The ballots have been counted and it’s time for Inside the Hall’s countdown of the greatest Indiana players of all-time. Today: No. 7: Kent Benson.

Years at Indiana: 1973-1977

The numbers: 1,740 points (15.3 average); 1,031 rebounds (9.1 average); 1,346 field goals; 53.6 field goal percentage

Career highs: 38 points (February 9, 1976 vs. Michigan State); 23 rebounds (March 22, 1975 vs. Kentucky)

Notable achievements: 42 career double-doubles; All-American (1975, 1976, 1977); First team All-Big Ten (1975, 1976, 1977); Big Ten MVP (1977); Indiana team MVP (1977); Academic All-American (1976, 1977); Indiana Hall of Fame (1989); Big Ten champion (1974, 1975, 1976); NCAA Tournament Most outstanding player (1976); National champion (1976)

The case for Benson: The New Castle native was a centerpiece of the last undefeated team in college basketball alongside Scott May and Quinn Buckner in 1976. The three-time All-American’s 25 points led Indiana to a 86-68 route over Michigan in the national championship game in Philadelphia.

By far the saddest part about everything that happened yesterday is that a fine performance by the Hoosiers — a well-executed gameplan against a good team — went totally by the wayside. It was overshadowed. Overshadowed not only because Brian Butch hit a lucky (yes, it was lucky) banked three-pointer from about 24 feet to win the game, but overshadowed by the giant inky-black specter of the NCAA’s announcement about major violations yesterday.

Sunday, the Hoosiers (to my mind, at least), took a significant step forward to alleviating a lot of the obvious concerns about them as a whole. Last night, they continued that pattern, albeit in a flawed loss. That progress — think how bad they looked the first game against Wisconsin — should be the story. But as I sit and write this, attempting to write about what’s happening on the floor reeks of blind fandom. It feels like ignoring the giant elephant in the room. Be positive! Think good thoughts! Talk about basketball! Easier said than done.

And that’s the problem. It’s not the sanctions themselves — we’re all adults here, and we can get over it. Kelvin Sampson getting fired? C’est la vie. Life goes on. Another lost scholarship? Sucks, but it’s not devastating. Kent Benson getting all worked into a froth again? Not exactly newsworthy.

No, the problem is that because of Kelvin Sampson’s utter stupidity, enjoying the game for what it is in its rawest, purest form — a group of almost-student-athletes competing with their school’s name on their shirts — is now impossible. Watching this team develop into a tournament contender is ruined. Our expression of basketball fandom is tainted. To paraphrase Christopher Hitchens, sanctions poison everything. That’s not fair to D.J. White and Eric Gordon and Armon Bassett and the rest, and it’s not fair to us.

So thanks, Kelvin. Thanks a lot. Idiot.

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Not a ton of information trickling out of Hoosier camp as of late — and in the wake of the infractions, that’s probably a good thing — so here’s something to tide you over until we actually see all these new pieces try and mesh as one on the court.

It’s everyone’s favorite outspoken former Hoosier Kent Benson’s student fan club t-shirt up for bid on eBay. There don’t appear to be any bids on this guy at the moment, but you can buy it now for $28.98 + $5.25 for shipping and handling.

No word yet on whether or not when you don the shirt you’ll angrily spout of about the state of IU basketball, but buyer beware.

Get your bids in now, kids.

Thanks to entrepreneurial-minded PMK for the tip.

(Editor’s Note: The Indianapolis Star has revealed secondary violations that have taken place in the last 15 months. You can read that report by clicking here.)

Updated, 10/16, 7:15 AM: Those of you hoping for a “this too shall pass” resolution to yesterday’s news regarding Kelvin Sampson’s latest sanctions for violating NCAA phone call rules are in for a rude awakening. It’s not happening, folks. Fan message boards are being overloaded, radio talk show lines are lighting up and talking heads from across the country are calling for, gasp, Sampson’s head.

A survey of prominent viewpoints from across the land revealed the following thoughts about Sampson:

Andy Katz, ESPN.com: Sampson has plenty of friends in the business. And when I say plenty, I would argue that the majority of coaches really do enjoy his company. But a number of them are perturbed by these latest violations. Some of his good friends even told me that they do think this will put a distinctive mark on the public perception of Sampson.

Will Leitch, Deadspin: The move is seen as a preemptive strike against any potential NCAA punishments. Indiana should be much better this year, thanks largely to recruit Eric Gordon (which Sampson swiped from Illinois, infuriating many of his fellow Big Ten coaches), but they’ve now officially wiped the regime of Bob Knight off the books. Say what you will about Knight, but this was never a problem with him. He was too busy strangling the players he already had.

Rick Bozich, Louisville Courier-Journal: Don’t fire up your search engine. Sampson committed similar violations at Oklahoma, then promised it would never happen in Bloomington. Sunday’s news suggests the man is either brash or careless. Doesn’t matter which side you pick. He’s still a repeat offender. IU uncovered the violations. IU reported them to the NCAA. IU is punishing the rule-breakers — Sampson and assistant Rob Senderoff. Sampson described the violations as “disappointing.” Losing to Purdue is disappointing. This is disturbing. Reckless also fits. So does ridiculous.

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