It’s one thing not to answer questions. That I get. No self-respecting attorney or organization would ever let a client or one of its members speak to a potentially damaging situation in an off-the-cuff way; you distribute a statement and you stay on message. Them’s the rules. I get it.

The IU Athletics Department gets it too, which is why they prevented IU coach Kelvin Sampson from doing anything but reading from his statement after the game last night. Like I said, that’s one thing. The smart thing.

Where it goes over the line, though, is when media relations directors attempt to control not only the answers being given but the very questions themselves. Such is the case with IDS basketball beat reporter Michael Sanserino, who on the IDS’ Basketblog recounts his phone conversation with an IU official today:

Thou shalt not ask … any questions to Sampson about the NCAA allegations, or so says IU athletics spokesman J.D. Campbell. From an e-mail: “As he stated last night, he can not answer any questions regarding the recent letter of NCAA allegations.”

In addition, Campbell told me on the phone not to ask any questions regarding the NCAA situation. If I did, he said, I would be taken off the media invite list for future press conferences.

Again, it’s understandable to reiterate that Sampson won’t talk to reporters about his situation, though even that’s arguable. It’s not understandable — not in the least — that the university would attempt to intimidate or otherwise shut out a student beat reporter for merely asking questions. For merely doing his job. If Sampson chooses not to answer the questions, or if J.D. Campbell wants to step in and handle the situation then, fine. But to attempt to preempt a reporter from doing his job reeks of intimidation and skullduggery, the kind of things an embattled program should be, you know, avoiding at all cost.

Of course, one can be certain that Mr. Campbell will similarly revoke the invitations of reporters from the Indianapolis Star, Louisville Courier-Journal, and Chicago Tribune, as well as the major Indianapolis TV networks and ESPN. Hold your breath for that. Right.

And here we thought the shame was all on Kelvin Sampson’s side of the table. Turns out there’s plenty to go around.

UPDATE: Campbell followed up with Sanserino and insisted he was joking when he told Sanserino he wouldn’t invite him to press conferences. Without hearing the conversation, it’s pretty hard to imagine that was a joke, but in any case: HA! Ha. Haaaaa. Ha. Funny one.

(Disclaimer: Members of this blog, including myself, used to work at the IDS, and are close to many of the people still working there. We have nothing but respect for the publication and its people, and, frankly, would like to be in Bloomington drinking Upland right now.)

(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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Even though we’re still in the first week of September, many publications are already releasing their annual yearbooks for college hoops. For an oddity like myself that really doesn’t follow college football or the NFL, this is great news.

Lindy’s and Athlon Sports are both on newsstands with several others to follow in the coming weeks.

Lindy’s has IU pegged at No. 10 and Athlon Sports has IU headed to the Sweet 16 and champions of the Big Ten. The FanHouse, an AOL Sports Blog, has the Hoosiers at No. 8.

And of course, you’ve got your early summer rankings also giving props to IU: Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports places the Hoosiers at No. 15, Andy Katz shows the love and slots them in at No. 9 and Garry Parrish of CBS Sports pencils in IU as the 11th best team in the land.

All of this, in reality, means nothing. It’ll all be sorted out on the court come March (take a hint BCS supporters, get a playoff!). However, it does create plenty of opportunities for discussion amongst all of us, the fan base.

So that’s where you come in: Where will you rank the Hoosiers and why? I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.

- Tyler Zeller has set the dates for his official visits this fall and IU will be the second school that the 6′11″ five-star center from Washington has a look at. Here’s a look at the schedule, according to Justin Young of Rivals.com (subscription required):

Zeller’s first trip takes him to North Carolina on Sept. 15. The following weekend, he’s off to Indiana. On Oct. 12, the five-star center will visit Notre Dame. His final visit comes on Oct. 19, when he’ll visit Purdue.

With the schools all on an equal playing field going into the visits, Zeller says he is hoping to get that “this is the place” feeling during the trips.

I said before that it’d be pivotal for IU to get either the Midnight Madness visit or the final visit and they came up empty on both. After seeing this schedule, I’m a lot less optimistic about our chances to land Zeller, but stranger things have happened.

This will be interesting to follow over the next couple of months. I’m interested in hearing where you guys, the readers, think Zeller will end up.

- As you know, Kelvin Sampson participated in Fuzzy Zoeller’s Wolf Challenge yesterday and he had a few quotes about the incoming recruiting class. Here’s a few of the more notable quotations, courtesy of Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal:

“We should be better across the board,” Sampson said. “I love E.J. (Gordon), but Jordan Crawford (another freshman) is going to surprise people. He can really play. So can Brandon McGhee.

“All those kids can help us. We’ve got more guys who can help make us more of an attacking team. We should be able to get more baskets and get to the free-throw line more.”

Besides the quotes, the article is a very solid commentary on Sampson’s golf game and the return of Dan Dakich to IU.

- And finally, Hoosier Hills Hoops has a Q & A with Evansville Memorial senior-to-be Kyle Kuric that’s worth a look. Kuric talks about his interest in IU towards the end of his talk with Matt Denison.

Steve Grinczel is the Michigan State beat writer for the Booth Newspaper chain, which includes the Ann Arbor News, Bay City Times, Flint Journal, Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle, and Saginaw News — and MLive.com. He recently took the time out of his busy schedule to give Inside the Hall an in-depth, early look at Michigan State hoops for 2007-2008. Check out Steve’s Spartans Insider blog by clicking here.

Inside the Hall: With Drew Neitzel and Raymar Morgan returning and a solid incoming freshman class, what are the expectations going to be like this year in East Lansing?

Steve Grinczel: While MSU has had some terrific NBA-caliber talent and experience come through the tunnel in recent seasons, the most the program seemed to generate is a hopeful hum. That said, I expect a buzz that’s been conspicuous by its absence in recent years will be back in 2007-08. To some, the Spartans are building toward a run to the Final Four that will be played in Detroit in 2009. However, Neitzel’s reputation for not being denied preceded him to East Lansing and as a senior he’s down to his final season of eligibility. This is a payoff year for him, and I’m certain he’s expecting nothing less than leading MSU to its first Big Ten title since ‘01 and a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Neitzel has the credentials as a scorer and set-up man to justify likely preseason All-America honors. And, the backcourt should be as good as any in the country with point guard Travis Walton establishing himself as a lock-down defender. Morgan showed why he’s considered a special player during his injury-slowed freshman season and should make a big jump with a year under his belt.

Goran Suton and Marquise Gray struggled to find consistency in the frontcourt, but should have ironed out those problems with experience. I look for lanky 7-foot Tom Herzog, who redshirted last season as a freshman, to be the surprise player of the Big Ten. A true postman who likes to play with his back to the basket, his skills and athleticism defy the first impression of being ungainly. Then there’s senior Drew Naymick, whose breakout second-half-of-the-season was critical to the Spartans’ 10th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

A lack of depth forced Coach Tom Izzo to go against everything he holds near and dear and slow things down last season. With three athletic freshmen coming in, MSU will be back to its withering, up-tempo game. All-in-all, things are falling back into place for the Spartans.

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You read how Big A — our man on the scene — reacted to the various exploits of IU’s incoming recruits last night … now read how those mainstream guys (you know, the ones who get paid to do this) saw things:

Rick Bozich: Louisville Courier-Journal: Nights like last night are the reason this is the best college basketball area in the country. When I arrived at New Albany High School gym before 5:30 p.m. yesterday, there were already nearly a hundred people waiting outside, eager to be there when the doors opened at 6 for the scrimmage game between Indiana recruits and a group of Southern Indiana high school players.

To watch a scrimmage. Top that Tobacco Road. Don’t think so. …

Eli Holman showed he has the potential to give Sampson quality minutes around the basket. He’ll give D.J. White something he didn’t have last season — help on the glass and a guy who can allow White to go to the bench for a few minutes. Holman was the biggest surprise to me. He is more polished than I thought he would be. Nice tough. And he can really, really run.

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