Get Hysterical

Even if his new coach isn't excited, Earl Calloway is. \n"(Hoosier Hysteria) is coming," IU's senior point guard Calloway said. "We're already excited. When they call the names -- oh, boy -- it's going to be jumping."\nThe jumping Calloway is referring to might be that of IU's players and fans, as Hoosier Hysteria -- the official beginning of the IU basketball season -- flings open Assembly Hall's doors at 9 p.m. tonight. The festivities will be broadcast nationwide on ESPNU.\nBut the one person who might not be jumping about Hoosier Hysteria is IU coach Kelvin Sampson. Though he seems to be brimming with excitement about the new season, the coach has a strong opinion about IU's first "practice" tonight -- that it's not really a practice at all. \n"Practice really starts Saturday," Sampson said, a theme he's been keeping up all week. "Friday is for the fans and the players, and it's fun, but Saturday is really when we can get down to business."\nWhether or not it's a practice, Friday is the first look IU fans will have at the 2006-07 Hoosier squad, a lineup that includes four new players: junior college transfers Mike White and Lance Stemler and freshmen Armon Bassett and Xavier Keeling. It will be those players' first look at a crowded and rowdy Assembly Hall.\nIU senior guard Rod Wilmont said he's tried to offer the new guys advice about the experience, but it hasn't been easy. \n"I've told them about Friday night," he said. "It's hard to tell them anything. It's an experience you have to figure out for yourself. Your emotions will be high, so you just have to go out and have fun."\nWilmont said the new players would impress IU fans. \n"I haven't seen Lance (Stemler) miss the open shot in workouts yet," he said. "But he's also unselfish -- sometimes you have to get on him to shoot because he's so unselfish.\n"With Mike (White) -- he's just a man," Wilmont said. "He's the first guy in open gym I've ever seen who never calls a foul -- ever. We hack him, push him, he'll never call a foul. If I get hit, I'm calling it. With him, no fouls. That's a good thing. He's strong, and he's going to be good for us."\nIU fans will have ample opportunity to see and interact with new players tonight. When the doors open at 9 p.m., the first 2,000 fans in attendance will have a chance to receive an autograph card, which select players will sign. No outside items will be signed. Fans without cards can watch a highlight reel on the year-old Assembly Hall scoreboard.\nAt 10:45 p.m., new IU women's basketball coach Felisha Legette-Jack will address the crowd, and the women's team will run drills and a three-point shootout. \nThen, at 11:30 p.m., Sampson will take the court, and the Hoosiers will be introduced. So far, the schedule includes a three-point contest, a slam dunk competition and a "special presentation" from the team and cheerleaders. In the past, the team has held an inter-squad scrimmage, but there is no indication that scrimmage will take place this year.\nRegardless of the details, Calloway said he feels IU's built-up basketball energy. \n"You can feel the eagerness, the buzz," Calloway said. "Everyone's excited. They're coming to see what's going on. People are pushing for us, yelling and honking for us around campus. A lot of people didn't do that last year. It's a positive vibe."\nAdmission to Hoosier Hysteria is $2 or a canned food item at the door. The athletics department is giving the proceeds from the event to the IU Student Association, which is donating the money to the IU Dance Marathon.