Sampson has high hopes for Hoosier hoops

Kelvin Sampson would have given the Hoosiers a freebie. \nThe fans, that is. Not his team. \nThe date: Nov. 19, 2006. The opponent: Chicago State. The place: Assembly Hall. Here was the IU men’s basketball team playing one of the worst teams on its schedule the Sunday before Thanksgiving. \nHeading out of the locker room before tip-off, Sampson, in his first season as coach of the Hoosiers, didn’t expect much fan support, considering the most important thing to win the game was to just show up.\nWhat he got, though, was 17,000 screaming fans showing their love for the cream \nand crimson. \nHe calls it his “Indiana moment.”\n“I walked out, looked around and that place was almost packed,” he told the Indiana Daily Student in a sit-down interview Sept. 26. “It told me that these people are really passionate about this program.”\nNow, a year into his tenure at one of the most successful college basketball programs of all time, Sampson has a good idea of what to expect from the fans and the men on his basketball team. \nThe Transition\nWhen he accepted the IU job in March 2006, Sampson inherited a program in tumult. In two out of the three seasons before his hire, the Hoosiers did not make the NCAA tournament – a no-no for any major \nbasketball program. \nBut Sampson came to win championships. \nThe biggest difference he notices between his new job and his former one \nat Oklahoma?\n“The five banners,” he said of the championship relics hanging above the south bleachers in Assembly Hall. \n“When he came here, his objective was to win championships, and everything he’s done is geared toward that,” said Pete DiPrimio, author of “Hoop Tales: Indiana Hoosiers Men’s Basketball” and college sports columnist for the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. \nHowever, the second-year coach hasn’t changed much since accepting the gig in Bloomington – even the school colors are identical.\nDiPrimio said Sampson never really had to adapt to his new job. \n“He’s had a system that’s worked for him,” DiPrimio said. “He knows how to win. He’s won everywhere \nhe’s been.”\nSampson has done his best to embrace the tradition. His basement is decked with IU gear from decorative blankets to framed photos of each senior on the team. He even has a small replica court of Assembly Hall. \n“You are fortunate to be at a school that really supports and loves their program,” Sampson said. “All coaches want to be somewhere where people are as passionate about what they do. And Indiana is.” \nHigh hopes\nBefore he coached a single game at IU, Sampson endeared himself to IU fans in a way former coach Mike Davis was unable to do in six years: He captured an All-American \nin-state recruit.\nFreshman Eric Gordon’s verbal commitment to IU gave fans a reason to cheer for Sampson on the night of Hoosier Hysteria last year. \nPeople widely criticized Sampson for the way he nabbed Gordon. The Indianapolis-native committed, then de-committed from Illinois. Sampson later admitted he never, but should have, called Illinois coach Bruce Weber to talk about the situation. \n“I never spend two seconds worrying about that, and I doubt he does either,” \nSampson said.\nThat didn’t stop him from becoming public enemy No. 1 for folks living directly west of the Wabash River.\nBut to Hoosiers, Sampson was a hero.\nWhen he took the floor that night at Hoosier Hysteria, thousands of crimson-clad fans greeted Sampson by chanting his name.\nHe was a little embarrassed. \n“I’d prefer not to be singled out, but I am a little old school here,” Sampson said. \nWith Gordon and star senior forward D.J. White on the roster, many fans have inquired about flights to San Antonio – site of the 2008 Final Four.\n“Indiana, this year could have, (and) should have, a really good season,” DiPrimio said. “There is no reason why they shouldn’t.”\nIn just one year, Sampson has inked one of the top recruiting classes in the nation and catapulted the Hoosiers into the national Top 10.\nBut his greatest accomplishment might be yet to come.