- Dick “Hoops” Weiss of the New York Daily News appeared on the Zonebusters today on 1570-AM in Louisville with Rick Bozich and Jody Demling and offered up the following on our boy, Eric Gordon:

“I think Eric Gordon is very special and NBA scouts think he’s special. For some people, the game comes so easy too. (Gordon) is one guy that has the NBA scouts salivating. When the draft comes I’m not sure he’ll be the No. 1 pick but I would take him.”

If there’s a better player in college basketball right now than Gordon, I’d love to see him. He’s a unique blend of speed, power and finesse that we may never see again in an Indiana uniform. The NBA mock draft sites are starting to take notice as well. NBAdraft.net recently moved him to the No. 3 slot just behind fellow freshmen Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose.

- ESPN’s Dick Vitale announced today via his Web site that he’s taking a leave of absence after surgery to have lesions removed from his left vocal cords. Here is a snippet of the press release from the World Wide Leader:

ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale had successful surgery today to treat ulcers on his left vocal chord. Vitale plans to return to the air in early February. He will continue to provide his college basketball observations on ESPN.com and dickvitaleonline.com while he recuperates. Vitale is in his 29th season with ESPN and had never missed a game. The surgery was performed by Dr. Steven Zeitels at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Say what you will about Vitale, but the man is great for college basketball. He brings an enthusiasm unmatched by anyone and I’m hoping he’ll be able to return to the job he loves. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for you, Dickie V. If you’d like to read more on Vitale, I highly recommend PostmanR’s take over at the Postmen.

Fresh off his debut with PostmanR on the Inside the Hall podcast, PostmanE will join the Zonebusters on 1570 The Zone this afternoon to talk IU/UK.

Those of you in the Southern Indiana/Louisville area, you can hear E at 1:20 ET on 1570-AM.

You can also stream the audio at 1570thezone.com.

Also scheduled to appear to talk about the big game: Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports and John Clay of the Lexington Herald Leader who touched a nerve of the IU fanbase with this column on Thursday.

Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson was on the Zonebusters with Rick Bozich and Jody Demling moments ago and had the following to say about Eric Gordon’s injury status:

He’s doing a lot better today. That was a nasty fall. I didn’t really see it. I was blocked out when he fell, so I didn’t realize how bad it was until after the game. He didn’t come down directly on the tailbone, it was more to the side.

It was a really nasty fall. We’re not practicing today, but he couldn’t practice today if we were. Hopefully he’ll be able to go on Thursday.

Sampson added that he expects Gordon to be ready to go on Saturday against Kentucky.