Christian Watford was first, followed by Remy Abell and Victor Oladipo. We conclude with junior Jordan Hulls, who averaged 11 points per game last season and shot 91.2 percent from the free throw line.

Q. What will Remy (Abell) bring to the table for you guys this year? What do you see as his role on this team?

A. “He’ll be able to come in and guard. He can guard. He’ll get after it, play hard all the time. We don’t really have to worry about him working hard. And he can come in and get to the rack, get to the free throw line. He’s been shooting the ball a lot better since he’s got here. That’s something he’s been working on. We’re excited to have him.”

Q. Where do you think you’ve improved the most over the summer? Getting a chance to play in the (Indy) Pro-Am and work on your game, what do you think has come along the most?

A. “The thing I was working on the most was my defense. Just trying to keep my man in front of me. That’s probably been the biggest part that I’ve improved upon. It still obviously needs a lot of work, but it’s something I’ve really tried to make the most important thing that I need to get better at.”

Q. What do you think the key is for you guys to improve defensively as a team? I know that’s something Coach Crean’s talked about in the offseason is getting better defensively. How does that come together when the season starts?

A. “Rebounding, steals, force turnovers, deflections. We’ve got to get all of those things and that will be whether we press or drop back into zone. Whatever the case may be, we have to have active hands and get into people and make it hard for the offense. If they can make a pass real easy, then that’s just hurting us. As long as we can be in that and get help side defense and all of that stuff, we’ll be alright.”

Q. Do you feel like you have the most number of guys that can handle and drive the basketball that you’ve had since you’ve been here and what do you think that can do for you guys offensively?

A. “Yeah, that will definitely open up the floor. Drive and kicks, we’ll have guys that can shoot outside, so that’s definitely going to help. Remy, like I talked about earlier, he can get to the rim really well. That’s something he’s going to have to learn to do is drive, but also be able to kick. And Verdell obviously, he’s been doing that since he’s been here. It’s definitely a different feel for this team and it will open up the floor and hopefully score a lot more points.”

Q. People talk about Cody (Zeller) with his post presence, but does he give you a little bit of an option stepping out to 15 or 16 feet?

A. “Definitely, he can shoot. He shoots some 3′s sometimes. Not very much, but he can definitely step out and maybe pick and pop. Just brings out a lot of different options and he’s really good with his head fakes. We’re real excited to have him and have someone who is 6-11 and can be down there and be another post presence to help Tom (Pritchard) out.”

Q. How much do you think he (Cody Zeller) helps Christian (Watford)?

A. “He’ll also help Christian out because he’s pretty agile himself and like I said, he can step out and shoot. So when people are guarding Cody, it’ll open things up for Christian. He’ll be able to get to the hole, drive and kick, that kind of stuff.

Q. You’ve seen him (Cody Zeller) in open gyms when he was being recruited, what has the physical maturation and strength and conditioning done for his game?

A. “Everything. It helps everything. Once you get strong and build that central strength that you need it’s just going to help you in every aspect of your game. And he’s really getting better at being able to stay on balance, not letting people push him off balance when he drives to the bucket. That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve noticed.”

Q. Last time we talked to you we talked about leadership and that sort of thing, getting on people. Where do you feel like you’ve progressed with that now that you’ve gone through individual workouts? How have you tried to carry that along as you’ve gotten closer to actual practice this season?

A. “You can always become a better leader so I’m just trying to encourage guys. Whether I have to get on them, encourage them, do whatever I need to do for us to do the workout better or win more games, that’s what I’m going to try to do. It makes it a whole lot easier when people are doing what they need to do in the first place which is what I feel is going on. It’s just really good to see that.”

Q. What’s it meant to you guys to finally have some four year players? How has that changed the way everything’s going having that many guys that have been through it that you don’t have to teach?

A. “We’re all a lot more mature. We’ve got seniors, juniors. I’m a junior now. It’s flying by. It’s going to help us out a lot. We only lost Jeremiah (Rivers) so I feel like with that maturity, we know what it takes to play at this level in the Big Ten, the Kentuckys, all those types of teams. I feel like we know what we need to do in practice and how we actually do have to work.”

Q. Is this the most stable offseason you guys have gone through?

A. “Definitely. Like I said, us being older, knowing what needs to be done, how hard we have to work, those kind of things. That helps us tell the freshmen how it needs to be because they’ve never done anything this hard in their life. We’re bringing them in and they’re learning pretty well and pretty fast, which is always good.”

Christian Watford was first, followed by Remy Abell. Up next is Indiana sophomore Victor Oladipo, who averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last season.

Q. How will this team be different than last year? Better?

A. I think we’re just better as a team because we’re more mature is one thing. We have new assets to our team that can help us a lot. I feel as though we’re working harder than we ever have. I feel as though if we continue to do what we have to do and continue to be consistent, we can be successful this year.

Q. Some of the magazines though are still picking you guys ninth in the Big Ten. Do you see that? Does it register (with the team)?

A. We see it all the time. I’m not really worried about rankings. I don’t think this team is really worried about rankings or where they place us because at the end of the day, when the ball’s thrown up, we’re ready to go. They can make their predictions now, but at the end of the year, I don’t think it’s going to be the same.

Q. How different of a team do you think you guys are than you were at the end of last season? How much do you think you’ve changed in the last few months?

A. Everybody has gotten so much better. And we’re continuing to get better every day. We’re real excited for this year to get started and hopefully we can continue to be consistent. I think that the maturity is a really big thing. We’ve become more mature so we’ll how it goes.

Q. What are two or three ways, outside of stats, that Cody’s (Zeller) presence helps Christian (Watford)?

A. Cody’s 6-11, can score around the basket, can put it on the floor and can pass. Christian’s a scorer period. And last year, he was our main scorer. I feel as though everybody knew that. You guys know that, the other team knew that, our team knew that. So he was getting double teamed. He was getting triple teamed. But now, Cody’s going to draw double teams. Other players who’ve improved are going to draw double teams and that’s going to free up everybody else to do what they can do. We’ll see how it goes. Cody’s not only going to help him, but he’s going to help our whole team.

Q. How much different stylistically do you think this team is going to be? It seems like there are a lot more things you guys can do that you couldn’t do a year ago. What do you think some of those things are?

A. Probably going to run a little bit more. Definitely going to run a little bit more, get up and down the floor and have fun with it. We’ll see how it goes this season. We’ve just gotta continue working hard like I said and continue to be consistent because we always can improve.

Q. Coach Crean has talked about getting better at defense. That was something you guys struggled with a little bit last year. What specifically are you guys going to be able to do better defensively than you were a year ago?

A. Definitely guard the ball better. We’re working on that every day, getting over screens. Just becoming a better defensive team period all around. Help side defense, strong side defense, everything. We work on defense a lot in workouts and we need to carry it over to the game. Without defense you can’t win games. Like the old saying, it’s really true. We’ve just got to be consistent in defense and offense. And consistent in listening to the coach and what he has to say.

Q. It seemed like a number of you guys have gotten better at attacking the basket, the dribble drive in the offseason. Have you seen that manifest itself so far in workouts and do you think you guys are a much better dribble drive team than you were hoping to be?

A. Definitely. We’ve improved in everything. Everybody has improved. We’re definitely going to show it this season. Hopefully we just got to continue to improve because there is always room for improvement. So we’re going to continue to improve on our dribble drive, work on it every day to make it consistent. Hopefully we can continue doing that so we can be successful.

Christian Watford was first, next up is freshman guard Remy Abell, who averaged 16 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.5 steals last season at Eastern High School in Louisville.

Q. How’s the adjustment (to the college game) gone so far?

A. “It’s been going great. Over the summer going to class really helped when the school year started. I feel really confident right now, I’ve been doing individuals and different stuff with my teammates and just getting ready and prepared for the season. I think this year we can do a lot of big things.”

Q. What are the goals for this season?

A. “The goal is just do better than we did last season. Of course we want to get to the NCAA Tournament and advance farther than that.”

Q. What’s the biggest adjustment (from high school to college)?

A. “I think the biggest adjustment is time management. With workouts and school, it’s a little different than high school. I think it’s just preparing, being ready and time management, making sure I’m focused and staying on task.”

Q. Has there been anything since you’ve gotten to Bloomington that’s surprised you or that’s different from home?

A. “Not really. I think Bloomington is great. I like being down here and I’ve really had fun since I’ve been in school. That’s one of the reasons why I came here, because it’s a nice area and everybody’s nice down here. Everybody’s fun to be around.”

Q. I’m sure Coach Crean was real nice during the recruiting process. How’s he different once you get into some drills?

A. “He’s been a little different, getting into me a little bit, helping me out. He’s doing it to make me better. It’s been great. I’m real happy to be at Indiana. I know he’s going to make me a better player.”

Q. Are you playing point guard, two guard, wing, what are you playing?

A. “I’m playing kind of both. Kind of like the wing and the point. I’m just playing wherever they need me at. I know it’ll be somewhere on the perimeter so I’m just getting ready.”

Q. What are you looking forward to most about Hoosier Hysteria?

A. “Just getting out there in front of a lot of fans. I haven’t ever been to one, even to watch it. Being out there with teammates, I know it’ll be fun and great. I really can’t wait until next Saturday.”

Q. Has Cody (Zeller) been as good as he was in the Indiana-Kentucky (All-Star) series?

A. “Yeah, he’s good. He’s a good player. He’s going to be a great player for us.”

Q. It’s really early obviously, but how do you see your role shaking out?

A. “I just think my role is coming in and bringing a spark and energy off the bench with my scoring and my defense. That’s one thing I’ve been trying to improve on is my defense. They know I can score. I’m just trying to work on my all around game, offense and defense. So I think just coming in, doing what I do like to score and just help on the perimeter defense.”

(Photo credit: Tom Crean on Twitpic)

Up first: junior forward Christian Watford, who led the Hoosiers in scoring last season with 16 points per game.

Q. Talk about your individual growth since last season. Where do you think you’ve grown the most as a player?

A. “I feel like my conditioning has gotten a lot better. Wind, stamina, that’s increased a lot coming into this year. I feel like my ball handling skills have increased a lot this year. I’m just getting ready and looking forward to it.”

Q. When you were in high school, you played a lot more on the wing. The first couple of years here, based on personnel, you’ve played more on the block. With Cody (Zeller) getting here, do you see yourself getting out and playing a little more on the wing?

A. “Oh yeah. He’s going to help me tremendously. Whether it’s offensively or defensively, he’s a big guy that’s going to be able to block some shots. He’s a great offensive threat so he’s going to draw a lot of double teams so that should free me up.”

Q. Defense was one thing you guys struggled with last year. What do you see differently this year from a defensive standpoint?

A. “You can always get better. Defense is more a heart type thing and we’ve been working on it this whole time. It’s almost like determination. We’ve been working on it, working on our technique and stuff like that. I feel like we’ll be a lot better.”

Q. In what ways do you think this team is going to be different? What are you going to be able to do now that you maybe weren’t able to do a year ago?

A. “We’re going to run a lot more. With Cody, he’s a big guy that can get out and run the court. That’s going to help us a lot. He’s also a big guy that’s a great offensive threat. That should open a lot of things for us.”

Q. A lot of people talk about Cody, but talk about Remy (Abell) and Austin (Etherington), what you’ve seen out of them and what they’re going to bring to the team.

A. “Austin’s going to be able to help us a lot. He’s a big guard that’s going to be able to stretch the floor. Remy, he’s going to be able to do the same thing. He can handle the ball a little bit and he’s another big guard that can get out and guard bigger guards in the Big Ten.”

Q. It seems like a lot of guys worked on dribble-drive. How much better will you be at that and how important is that to what you guys do on offense?

A. “It’s going to be a big part of our offense. A lot of guys have been working on it and I feel like it’s only going to help us.”

Q. How much does strength and conditioning play into that?

A. “It’s going to make us a lot more athletic in certain situation. Whenever you can get to the basket and finish, it’s going to be a great thing.”

(Photo credit: Jamie Owens of J. Scott Sports)

Here it is:

Talk a little bit about the new guys.

Guy-Marc Michel: He’s progressing. He came in a little out of shape, but now he’s getting it together. I feel like he can be a real key asset to the program. Defensively, and he can also score inside. He gives us an inside presence that we need.

Victor Oladipo: Vic is a real athletic guy. He’s strong. He can shoot the ball and he’s going to be able to help us a lot also.

Will Sheehey: Will, he’s an energy guy. He always around the basketball. Always seems to find the right spots. So he’s going to help us as well.

A couple of your teammates met with the media on Thursday and talked about gaining weight and said you’re bigger. Do you agree with that?

Oh yeah, I agree with that. I’ve been working hard and putting on weight.

Talk about Cook Hall. Has it been easier for you guys to train a little more?

It’s been easier. Being able to get in there any time of day helps a lot. We’re going to access it to the full potential.

Is there anything specific you’ve been working on this summer?

Strength, and my outside game more. I’ll be playing more of a 3 this year.

First up: Mr. Zeller.

Let’s get this out of the way first. You’re down to three schools now: Butler, IU and UNC. What are liking about each of them?

Butler: Butler is known as a mid-major, but I don’t think they get recognized for how good they are. This year, they obviously went to the National Championship which put their name out there a bit more. Coach [Brad] Stevens is one of the best young coaches in the country. I’ve known him since they were recruiting Luke [Cody's older brother]. It’s a great university.

IU: Coach [Tom] Crean is one of the best coaches. He seems to be turning around the program right now. They just built the new Cook Hall, which is a great practice facility. They got one of the best business schools in the country.

UNC: At Carolina, they have one of the best coaching staffs in the country with coach [Roy] Williams and his staff. The tradition down there is unreal.

What’s the experience like for you coming into a tournament like this where it’s not your AAU or school team and you’re not as familiar with your teammates?

The talent is unreal here. I just try and do whatever the team needs. You’re not going to score 20 points like [you would on] your AAU team. It’s a lot different role but it’s fun playing with such talented teammates.

Does the rest of your summer start winding down after this with school looming soon? Is this your last event?

This is the last one. School starts on the 16th. My brother [Luke] gets married next weekend, so that’s what I’m doing with [my time]. The summer’s gone by fast.

***

And here’s Yogi.

How was your game against the Latin American team yesterday? (United States 2012 won 78-65.)

We were down the whole game, but came back in the fourth quarter. It was a very good run with Shabazz [Muhammad] and Alex Murphy and it really helped us.

As a point guard coming into an event like this where you aren’t as familiar with your teammates, is it a more natural transition because you’ve got the ball in your hands?

The thing I tell them is to run with me. I’ll get them the ball. Wings on the wings, the guys low on the block, I penetrate and kick to the big men.

There’s a lot of talent in the state of Indiana the next couple years. Is there anyone that sticks out to you that you’ve either played with or against?

One of the guys is Hanner [Perea]. He’s a good player. Just the way he’s a force down low and his athletic ability. He’s good.

I’ve heard a rumor that Austin Etherington is here this weekend. Have you talked to him at all? Is he still bugging you about coming to IU?

Laughs. He always is. He’s always trying to be the recruiter. He came down yesterday and I talked to him for a little bit.

Inside the Hall went one-on-one with the junior guard on Thursday about a variety of topics including offseason workouts, Cook Hall, competitiveness for playing time and more. The transcript of our Q & A is below:

On his individual progress this offseason and the team’s offseason progress:

“It’s been a real good summer. I took classes both summer sessions. I’ve been working out, trying to get back to playing like I did before my injury and playing much better. It’s been a good summer for me and a great summer for the team. We’ve really made a lot of strides and built a lot of good relationships within the team. That’s something you definitely need going into the season.”

On the competitiveness for playing time in the backcourt:

“I think it’s going to be very competitive and I think everybody kind of knows what they bring to the table and what they’re going to have to bring every day to practice. And that’s going to be a great challenge coming into practice knowing that we’re going to be as competitive as we are both in practice and certainly on the court when the games come around.”

On what he learned last season missing time with an injury:

“It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever gone through with basketball. It’s been such a huge part of my life and not to have it be something I could physically do was very difficult for me. But it also opened up a lot of great opportunities for me to learn and take different aspects and outlooks on life. It really made me cherish the game would be a way to put it. It means just as much now as ever, but it just kind of revamped my love for the game. I was able to learn a lot of things. It was very difficult, but it’s something I’m going to look back on someday and be grateful that I had the opportunity to recover, learn and move forward.”

On the impact of Cook Hall for player development and for the program:

“It’s an outstanding thing to have and it’s a great asset to the program. The resources that we’ve added with Cook Hall with the brand new weight room, the basketball court that we have access to all day and all night, a great locker room and everything like that, it’s going to be a great opportunity to build this program and take steps in the right direction. It’s been a lot of fun working out over there all summer.”

On the incoming recruiting class and what they’ll bring to the program:

“They’ve all come in and done a great job. They work extremely hard and that’s one thing you can’t teach is how hard somebody’s willing to work and try to improve for the upcoming season. They’ve done a great job of not only coming in and working hard, but they jumped right in and became part of this team. It’s been a lot of fun having them around and I think it’s a great group of guys. Each one of them brings a little bit something else to the program. Guy brings a lot of size and rebounding as well as a great post presence. Victor and Will bring a lot of flash and rebounding and getting to the rim and athleticism, which is something you can never have enough of. I think they’re going to have great opportunities in this program. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to the season with the new guys as well as all of the guys that are back.”

On stepping up as a leader in the program entering his third season:

“I think last year was probably something that allowed me to get used to it. My freshman year, everything went so fast as I look back on it. Last year, I was able to be off to the side unfortunately, but at the same time I had to find a way to make that opportunity worthwhile. I learned a lot of things about leadership, learned a lot of things about teamwork and what it takes to win at this level as well. I learned a lot of things about watching film and breaking down scouting reports and things that you may know how to do, but at the same time, you learn more and more the more time you spend with the coaches and the more time you spend watching film.”

On the biggest on-court differences between Matt Roth as a freshman to Matt Roth as a junior:

“You can look for a lot of the same things. Obviously, I’ve gotten a lot stronger and I feel a lot quicker coming back from this injury. My doctors and my trainers did a great job with making sure I did all of my rehab and all of my strength and rehabilitation and stuff like that. I’m looking forward to getting out there and playing a fun style of basketball and making sure the fans are just as energetic watching us play as they are when we’re winning. It’s going to be a great opportunity and I’m looking forward to getting out there.”

You made the move to ESPN.com a little over two years ago after writing at The Bucks County Courier Times and The Philadelphia Daily News. What was the transition like moving from a newspaper to one of the most widely read Internet sports properties in the world?

For me, the hardest thing about moving from Philly to ESPN was getting my arms around the scope of this new job. It was a little daunting at first. There’s a comfort in familiarity. I knew Philly, Villanova, the Big 5 and the Big East so well that I could automatically put stories and situations into context. I knew the history of the programs and most of the players for four years. I knew Jay Wright since he started at Villanova. Even more, I knew the people and best of all, they knew me.

When I jumped to ESPN all of college basketball was my beat. Major gulp. I’m a college basketball fan, so I always knew what was going on in the national scene and knew the major players, or at least about them, but they didn’t necessarily know me. It was a little overwhelming to fly in to a city, watch a game, introduce myself and bam, come up with a column or a 2,000-word feature.

Like anything else, the solution was simple: do your homework and work hard. I went to the AAU tourneys in Vegas, not to watch recruits but to catch up with coaches while they were relaxed and introduce myself. Every time I went to a game if the opportunity presented, I introduced myself to the players I was interviewing. I read everything before I did a feature so I knew what I was writing about and so the person I was speaking to respected the effort.

I’m not great at this gig yet. Far from it. But I feel like I have my arms around it finally.

Two advantages of writing for ESPN.com over a newspaper that immediately come to mind: no space limitations and more relaxed deadlines. Beyond that, how has your job changed moving to the online space? Or has it?

The no-deadline thing is sweet. First Final Four I covered for ESPN.com was Memphis-Kansas and I sat next to my former Philadelphia Daily News colleague (and mentor) Dick Jerardi. As soon as Chalmers hit the 3-pointer I laughed and said to him, ‘You’re in trouble.’ He wasn’t amused. I didn’t even have my laptop at my seat.

The turnover for online is greater in that I might write a great feature that gets posted at 1 pm and something breaking happens and that feature is pushed down on the site by 2 pm. But that’s also the beauty of the online product: we can react immediately. If we break a story, we can post it right away without those old day-worries of waiting until the newspaper hits the driveway and panicking that your scoop won’t be a scoop by then. Even for non-breaking news it’s great. Case in point: Texas loses to Kansas State this week. We didn’t have anyone at the game, but I did a quick instant reaction for our blog and Andy Katz, using his limitless connections, got Frank Martin on the phone and we had a story posted that evening.

In some ways, though, things aren’t that different. There are no space constraints but you have to be thoughtful. Do people have the time or interest to read a 2,000 word game column? Probably not. Is your story a worthwhile story, not just one taking up space? Those are important decisions that we still make just as any newspaper editor does.

You’ve covered Final Fours and have been to games in arenas all over the country. Where’s your favorite place to cover a game and why?

This will seem like a lazy answer but it’s not. It’s honest: the Palestra. The lighting is still horrible. You have to climb over the team bleacher seats and squish by five other reporters to get to your seat; the flimsy press table actually shakes if the place gets crazy enough; when the pep bands get going, you can’t hear; parking is a disaster and I absolutely love it. You can practically smell the history in the place and when it’s full to the corners, it is as loud and crazy as any place in the country. I also love that the modern-day students still fulfill the traditions. They aren’t allowed to throw streamers at the first made basket like back in the day, but they still unfurl their clever rollouts and pass them up the stands before shredding them.

And even though you didn’t ask I’ll give you the flip side: the place I like least is any dome. The noise disappears and sucks the atmosphere right with it. I understand the NCAA’s decision to move the Final Four to domes only (if you have it, they will come) but it really can dampen if not flat-out deaden the mood for what should be the most electric games of the year.

Let’s move to our specialty, the Indiana Hoosiers. Tom Crean obviously inherited a difficult situation from Kelvin Sampson. Looking back on the Sampson situation, were you at all surprised about everything that went down and how he essentially threw away his opportunity at Indiana by his excessive use of the telephone?

I was surprised about a lot of things with the Kelvin Sampson situation. For starters, I was stunned that Indiana hired someone who came not only with baggage, but with immediate baggage. His problems at Oklahoma weren’t ancient news. They were extremely recent and for a school like IU, which prides itself on its NCAA cleanliness, to take such a risk was a stunner. As for Kelvin, part of me was surprised and part of me wasn’t. His actions and decisions were based on pure arrogance – they won’t catch me doing this – and were flat-out foolish. That’s the surprising part, that someone could be so stupid. But then again, coaches become who they are because they possess a self confidence that exceeds normal human boundaries. They, like the 22-year-olds they coach, often think they’re invincible and that can lead to some pretty stupid decisions.

Indiana’s season hit a road bump with the loss of freshman guard Maurice Creek, but the Hoosiers have a pair of solid wins (Pittsburgh and Minnesota) and have already surpassed their win total from last season. There’s still a long road ahead, but how far away is the program from competing for conference championships?

Tom Crean inherited a disaster in every way – players gone, the program in disarray, fans disgusted and embarrassed – and he is doing everything right to rebuild it. He’s worked tirelessly to build up the passion and energy that had been beaten down by the shame of the last few regimes and anyone who thinks that’s not important to success in college basketball is crazy. You have to have a program that people feel good about so you can attract kids who want to be a part of it. That’s the second step – getting the right players. He has good ones now, the ideal kids to rebuild the foundation of the program with. They’re selfless and passionate and though they probably won’t deliver the titles, they’ll set the road in motion. I think now is the hardest part: he has to get the splashy recruits. Not 15 of them. Just one or two kids you can build a team around. I know patience is probably in short order in Bloomington. Folks there aren’t used to being irrelevant. But I’d say Crean deserves and needs at least two more seasons to truly restore IU.

There was a lot of talk prior to the season about the Big Ten potentially getting seven or even eight teams into the NCAA Tournament. The latest Bracketology has just five Big Ten teams dancing. Has the league been a disappointment or were expectations unrealistic?

I think it’s been something of a disappointment, yes. Some of the problems – injuries at Northwestern, suspensions at Minnesota – no one knew were coming and those obviously have major, major impact on teams’ success. But I also think people expected Michigan to be much better than it is and with good reason; I think even under the cloud of issues they’ve faced, the Gophers should be more consistent. Penn State, coming off an NIT title might not have been a tourney team but the Nittany Lions certainly shouldn’t be the complete disaster they are (and I’m a grad, so I can say that). Even Purdue with the caveat of the injury to Lewis Jackson is a little big mystifying.

That said, I also believe that Ohio State, with Evan Turner back, could be a major headturner come March and Michigan State, the team everyone forgot about in December, is lying in wait – or at least Sparty better be. I picked them to win the national championship.

Final question and we’re putting you on the spot (no pressure): Who are your mid-season All-Americans? And which teams will make it to the Final Four in Indianapolis?

Ugh, sure no pressure.

All-Americans (not in terms of position, just best players because this is exceedingly guard heavy): John Wall, Evan Turner, Damion James, Wes Johnson and maybe Scottie Reynolds right now. And I will eat a ton of crow for writing that because at the beginning of the season, Pat Forde put Scottie Reynolds on his ballot and I told him he was insane.

Final Four: I’m going to be stubborn with my pick and say Michigan State, Kentucky, Texas and Syracuse. I’m hesitant to count out Kansas because I think that maybe their midseason hiccup might be the best thing that happened to them, but going with what I see right now, I can’t put them in. I’m also flipping a coin between Villanova and Syracuse because I think either one could be there and I’d be stunned if neither one was.

Inside the Hall: Indiana is coming off a tough season and is still in the midst of rebuilding. They were nearly last in the country in turnovers a season ago, which I assume you believe will improve this season because it really can’t get worse. What measurable statistics are most important for Indiana to become a competitive team in a seemingly brutal conference?

JG: Measurable statistic? Points! For and against! No, just kidding. You’re asking about the stats that precede that one, and rightfully so.

Fair enough, try this on for size: If Indiana had been playing in some kind of weird parallel hoops universe last year where turnovers were forbidden and each team’s offense was judged simply according to how well they shoot, hit the offensive glass, and make free throws, your scrappy Hoosiers, even as young as they were, would have ranked a somewhat respectable seventh in the conference in offensive efficiency in Big Ten play (instead of 11th, which is where they really came out). So, yeah, the turnovers were huge.

Moving to defense we find that IU ranked 11th there as well, allowing Big Ten opponents to score 1.12 points per trip. That’s bad, sure, but it’s not catastrophic. In recent years teams like Northwestern and Penn State have on occasion done way worse than that. So there’s hope. In fact the Hoosiers were actually normal when it came to rebounding opponents’ misses–it’s just that, uh, there were no misses. Opponents lit it up from everywhere. This year’s deeper and taller roster should help make that a thing of the past.

ITH: I think a lot of IU fans are excited to see how Tom Crean’s approach will differ this season compared to last. Obviously, the infusion of freshman talent and transfer Jeremiah Rivers will allow more flexibility to try some new things. Schematically speaking, what will be the biggest difference from a season ago?

JG: If Crean’s past is any guide to Indiana’s stylistic future, the really exciting thing to me is that someday soon IU will be the conference’s first moderately up-tempo team, one that goes for steals and, yes, commits an occasional foul. All of the above, along with “guard-heavy,” accurately describes Marquette in 2007-08. I say: Bring on the Hurryin’ Hoosiers! The conference badly needs some diversity where tempo is concerned. When it arrives everyone will wonder what the heck took so long. Playing against a variety of styles over the course of your conference season benefits every team.

ITH: One of the most talked about pieces on this team is Rivers. In fact, I took some heat from our readers a while back for saying I wasn’t completely sold on Rivers being a huge difference maker. His calling card at Georgetown was defense, but offensively he wasn’t very productive as a sophomore (2.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1 assist in 18.6 minutes). Was his offensive output more a result of the system he was playing in?

JG: No, not at all. His output on offense would have been meager in any system Georgetown happened to play that year because he was tasked with being a role player on a team with Roy Hibbert and DaJuan Summers. If he’d started confusing himself with Eric Gordon, John Thompson III would have yanked him off the floor in a heartbeat.

Mind you, with my own two eyes I saw Drew Neitzel go from being a meek and deferential role player in support of Mo Ager and Paul Davis to becoming the shot-gobbling–and highly efficient–focal point of Tom Izzo’s offense, so I never say never. Who knows, Rivers might be a scorer waiting only for his chance.

But even if Rivers is “only” a lock-down defender is that really so bad? How many of those are there in the Big Ten heading into this season? Kramer, certainly. And Lighty, assuming he returns whole from his stint on the injured list. But the likes of Travis Walton are gone. So I think Rivers could be a valuable addition even if he’s “merely” what we saw at Georgetown. Not to be repetitive, but Indiana’s defense ranked dead last in the league last year.

ITH: It’s always tough to predict how freshmen will perform, but the six-man class Crean has assembled will be expected to contribute major minutes. What kind of impact do you expect guys like Christian Watford, Maurice Creek, Derek Elston and Jordan Hulls to have?

JG: I know this is heresy in Bloomington, but frankly what an IU fan should hope for is that this group of freshmen jells the way the Hummel-Johnson-Moore group did at Purdue in 2007-08. The impressive thing to me about that particular set of baby Boilers was that they played D and made their threes, neither of which freshmen are supposed to do. And given that both Painter and Crean are proteges of highly defense-aware Big Ten coaches who made their names screaming and getting red and preaching “toughness” as the silver-bullet answer to all of life’s challenges up to and including marriage proposals and home decor, it’s not too much of a stretch to envision a similar dynamic playing out in Bloomington someday.

Not that I expect IU to go 15-3 in the Big Ten this year the way Purdue did in ’08. (Sorry.) I just think if I were a coach I’d point to that particular group of freshmen and say: “Look at those guys. They weren’t especially talented. No one’s in the NBA yet. But look at what they did. See if you can do that.”

ITH: Tell us about your book, The Basketball Prospectus 2010 Major-Conference Preview. How will it differ from last year’s and where will it be available?

JG: Wherever fine books are sold — online. The book will be available at the site in a few days and you’ll be able to choose between downloading it immediately as a pdf or ordering it as an actual book. (Much like the fine NBA book done by my colleagues Bradford Doolittle and Kevin Pelton, currently zooming up the charts at Amazon.)

I previewed the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, and SEC. An obscure but promising young writer that I’ve graciously agreed to mentor, one Ken Pomeroy, did the Pac-10. I’m telling you this kid’s going places–remember the name, folks! And Dan Hanner of Yet Another Basketball Blog fame had the thankless task of previewing the Brobdingnagian Big East. Last year the instant I finished writing my Big East preview l shot out the door and found myself a hilltop from which to make a Scarlett O’Hara vow: As Jim Boeheim is my witness, never again. Damn thing’s too big.

But of course we’re too nosy to just preview teams. There are all kinds of goodies at the front of the book. For instance Will Carroll has a great and very timely piece on what happens to young legs when top prospects play hoops year-round, as they pretty much all do now. Pelton has become essential reading for anyone interested in draft projections, and he gave us the benefit of that wisdom for the current crop of college prospects. I could go on: Pomeroy, Doolittle, and John Perrotto all chipped in with essays. I did some scribbling in that direction too.

Lastly our Foreword was written by A Very Special Guest. I’m sworn to secrecy but I suspect these dots pretty well connect themselves. Bob Knight? UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon? Numa Numa Guy? Speculate away!

So, yeah, buy my book. I know some members of the self-appointed inside-the-Beltway gotcha media elite have questioned whether I could really write 60K words and edit an additional 60K this fast. Just tell them I say: You betcha! (Your readers can’t see this but I’m winking.)

Inside the Hall: The Big Ten is once again being mentioned among the top conferences in the country. From top to bottom, where does the Big Ten stand amongst the major conferences?

John Gasaway: It stands rather confidently in a clean well-lighted place at the center of the room where the league is respected but, alas, not terribly feared. The confidence comes from the exceedingly rare spectacle of a league returning its entire all-conference team (Kalin Lucas, Evan Turner, Manny Harris, Talor Battle, and JaJuan Johnson), not to mention last year’s preseason POY (Robbie Hummel).

On the other hand the Big Ten doesn’t terrify the other major conferences unduly because, even with all those returnees, our beloved glacially-paced league isn’t exactly brimming with lottery picks or even first-rounders. Turner, obviously, is going to be putting on a ball cap and shaking David Stern’s hand very soon here, and assuming Johnson and Mike Davis start consuming protein shakes in bulk I’ve seen them listed on some mocks as late first-rounders for 2011. But Turner notwithstanding there are no Walls or Warrens or Aldriches in the league right now. None of which precludes a Final Four run by a Big Ten team or two this year, of course.

ITH: Most of the preseason publications view Michigan State and Purdue as the top two teams in the Big Ten with Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin in the next tier. Which team, Michigan State or Purdue, do you consider to be the favorite to win the league and why?

JG: Purdue. Effectively they didn’t lose anybody. (OK, Nemanja Calasan. I stand by my earlier statement.) Hummel is said to be healthy and that’s unusually important because he’s actually vital to his team on both offense (threes) and defense (boards). It’s just that people can’t process that intellectually because he happens to be a skinny guy who looks like the kid who bags your groceries. If he looked like a taller Chris Kramer everyone would understand exactly what Hummel does for the Boilers.

Michigan State’s going to be tough too, of course. As always they’re the deepest and most talented team in the Big Ten. I just think Matt Painter’s group will be slightly better.

ITH: And from the second tier of teams, which team has the best shot at unseating the Spartans or Boilermakers?

JG: Ohio State. They’re like an elite commando unit in some ’60s movie with Lee Marvin where each person has a specialty. There’s Turner (cigar-chomping commander), William Buford (spot-up shooter), David Lighty (perimeter defender), Jon Diebler (threes), and, when he gets healthy, Dallas Lauderdale (shot-eraser). If Lighty can pick up where he left off on D in 2008 and if the Buckeyes can just hang on to the rock, people will run around screaming with their hands above their heads about how good this team suddenly is, what a huge surprise they are, etc.

ITH: Are Penn State and Northwestern being sold short by not being included in that second tier of teams? Will either of these teams be in the discussion for a NCAA Tournament bid?

JG: My brother’s a long-suffering Northwestern fan (redundant), so maybe I’m a little biased. But I do think the ‘Cats could be in the discussion if John Shurna or someone else steps into the role Craig Moore had last year, which was giving opposing defenses something to think about besides just Kevin Coble. The leap forward that NU experienced last season was, according to the stuff I track, as large as any improvement recorded by a major-conference team in at least four years. It’s just that, ironically, Missouri, Oregon State, and LSU were also registering the same level of (incredible) improvement last year. So there were turnarounds all around in 2009.

As for Penn State, much as I love what Talor Battle did for the Nittany Lions last year he’s going to need some help to get this team into bubble territory. And by that I specifically mean a teammate is going to have to surprise the heck out of us, like Turner did last year at Ohio State.

ITH: Let’s shift to a national perspective. Who are your top five teams? And who are two teams that could surprise some people with a run to Indianapolis?

JG: There’s Kansas and then there’s everyone else. I’m sure Kentucky’s John Wall and Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors are everything everyone says they are but, until I see them actually play, Cole Aldrich is the best example of a college player that literally could start for an NBA team today, at this instant, just as he is right now. If North Carolina’s Ed Davis can come anywhere close to the season Aldrich had last year, Davis will get five times the pub. Unlike Aldrich he won’t have Blake Griffin hogging the spotlight.

I know everyone’s picking KU to win it all this year, of course, but I still feel like people don’t realize just how good this team was last year. To be sure, losing very late in the year by 19 to Texas Tech, of all teams, didn’t help matters. (The Jayhawks haven’t won in Lubbock since 2003.) But the truth is last year Kansas, with five new starters, came surprisingly close to the level of performance set by the 2008 national championship team. And now they’re all back, with McDonald’s All-American Xavier Henry thrown in for good measure.

Part two of our interview with John — an Indiana preview and a look at his book, The Basketball Prospectus 2010 Major-Conference Preview — will be published soon on Inside the Hall.

Go check it out, or I will be very, very mad at you.

Inside the Hall caught up with Wertheim and asked him about the thought process behind the story, his dealings with Kelvin Sampson, Crean’s relationship with Sampson and more. Our Q & A is below:

Inside the Hall: Your story is the most detailed chronicle of the last 30 months in Bloomington we’ve read. Did you go to your editors with the idea or did they assign you the task knowing you’d do best at it? How long did you work on it?

L. Jon Wertheim:  Thanks. An editor at Sports Illustrated asked me if I had interest in the story, given my Bloomington ties and IU ties. I said, ‘sure,’ thinking I would write a Tom Crean profile and just sort of rehash L’Affaire Sampson. It occurred to me, though, that while the day-to-day coverage was quite strong, no one had really told the Sampson saga from start to finish.

The larger issues of race and culture and pressure to win become clearer when you can step back a bit. Also, as I spoke to people in town—everyone from IU administrators to folks at Rosie’s diner*— it was clear that the wounds weren’t entirely healed. I visited Bloomington in mid-August and worked on the story on and off for a few weeks.
* Visit if you haven’t already done so. Best pie you will ever eat.

ITH: You were able to talk to Kelvin Sampson. We’re not aware of him talking to anyone else on the record about IU. How hard was he to track down? Did he seem annoyed by any of your questions? Did you get any sense of regret from him?

Wertheim:  I contacted Kelvin Sampson last summer via the Bucks and was told he wasn’t interested in speaking. Then in late September he called me out of the blue. My impression was that he heard that I had spoken with various people who were not painting him in a favorable light and decided he ought to get his side of the story across. In the end, I probably spoke with him half a dozen times. I did get a sense of regret and remorse.

I also got a sense that he feels as though his punishment—both literally and in terms of the hit his image has taken—did not fit the crime. I see it both ways. I think it’s hard to look at the facts and the unraveling and not hold him largely responsible. But I also think there’s an irony/sadness in that for all the indefensible behavior in college basketball, making improper phone calls (even as a repeat offender) doesn’t rate too high on the list.

ITH: You talk a bit about how fond former IU President Adam Herbert was of Sampson. There seems to be a debate on Herbert’s involvement in hiring Sampson. Some believe he was the main person responsible yet ultimately Rick Greenspan lost his job over this debacle. From what you gather, was it Herbert’s decision to hire Sampson and what role did Greenspan have in the decision?

Wertheim: I had been told by multiple sources that Herbert took an active role in the hiring of Sampson. Let’s put it that way. I asked a variation of this question to Herbert via email and was not extended the courtesy of a response. I know that Bob Kravitz raised this issue as well but I thought the lack of accountability and candor was pretty galling. For the high-minded “light and truth” talk (at a publicly funded university, no less), you’d like to think the leaders would have been significantly more answerable to the students/constituents when scandal hit.

As for Rick Greenspan this didn’t make the SI story, but I emailed him a question about Dr. Herbert and whether he felt betrayed or thrown under the proverbial bus. His response: “On these type of questions, I have and will continue to take the high road. I have seen the low road and there is too much traffic.”

ITH: Tom Crean’s relationship with Sampson appears to be over if the quotes in the story are any indication. We know they were once good friends. Do you believe the riff is a result of the circumstances or did something bigger happen here?

Wertheim: This is the “media training” response: “That’s a question for Coach Crean.” Reading between the lines, though, there’s simply too much tension and awkwardness to sustain the friendship. I also think it didn’t help that so many players, pledging loyalty to Sampson in most cases, stopped going to class and transferred, killing IU’s APR.

ITH: You mention a ruling from the NCAA is expected in mid-November. We hadn’t heard of a definitive date for a decision reported previously. Is mid-November a timeline provided by the NCAA or IU?

Wertheim: That came from a source at IU.

Recommended reading: Transition Game: How Hoosiers Went Hip Hop by L. Jon Wertheim

On the title if he were to write a book about his last six weeks at IU:

“Oh man, I don’t know. Angelo Pizzo, the guy who wrote Hoosiers, told me we need a third act and we’ve got a movie. He said it’s going to be ‘Hoosiers, Rudy and then Dakich.’ I don’t know, ‘Managing Chaos,’ I have no idea.”

On whether or not he was prepared to kick more players off the team at IU had he stayed on the job another day:

“One more day. One more day and I had two others that were outta there. There’s no doubt about that. I didn’t have time on that particular day, but you know, what Tom has done coming in there is what I told him he was going to do.”

“He had to make his own decisions. A new coach comes in, you’ve gotta figure out what you want to do and how you want to do things and give people chances. But the time Tom and I sat down and talked about it, I told him what the end result was going to be because it was not something that wasn’t obvious. It was something that absolutely needed to happen.”

“Unfortunately, in my opinion, for the players involved I think it’s unfortunate for them, because they, in my opinion again, got rid of a great opportunity, threw away a great opportunity at a great basketball program and a great school. I don’t care where you go, unless you transfer to Louisville or Kentucky or Duke or Carolina or UCLA, you’re never going to go any place that matches what IU has, other than those other schools that I just mentioned.”

On what has transpired since his departure and the fallout from last season:

“I think the culture needed to change. I said that after we played Arkansas and I was criticized by a number of different groups of people, but it just needed to be. Unfortunately for me, I’ve never been one that is good at beating around the bush. I pretty much say what needs to happen and then people criticize and then generally it happens.”

“In terms of Greenspan, I feel bad, very bad for Rick. I think Rick’s done a lot of great things at IU, I really do. The facilities that are going up are tremendous. His attempt and I think rightfully so, to push football into a very competitive place is what you have to do at a school like Indiana. Rick was certainly trying to do that as evidenced by what he’s doing with the facilities. I feel bad for Rick, I really do. I like Rick, Rick gave me a great opportunity, I didn’t necessarily agree with all the things that went down late in my tenure at Indiana, but that’s the way life is.”

“It amazes me the amount of people that were affected by all of this. When you think about Kelvin Sampson, I think about Kellen and his daughter Lauren and his wife. They had a beautiful home, Lauren had a great job, Kellen is a great kid. I think about my own family, my kid. Rick Greenspan and his family. Tim Fitzpatrick, his wife and newly adopted son. The managers that were there. The fallout for the people has been so wide ranged and so sweeping that it makes me really sad. It didn’t need to happen, but it did.”

“Jennifer Brinegar, who was the compliance director at IU and I’ve never been anywhere and I hope the NCAA is listening to this, where compliance was so strict. Now I was there after it all went down in terms of the phone calls and things and the investigation was starting, so I wasn’t there when it was all really happening, but in my term there, Jennifer Brinegar and her staff, Ian Rickerby, did a great job.”

Forde is one of ESPN.com’s more talented and consistently entertaining writers. He covers college football and basketball for the .com, and is a former columnist at the Louisville Courier-Journal. Our questions are in bold.

Inside The Hall: You left the Louisville Courier-Journal after 17 years in 2004 to join ESPN.com. What was the transition like moving to the most widely read sports Web site in the country? What are the pluses and the minuses of working at a newspaper versus a Web site?

Pat Forde: The transition has been great. It was hard to leave behind a lot of friends and emotional capital invested in the newspaper, and the newspaper business. It was the only place I’d ever worked as an adult. And even after moving on I’ve come to have even greater respect for some of the people there and the care given given to every story.

But if I complain about my current job, shoot me. I work for the industry leader in sports coverage, where they never think small, and never plead poverty as an excuse for not doing the job right. The impact of ESPN is amazing and was brought home to me my first fall on the job, when we broke the news that Urban Meyer had said yes to Florida. Within minutes I was on Dan Patrick’s radio show and a satellite truck was on its way to my house to do live TV for most of the rest of the day. When ESPN mobilizes to cover breaking news, it’s something to see.

As for pluses and minuses: The greatest advantages to ESPN.com are the lack of limitations. Deadlines and space are never problems, so we can cover events and issues in much greater detail than newspapers. Especially night games. Our travel budget is robust, so we go places where newspapers no longer go to report stories. The only minuses for me is the increased travel, which can be difficult with a wife and three kids. I miss a lot of stuff.

The “Forde Yard Dash” and “Forde Minutes” have become must reads on ESPN.com. Were the titles something you came up with and more importantly, do you hand-pick the Dashette for each column?

I did come up with the title and the concept for the Dash — that came first. Then, when that was well received, it was suggested by one my bosses that we do a basketball version and I think he came up with the “Forde Minutes” name. And yes, I absolutely hand-pick every Dashette. It’s the most important work I do every week.

Sports blogs really took off in 2007. Some members of the traditional media refuse to accept blogs as reliable sources and others have embraced and shown appreciation for what blogs like Deadspin have been able to accomplish. A lot of newspapers are now requiring their reporters and columnists to blog in order to keep up with the times. What effect are blogs having on sports journalism and do you view them as a trend or as something that is here to stay?

Blogs are definitely having an effect. I welcome all attempts to modernize our industry; the good innovations will stay and the bad ones will eventually disappear. Blogs are here to stay and definitely have some positive aspects, in terms of giving people more information, more points of view, and more access to topics of interest.

Since I am an old-school newspaper guy, I do have some issues with blogs as they exist today. First, how many bloggers actually report news themselves? Do they throw rumors at the cyberwall and hope one or two stick? Do they simply repeat other people’s gossip? Do they know how to conduct interviews? (Props to you all for at least reaching out and asking questions.) And if they don’t report news independently, where would they be without the mainstream journalists who do? What I don’t like are blogs that exist simply to snipe at mainstream media that does the heavy lifting of reporting the news.

Also: While I support everyone’s right to sound off on public affairs and events, I don’t find a lot of it interesting or entertaining. Everyone wants to be Bill Simmons, but to my knowledge there’s only one him. Two hundred thousand bloggers cracking wise from their living room in their underwear all want to be the next Simmons, but how many of them are being paid (handsomely) to do it?

You’ve covered Final Fours and routinely covered games in Freedom Hall, Rupp Arena and Assembly Hall during your time at the C-J. Where’s your favorite place to cover a game and why?

I love all three of the local venues. If that makes me provincial, fine. But the fans care so much here, and there’s so much history to all those gyms. Of the three my favorite is Assembly Hall. The students are more involved and it just feels more authentic. I truly love the fact that as I walk in the door, I can smell the popcorn. Every time. If that ever changes, I’m not going back.

Shifting now to our specialty, the Indiana Hoosiers. Kelvin Sampson has done a lot of good things on the court thus far in Bloomington, but he’s also had problems staying out of the headlines off the court. How would you rate the job he’s done so far at Indiana and how serious should fans take the self-reported sanctions that were announced in October?

Answering the second part of that first: Fans should take it very seriously. One thing I’ve respected about Indiana fans is that they don’t have much tolerance for cheating. They had way too much tolerance for Bob Knight’s bullying tactics, but I believe they want to win fair and square on the court. And in Kelvin Sampson they have a very good coach with a very troublesome track record of flouting the rules and twisting the truth.

If I were the AD and president, I would have thought very seriously about firing him after this latest phone issue. Breaking the same rule twice is unconscionable and shows a disrespect for the tenets set forth by the NCAA and IU. I can understand why Rick Greenspan did not: This was his hand-picked guy, on the verge of big season, and Greenspan already took some hits for the search to replace Mike Davis. He couldn’t afford to fire Sampson at that time. But if the NCAA produces any more dirt on Kelvin during its ongoing investigation, I’d say he’ll be gone.

The Big Ten doesn’t appear to have an elite team. Michigan State, Indiana and Wisconsin all look pretty good – but certainly beatable. Who do you see as the best team in the league and is there a sleeper team that could make some noise?

I thought Michigan State was the best team, til it hung 36 on Iowa. That’s pathetic, and not the sign of a team that can reach a Final Four. So I’ll say Indiana is the team to beat. It has an inside-outside attack with White and Gordon, plus a bevy of complementary parts. The Hoosiers play good defense as well. If they hit outside shots they’ll be tough to beat. As for a sleeper: Would you believe Minnesota? Hardly overwhelming talent, but the Gophers have experience and are being coaches much better now than in recent years.

Eric Gordon is putting up a lot of points (23 ppg), but he’s also been very efficient in doing so (49.2 percent from the field). We wrote the other day that he’s the best guard in college basketball, but we’re certainly biased. Do you view him as the best freshman in the country and where does he fit in on your list of the best guards in the country?

I think most of the best players in the country are freshmen, so Gordon certainly belongs in the conversation. The only guard of comparable ability is Derrick Rose of Memphis, another freshman. And the only other freshmen in Gordon’s company are Michael Beasley and Kevin Love. I’d take those four and maybe have 80 percent of of the first-team All Americans. This freshman class is the best I’ve ever seen.

Not only is Gordon having a fantastic year, D.J. White is also putting up the best numbers of his career. If Indiana was to win the Big Ten, which player, Gordon or White, would have the inside track on player of the year in the conference?

Good question. Right now I’d favor Gordon, because look how much better Indiana is with him this year. But White has been excellent. We’ll have to see what happens over the next seven weeks to know for sure.

Last question: Who are your top four teams in the country and your first team All-Americans as we approach the halfway point of the season?

My top four teams are Memphis, North Carolina, Kansas, and UCLA. I think you draw a line after those four and create some distance before naming the next four. Memphis has a real chance to go undefeated into the NCAAs. Carolina just set a school record with seven straight 90-point games (keep that in mind every time you hear a coach say defense wins championships). Kansas is killing people. And UCLA had an impressive win over Washington State. Those are my four #1 seeds at this point.

As for All-Americans: I guess I can take the four freshmen listed above — Rose, Gordon, Beasley, and Love — and add Tyler Hansbrough to make five. I kinda think Chris Douglas-Roberts might be the best player at Memphis, though. I reserve the right to completely change my mind.

Inside the Hall: With D.J White returning and the arrival of Eric Gordon, IU is back in the preseason top 10 for the first time since the 1994-1995 season. Is this team capable of a run to San Antonio and which player, White or Gordon, is the key to getting them there?

Andy Katz: Both. The Hoosiers need balance to make it to San Antonio. They haven’t had those two working parts in concert in years. If the Hoosiers get an all-American season out of White and what should be a one-and-done stellar season out of Gordon then they will have the two most important pieces in place to make a run.

ITH: The preseason media poll penciled in Michigan State as the favorite to win the conference. Are the Spartans the team to beat in the Big Ten and if so, why?

Katz: The reason was experience. The Spartans return more overall experience and have the most important player to his team in the league in Drew Neitzel. Gordon may end up having just as good a statistical season but he’s still a freshman versus a senior. It’s hard to argue that point.

ITH: The self-imposed sanctions announced recently have dominated local headlines and have created chatter regarding Kelvin Sampson’s future at Indiana. Is Sampson’s job on the line and do you feel the NCAA could enforce additional penalties on the program?

Katz: Indiana has made it clear that it isn’t going to fire Sampson. I don’t know what the NCAA is going to do. So, we’ll have to wait and see. If the NCAA adds anymore sanctions then that might change the administration’s stance.

ITH: You wrote on your ESPN.com blog that Rob Senderoff “took one for the team” by stepping down from his assistant coach position. When these sanctions were originally announced, it seemed that Senderoff would keep his job with the understanding that his salary wouldn’t increase and he’d be unable to recruit for a year. What changed between that time and Senderoff’s resignation?

Katz: I’m not sure. I was surprised that Senderoff “voluntarily” resigned two weeks after the sanctions were announced. But it does take time to work out a severance agreement so I wouldn’t be shocked to later learn this was in the works for a few weeks, even as early as when the sanctions were announced.

ITH: You’re plugged in to a national coaching scene like few in sports journalism. Without naming names, how do coaches regard Sampson? Is there an overriding opinion of him?

Katz: I will repeat what I wrote: everyone like Sampson as a person, respects his coaching ability but a number of coaches, including his friends, are disappointed in this latest violation. The first one caused some concern but he was given a pass by most. But the second violation, the one dealing with the same issue, has caused a number of them to question Sampson.

ITH: Large media outlets — especially ESPN — are often criticized for breaking news that ends up incorrect or for claiming to break news that was actually broken by smaller entities. Do you ever hear that criticism and what steps do you take to A) verify your scoops (you have a lot of scoops) and B) make sure that proper credit is given across platforms?

Katz: I’m sorry but I totally disagree with your first point. I can’t speak to reports of news that proved to be incorrect. My policy is simple: I want to be right first, not first and then maybe not right. I usually have at least two to three sources on any major story unless it is the sole person who the story involves. I have been beaten by some stories because I take more of a conservative approach. But I’ve also been right with a longer and more concise story on a few major issues after another outlet put the baseline story out before me but then had incorrect information.

ITH: You’ve been covering college basketball since 1990. You’ve been to Final Fours and have visited many of the most storied arena’s in the country. Where is your favorite place to cover a game and what was, in your opinion, the best game you’ve ever covered?

Katz: Hmmm, I love going to Kansas, Florida, Oregon, Gonzaga, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and Maryland to name a few. The Palestra is also one of my favorite spots. I would say the Stanford win over Arizona on Nick Robinson’s buzzer beater may be the most exciting game I’ve ever covered.

Additionally, Inside the Hall had a Q & A with Derek shortly after he committed to the Hoosiers. You can check that out by clicking here.

Inside the Hall: Why did you decide that IU was the right place for you?

Derek Elston: I wanted to stay close to home and my friends and family. I just knew that playing for the Hoosiers was the place for me.

ITH: What was it about the way IU recruited you that set them apart from other schools?

DE: The coaching staff, definitely. They treated me like I was already there, like I was already a Hoosier.

ITH: Position wise, how do yourself fitting in at the college level?

DE: I’ll probably play the 3 or the 4, like a wing man. If I get any bigger I’d like to play in the post, but 3 or 4, definitely.

ITH: You’ve visited Bloomington several times. What do you like most about the campus?

DE: I really like the area and it’s probably the best campus I’ve ever seen. It’s really beautiful.

ITH: I got a chance to see you play in July at the Kentucky Hoop Fest and you looked like a player that loves to do the little things. Is that something you pride yourself on when you get on the court?

DE: I really don’t notice it but my coach always tells me I do the little things, but for me it’s just something that I like to do. I’m always after the loose ball. I really don’t see that as a big thing to me, but my coach always tells me I’m always doing it so it just comes natural.

ITH: What areas of your game are you working on the most right now?

DE: My jumpshot definitely. I don’t want to say it needs a lot of work, but I’d like to get it to where I could get some perfection on the 12 to 15 footers.

ITH: You’re a junior this year at Tipton. Talk a little bit about your expectations for the upcoming season.

DE: To go far. I don’t know how far. Definitely a sectional victory, hopefully a regional victory. We’ve got a senior point guard coming back, Matt Hodges, and the rest of us are people I’ve been playing with for all my life. We have the best chemistry and we’ve never had a losing record before in our lives. I think we’re going to go real far this year.

ITH: Your father, Darrell, played for North Carolina. Was North Carolina a factor in your recruitment and how much did you think about going there?

DE: Yeah, definitely I always wanted to go to North Carolina but my Dad always told me that he, you know, wanted to come and watch the games and never wanted me to follow in his footsteps.

ITH: Last question: Who was your favorite player growing up and why?

DE: Definitely Michael Jordan just because everytime he stepped on the floor and I’d turn on the TV it was just amazing to see what he could do. You can’t even explain it. I always wore his clothes ever since I was 6 or 7, I’ve always been wearing his stuff just because he’s amazing.

{For those of you who are new visitors to Inside the Hall, check out our interviews from earlier in the summer: Lance Stemler, Jamarcus Ellis and Armon Bassett.}

He finished the season fourth on the Hoosiers in scoring at 9.5 points per game and second in assists with 3.0 per game.

Now a sophomore, Bassett will be called upon to take over the point guard duties for the departed Earl Calloway.

Inside the Hall caught up with the Terre Haute native after the Barnstorming Tour stop at New Albany. We got the scoop on what he’s been working on over the summer, what Calloway taught him last season, the incoming recruiting class and his expectations for the upcoming season.

On what he’s been working on over the summer:
“I’ve been in the weight room a lot. I’ve been working on my vocal leadership skills because my primary position is going to be point guard this year. I’m just trying to embrace that role and prove people wrong and show them I can be one of the best point guards in the country.”

On what Earl Calloway taught him last season as a freshman:
“Earl was more like a big brother to me. Earl’s a true point guard, he ran the team and if I could take something from him, I’d emulate how he ran the team.”

On the incoming class:
“Coach Sampson brought some good players in. All I could probably say is if I could sum it up is versatile and real talented. We got six really good basketball players and I think they can play anywhere on the basketball court.”

On the expectations for the upcoming season:
“I wanna cut down the nets. We’ve got a good enough chance when March comes that we should be right there at the end of the tournament playing.”

Inside the Hall was there as he discussed the upcoming season, his ankle injury, the advice he gave the incoming players about the tour around the state, Eli Holman, Eric Gordon, DeAndre Thomas and Jordan Crawford.

On the depth of this year’s team:
“We’re definitely going to have to compete for our spots, which is a good thing. No one can get too comfortable with as deep as we are.”

On the status of his ankle:
“It feels good. I’ve been playing for about two weeks now.”

On how the ankle injury impacted his play last year:
“It changed the way I played a little bit. I couldn’t do some things that I did before. My shooting went down and I didn’t have any push off of it. Coach told me that he needed me to be the hustle guy, so that’s what I tried to do.”

On whether he gave the incoming players any sense of what it would be like on the Barnstorming Tour:
“Yeah, I did but they just kind of looked at me with blank stares. I think EJ is the only one that understood it. You really don’t understand it until you get into it. Just like come Midnight Madness we’ll tell them what it’s going to be like, but when they pack that place with 17,000 it’s a whole different ballgame.”

On the whether the expectations are being cranked up for the upcoming season:
“Yeah, I think so. I think with the talent we have the highest expectations are what we put on ourselves. We go into every workout, everyday, knowing that we’ve got talent and that we want to get to San Antonio. That’s our number one goal right now. We go into every workout working towards that goal.”

On what Eli Holman brings to the table:
“He’s long. Long and he runs like a deer.”

On the first time he saw Eric Gordon play and whether he’s worthy of the hype:
“It was last year in a high school game (on TV). People hyped him up pretty good, but he’s definitely that good. He’s smart, he’s been well coached, he’s so athletic and explosive and he’s got unlimited range on his jumper. He’s the total package. He’s a great passer. He sees things that normal people don’t see. The first day he played with us at open gym he threw a pass and everybody just kind of looked at each other like ‘wow’. That’s something I didn’t know he was that good at. He’s definitely a man.”

On what DeAndre Thomas brings and his progress since arriving in Bloomington:
“Talk about a man, he’s a big man. He’ll give us size under the basket and skills too. He’s got really good footwork for a guy his size. He’s lost about 25 pounds. He’s working hard too, running, walking 10 miles or so a day.”

On Jordan Crawford’s play this summer:
“I think he’s surprised me the most. I didn’t know anything about him. They told me he was coming and he got on campus and started playing with us and I was like wow, this kid’s good.”

Inside the Hall: What was it like for you playing in front of the IU fans for the first time? Was this what you were expecting?

Jamarcus Ellis: Well, I wasn’t expecting it for this game, but you know IU fans are very supportive. The coaches told me it was going to be sold out so when I got here I looked at the gym and I was like whoa, I wasn’t expecting this many people. It’s good because we’ve got fans supporting us and that makes us work even harder.

ITH: Were you used to these types of crowds when you played at Westinghouse in Chicago?

JE: Yeah, the city championship games would be at the United Center and I’m used to playing in front of big crowds but not for the whole season. At Chipola it wasn’t like that. The gym wasn’t big enough. At IU they seat 17,500 and every game is sold out. It makes me feel real good to come to a school and a basketball town where I feel wanted.

ITH: So was that the deciding factor for you to pick IU, is that it was a basketball town?

JE: Yeah that and the graduation rate.

ITH: You’re from Chicago, White Sox or Cubs fan?

JE: Cubs. I’ve always liked the Cubs since they had Sammy Sosa.

ITH: Did you cheer for the Sox when they were in the Series?

JE: Oh yeah, I cheered for them. I wished it was the Cubs though.

ITH: What’s your first impression of Bloomington?

JE: I like it. I came down here in August, the day after my birthday, last year. It was an unofficial. There weren’t many people there. Just the atmosphere and just by it being a college town I really liked it because it’s very peaceful from where I stay. Then I came in October, towards like the 30th, around Halloween, homecoming time. It was during school. They had a homecoming football game and they had a scrimmage. It was everything you’d ever want. There was like 10,000 people.

ITH: What do you see yourself bringing to the team this year?

JE: Just being a good teammate. I just look to do a little bit of everything, get D.J. and E.J. involved. Just playing my role and getting the ball in motion. I like to do a lot of things, rebound, pass and I like to score but that only comes when my team needs me. They need me to do a lot of different things because we’ve got scorers already. I’m looking forward to getting better this season.

Thanks are in order for Mr. Ellis for taking the time to talk with us. Look for Lance Stemler’s thoughts on the upcoming season, including an update on his ankle, on Saturday.