Assistants have Indiana connections

IU formally announced the hiring of two assistant men's basketball coaches Thursday, quelling some of the flames that lingered from the hiring of new coach Kelvin Sampson.\nRay McCallum follows Sampson from Oklahoma while Jeff Meyer comes to IU after spending two seasons as an assistant at Missouri. Each man brings a resume that can ease some of the doubt raised over Sampson's hire. They are both Indiana natives, they have both taken in-state teams to the NCAA Tournament and they both bring favorable graduation rates to IU. \nSampson said in a statement that the most important quality the two men bring to IU is an understanding of the state and school.\nSampson added that he wanted a staff that could relate to young players -- something that's tested McCallum and Meyer immediately. Aside from having to earn the trust of the current roster, both coaches have been mending fences with recruits Armon Bassett and Xavier Keeling, who asked out of their letters of intent with IU.\nBassett said he's known Meyer since ninth grade when Meyer was coaching at Butler University. He described both men as experienced, hard-working and very knowledgeable about IU basketball. Bassett said he will be visiting IU Friday night to meet the entire coaching staff and that he plans to have a decision made by Monday.\n"It's been a long, long year for me," Bassett said. "But now I'm just waiting to talk to coach Sampson."\nMeyer served as an assistant coach for three seasons, where he helped the Bulldogs win back-to-back Horizon League titles in 2002 and 2003. His team reached the Sweet 16 in 2003 where it ironically lost to Sampson's Oklahoma team. \nMeyer hails from Reynolds, Ind., and started his coaching career as an assistant at Purdue.\n"My wife Karen and I are so excited to be back home again in Indiana where the tradition of the great game of basketball reigns supreme," Meyer said.\nMcCallum hasn't worked in Indiana for more than six years, but his in-state history is actually richer than Meyer's. He grew up in Muncie, where he led Muncie Central High School to a pair of state championships. From there, McCallum went to Ball State, where he became the Mid-American Conference's all-time leading scorer and was the first Cardinal athlete to have his jersey retired. \nMcCallum went on to hold several coaching positions, including a nine-year stint at Wisconsin, and eventually became the first Ball State head coach to post seven consecutive winning seasons.\n"It feels great to be back in Indiana, and what a blessing it is to be around my family and friends," McCallum said. "It was a great experience when I was in the southwest part of the country, but it is an even better feeling to be back among family, friends and where basketball reigns"