Can IU get this coaching search right?

I suspect by Thursday we will know who the trustees of Indiana University have selected to replace Kelvin Sampson as head basketball coach at IU.

But can they ever get this right?

One would think they should. It's not like the university has not been here before. It had the chance to get it right when Bob Knight was fired. Instead the university opted to select straight from Bob Knight's bench and name Mike Davis. Around 2002 that seemed like a great idea when he led a group made up of mostly Bob Knight recruits to the NCAA Championship Game. But when Mike was left with mostly his recruits, it was clear he was not that man for the job (and let's be real here ... not only could he not recruit in the Big Ten, he couldn't really coach at that level and certainly could not handle the scrutiny).

The university had another shot at this when it hired Kelvin Sampson. It started well, but as we all know, that did not end well. At least with Kelvin the university found someone who could recruit and coach at the Big Ten level. All that was missing was the level of ethics expected for a Big Ten coach.

So now we come to Indiana University's moment of truth. The third time's a charm, right? It has hired a Bob Knight disciple, and it has hired the "big name" coach away from another university. It should have learned from both experiences along the way. So, it should stand to reason that whoever IU names on Thursday is really the man for the job ... right?

I'm a little skeptical. I'm starting to wonder if the IU job is impossible. Think about it ...:

• IU has a demanding fan base that can only be satisfied with a national championship
• IU has a coaching legacy which is nearly impossible for anyone to match
• IU does not have the best facilities
• the Big Ten is not what it used to be

To stand up to the demands and pressures of this job, the coach needs a strong will, a great coaching philosophy and the ability to recruit the coddled teenagers that play basketball today.

Who fits this job description, exactly? Rick Pitinto? Roy Williams? Billy Donavan? There are few.

And this leads me to this question ... will basketball at IU ever be as great as it was in the late 70s and 80s? Maybe the answer is no. Maybe Bob Knight was a once-in-a-lifetime coach. If you think about all of the great college basketball powers, very few have sustained greatness through more than one coaching regime. Only Kentucky and North Carolina come to mind.

So, on Thursday many of us in Hoosier nation will look forward with great anticipation to find out who the university selected as our next Bob Knight ... the man who will win three more championships and bring us much joy and pleasure.

But I'm starting to wonder if that will ever happen. Whoever takes this job has my sympathies since he will likely experience the same fate ... the inability to live up to Bob Knight.