Adapt or die. Most coaches around college basketball have embraced that concept as the NCAA continues to change, but Tom Izzo is fighting against some of the horrendous leadership.
The NCAA has changed a ton over the past few years, leading to early retirements of Tony Bennett, Jay Wright, and Bruce Pearl, but Izzo remains stubborn enough to stick around because he loves his job — he just hates what his profession has become.
Earlier this week, the NCAA ruled (seemingly out of the blue) that certain G-League players are eligible to return to college basketball even after being in the professional ranks for years.
Louisville landed a G-Leaguer earlier this week, and it caused quite the stir around college basketball. Coaches were furious that a multi-year G-Leaguer was allowed to return to the college ranks to finish out his amateur hoops career before taking another shot at the NBA. Where does it end?
Izzo’s fiery rant drew other prominent coaches to echo his sentiments, and most coaches agreed with the Hall of Famer. One of the coaches who agreed was none other than Houston legend Kelvin Sampson. He’s coaching one of the best programs in the country, and he continues to add to his incredible resume. He, too, agreed that the leadership in the NCAA needs to be better.
One thing, though: he’s currently pursuing — and is the presumed leader for — a G-Leaguer.
I don't know man seeing Kelvin Sampson say this and scrolling down and seeing this ain't jibing pic.twitter.com/Go4bFu3w93
— Brian H (@Dukeblogger) October 23, 2025
If you’re Sampson, you can’t have it both ways. I get the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” mantra here, but you can’t openly bash the sport’s leaders and then do exactly what you’re criticizing.
It’s amazing to me that this stuff isn’t called out by certain members of the media more often. Like when Sampson is agreeing with Izzo and bashing the NCAA’s leadership, how does a single reporter fail to mention that he’s also pursuing a 21-year-old G-Leaguer?
Accountability seems to be lost in college basketball, and this is a prime example. Sampson hates what the sport has become, but he’s just adding to the problem.
But hey, at least he’s on Izzo’s side, right?