in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

March 21, 2002
In the 2001-02 season, IU compiled a 25-12 record. Earning a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Hoosiers faced AP No. 1-ranked Duke in the regional semifinals. IU trailed 29-12 but mounted a giant comeback in the second half and won 74-73 when Duke’s Jason Williams missed a potentially game-tying free throw in the final seconds.
The Hoosiers earned their first trip to the Final Four since 1992 by hitting 15 three-pointers en route to an 81-69 victory against Kent State. In the national semifinals, IU defeated Kelvin Sampson’s Oklahoma Sooners 73-64.

April 1, 2002
The Hoosiers lost to Maryland 64-52 for the team’s first ever loss in a national championship game. That game marks the last time IU advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

April 2002
IU rewarded Davis with a contract extension through the 2007-08 season.

April 5, 2003
The Tom Crean-led Marquette team played in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. Featuring future NBA star Dwyane Wade, the Golden Eagles lost 94-61 to Kansas.

March 12, 2004
IU lost 71-59 to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, marking the end of a 14-15 season. The 2003-04 team was the first to finish with a record under .500 since 1969 which was prior to Knight’s arrival.

March 22, 2005
After another disappointing season — the Hoosiers finished 15-14 and lost in the first round of the NIT tournament — IU athletics director Rick Greenspan announced Davis would remain as coach but admitted the team needed to improve. “We ... know that our record the last two years is not up to the standards to which Indiana is accustomed and to which we aspire,” Greenspan said.

Nov. 30, 2005
North Central High School junior Eric Gordon commits to play for Bruce Weber at Illinois.

January 2006
Oklahoma reveals that from April 2000 to September 2004, members of the men’s basketball program coached by Kelvin Sampson made impermissible phone calls and contacts to several recruits. The University froze salary increases and postseason bonuses for Sampson for a two-year period.

Feb. 16, 2006
The week prior, Davis called in sick and missed a home loss to Iowa. On the Feb. 16, Davis announced his resignation as head coach while the team was in the midst of a five-game Big Ten losing streak. His resignation was effective at season’s end.

March 18, 2006
IU rebounds to win its last four regular season games and qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003. But on March 18, the Davis era ends at IU with a 90-80 loss to Gonzaga in the second round.

March 29, 2006
Despite Sampson’s issues at Oklahoma, he was named head coach of the IU men’s basketball team.

April 20, 2006
Sampson signed a contract with IU that allowed the University to take further action if the NCAA imposed further sanctions on the coach.

May 25, 2006
The NCAA handed out penalties against Sampson for his violations at Oklahoma. The one-year penalties prohibited Sampson from making phone calls or participating in on-campus recruiting visits.

Oct. 13, 2006
Eric Gordon’s father announced that Gordon would change his commitment. Three weeks later, Gordon signed a letter of intent with IU.

March 17, 2007
IU lost to No. 2 seed UCLA in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers finished Sampson’s first year as coach with a 21-11 record.

Oct. 3, 2007
IU reported that Sampson and his staff made more than 100 impermissible recruiting calls. The University removed Sampson’s $500,000 raise and imposed recruiting restrictions on the program.

Jan. 23, 2008
IU defeated Iowa 65-43 to start the season 17-1. IU finished the season 8-7 as the Sampson fallout transpired.

Feb. 13, 2008
The NCAA released five major violations against Sampson for providing the governing body with “false or misleading information” regarding his recruiting practices, particularly his use of illicit phone calls. IU President Michael McRobbie and Greenspan subsequently began reviewing Sampson’s job status.
 
Feb. 22, 2008
Sampson resigned as IU coach following an agreement to receive $750,000 for the remainder of his contract. Assistant coach Dan Dakich assumed Sampson’s duties on an interim basis. Meanwhile, six players skipped practice in protest one day before a game at Northwestern.
 
March 22, 2008
IU, a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, fell in the first round to No. 9 seed Arkansas, 86-72, to end a season in which the team was ranked as high as No. 8 in the AP top-25 poll.
 
April 2, 2008
Former Marquette coach Tom Crean was officially named IU coach. Crean, who compiled a 190-96 record in nine seasons with the Golden Eagles, explained that he chose to take on the challenge of restoring the Hoosiers’ program “because it’s Indiana.”
 
June 11, 2008
Guard Jordan Crawford informed IU he would leave the school, leaving Crean with just two returning players from the previous season’s roster: Kyle Taber (the lone scholarship player) and Brett Finkelmeier.
 
Nov. 13, 2008
Crean announced the finalization of his first recruiting class as IU coach. Ranked as high as fifth nationally among 2009 classes by Rivals.com, the six-member class included four-star recruits in forward Christian Watford and guard Maurice Creek, as well as future Indiana Mr. Basketball in Bloomington South guard Jordan Hulls.
 
Nov. 25, 2008
The NCAA placed IU on three years’ probation but did not penalize the school further following sanctions levied for Sampson’s actions.
 
Feb. 4, 2009
IU beat Iowa, 68-60, at Assembly Hall, snapping an 11-game losing streak and earning Crean’s first Big Ten win.
 
March 3, 2009
IU, last in the Big Ten, took No. 8 Michigan State to the wire before falling 64-59 in the last home contest of Crean’s first season. Taber, the team’s lone senior and returning scholarship player from last season, was honored and addressed the crowd on Senior Night. The Hoosiers later ended the season with a 6-25 record.
 
Nov. 16, 2009
Forward Will Sheehey of Stuart, Fla., committed to IU. Sheehey joined guard Victor Oladipo of Hyattsville, Md., who committed earlier, to round out the 2010 recruiting class, Crean’s second at IU.
 
Dec. 28, 2009
Freshman guard Maurice Creek suffered a season-ending knee injury in a 90-42 rout of Bryant at Assembly Hall. Creek entered the contest as the third-leading scorer in the nation among freshmen, netting 16.4 points per game.
 
Feb. 4, 2010
IU came within a last-second missed shot by sophomore guard Verdell Jones to fall 78-75 to No. 8 Purdue at Assembly Hall.
 
Feb. 25, 2010
IU suffered its worst home defeat in program history, and Crean was ejected in a 78-46 loss to No. 17 Wisconsin.
 
Sept. 2, 2010
James Blackmon, Jr., a high school freshman guard who had yet to play a game of prep basketball for Fort Wayne Bishop Leurs High School, committed to IU as part of the 2014 recruiting class.
 
Sept. 26, 2010
Trey Lyles, the No. 1-ranked player in the 2014 recruiting class according to ESPN.com, became the second high school freshman to commit to IU in September.
 
Oct. 31, 2010
Hanner Perea, the No. 10-ranked player in the 2012 recruiting class according to Rivals.com, committed to IU as part of the 2012 recruiting class.

- Nathan Hart and Drew Allen