Kent State Coach Rob Senderoff Refuses To Discuss His NCAA Violations At Indiana

Kent State coach Rob Senderoff was an assistant coach at Indiana under Kelvin Sampson from 2006-08 when he resigned due to NCAA recruiting violations. Heading into Senderoff's matchup against Indiana in the NCAA Tournament with Kent State, he declined to speak about his violations at Indiana.

Friday's NCAA Tournament game between No. 4 seed Indiana and No. 13 Kent State comes with an added wrinkle, one that has Indiana fans even more hungry for a victory.

Before Rob Senderoff's 12 seasons as the head coach at Kent State, he joined head coach Kelvin Sampson's staff at Indiana as an assistant coach in 2006. Early in his second season in Bloomington, Senderoff resigned from this position in the midst of a recruiting controversy.

According to the notice of allegations, Sampson, Senderoff and assistant coach Jeff Meyer placed or participated in telephone calls that violated recruiting restrictions imposed on the institution, Sampson and the men's basketball staff as penalty for Sampson's prior involvement in violations of NCAA legislation. The NCAA gave Senderoff a 30-month show-cause penalty for his role in the scandal.

On Thursday, Senderoff was asked why he and other former Indiana coaches did what they did to put Indiana on probation.

"Quite honestly, I'm happy to answer that maybe at another time," Senderoff said. "I really think that the NCAA Tournament, it's about the three guys that were up here from Kent, those players and their stories. The kids from IU that have tremendous stories as well and have been through whatever they've been through throughout their careers. I feel like that's what the tournament is about. 

"It's not about Rob Senderoff or what happened 20 years ago aEs much as it's about Sincere Carry and how did he make it to this point and how has Jalen Hood-Schifino developed as a player this year. Respectfully, I'd be happy to talk to you about it at another time, but I really feel like the tournament, wasting that time on me is really not where I want to go today."

Kent State Golden Flashes head coach Rob Senderoff answers questions during the press conference at MVP Arena / Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier in the week, former Indiana player Dan Dakich, who took over as interim head coach in 2008 when Sampson resigned, ranted about Senderoff's role in the violations. (CLICK HERE to read Dakich's full comments)

Looking ahead to the game on Friday night, Senderoff shared his thoughts on facing Indiana for the first time.

"It's an unbelievable program and an unbelievable team that we're playing against tomorrow night," Senderoff said. "I have an incredible amount of respect for all the players on that roster, Trayce Jackson-Davis being one of the best in the country. Jalen Hood-Schifino being one of the unique talents in the country. And Coach Woodson's done a tremendous job, him and his staff, of playing in one of the best conferences in the league and having as much success as they've had. So it's certainly a big challenge for us tomorrow night, but one that we're really excited about."

Jackson-Davis was named to the AP first-team All-America this season after averaging 20.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.7 blocks per game. The Indiana big man has seen constant double-teams this year, and Senderoff was asked about how he plans to balance Kent State's attention on Jackson-Davis while staying true to its defensive identity.

"It's a great question and a heck of a challenge," Senderoff said. "He's such a good player that, if you just do one thing against him, you're going to be in trouble because he's going to figure it out. He's that good. So we do have to create some turnovers, as you mentioned. They have tremendous size and physicality, IU does. And we're going to have to stay true to who we are as a team. We got here because of how well we've defended and how many turnovers we've created over the course of the season, and we're going to have to do a great job of that tomorrow night to have any chance against one of the best teams in the country."

Related stories on Indiana basketball

• DAKICH RANTS ABOUT SENDEROFF: Former Indiana player and coach Dan Dakich was back at Indiana at the end of the Kelvin Sampson-Rob Senderoff era and he saw first-hand all the cheating that went on before they were both fired. Fast forward 15 years later, and now Senderoff and Sampson are coach in Indiana's bracket of the Midwest Region. Dakich went off on them both during his ''Don't @ Me'' talk show on Monday. CLICK HERE
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• OPENING LINE: Kent State has been undervalued by the betting public all year long and has covered in nearly 70 percent of its games. That's why they are a trendy upset pick against Indiana on Friday night. Here's the latest on the point spread, and a thorough background vs. the number for both team. Great knowledge here. CLICK HERE
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