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Talk hoops all year long in Luke Winn's blog, a journal of commentary, news and reader-driven discussions about the college game.
9/07/2007 12:08:00 PM

What They Learned on Vacation: Indiana

Armon Bassett was the biggest surprise for the Hoosiers during their summer tour.
AJ Mast/Icon SMI
A short series checking in on teams who took big-time freshmen on Labor Day-weekend trips outside the continental U.S. ... (Also see Villanova and Oklahoma)

The Trip: The Hoosiers played three games in three days. Friday they beat the Bahamian Select team 106-46. Saturday they routed Guatemala 103-41. Sunday they won a 115-63 nail-biter over Commonwealth Bank.

Why should we care about Exhibitions in the Caribbean? Two huge additions were making their debuts: Five-star freshman two guard Eric Gordon, the program's prize recruit; and the '07 junior-college player of the year, Jamarcus Ellis, who transferred from a 33-3 Chipola juco team to the Hoosiers.

Three things we learned (from conversing with coach Kelvin Sampson):

1. All the attention will be on Gordon -- given that he's a potential one-and-done star -- but Ellis could turn into an important glue guy. The competition IU faced in the Bahamas wasn't exactly stiff, but Ellis did some amazing stat-sheet stuffing, averaging 7.3 points, 9.3 assists, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 steals per game. The big lefty played point for Chipola, despite being 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, but Sampson said Ellis could be the Hoosier's starting wing (small forward) in November. "He might not be great at anything, but he's pretty good at a lot of things," Sampson said of Ellis. "On the trip he led us in rebounds, steals and assists. That shows you what kind of player he is."

2. Gordon is ready to be a 20-points-per-game scorer right out of the gate. Hailed as a great three-point shooter, Gordon only connected on 2-of-12 treys ... yet still averaged 27.7 points per game and shot 57.6 percent. "I don't remember him taking a bad shot [on the trip]," said Sampson. "He can score off the drive, has a good in-between game, scores in transition and can get to the free throw line. He plays at a very, very high level."

I asked Sampson what he was planning to do to feature Gordon in the offense this season, and he gave an answer similar to what Rick Barnes would say about Kevin Durant in '06-07: "I'm not sure if we need to. Eric's a pretty confident young man. He's a scorer and scorers tend to be open."

3. Armon Bassett could be poised for a big sophomore season. Sampson said the point guard was perhaps the most pleasant surprise of the trip. That's a big deal, given that a glaring difference between the Hoosiers and title contenders such as UCLA (Darren Collison) or North Carolina (Tywon Lawson) is an elite point guard. "If you're going to be a high-level team, you have to be really good at the point of attack," said Sampson. "Quannas White, when we went to the Final Four and Elite Eight in back-to-back years at Oklahoma, was so solid you almost took him for granted. You might not notice guys like him, but they're like a great catcher catching a no-hitter, encouraging the pitcher, keeping him on track."

Postcard Material: Gordon's mother, Denise, was born in the Bahamas, and the trip's destination was chosen with the freshman phenom's family in mind. Sampson said there were about 100 IU fans who made the trip down to follow the team -- and then 30-40 more of Gordon's relatives in the crowd. It should be noted that Gordon's original college choice, Illinois, also took a Labor Day trip ... to Canada.
posted by Luke Winn | View comments (21) |

21 Comments:

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Posted: 9:02 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
it also should be noted that illinois went to canada, and lost...
Posted: 12:00 AM   by Anonymous Anonymous
30-40 family members...it must have been tough for Sampson to find jobs for all of them..
Posted: 2:19 AM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Hopefully IU foots Kelvin's phone bill for that trip. Those llegal overseas calls to recruits can get rather pricey...
Posted: 2:44 AM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Dear U of I Fans,

Please stop whining about Eric Gordon. It is over and getting old. He plays for IU, not for Illinois and for good reason. Look at the events that have transpired since Weber got there. The only positive thing he's done there is take Bill Self's team to the Championship game and won some games with them (See Davis, Mike and Knight, Robert). He has done nothing since. Illinois is back their rightful spot of being a .500+ team with a shot to go to the tourney every year. No more, no less.
Posted: 6:26 AM   by Anonymous Anonymous
It amazes me how everyone continues to take shots at Sampson. If memory serves me well, if it weren't for him, everyone would be lamenting how the PUkes in West Lafayette would be dominating the basketball headlines.
Posted: 9:25 AM   by Anonymous Anonymous
IU is going to have fun this year and despite the preceeding low life comments, IU is one of few major college programs to have never been on probation!
Posted: 9:54 AM   by Blogger Jake
A lot cheaper tha Weber's Therapist!!! Nice trip to Canada.....
Posted: 9:59 AM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Why do some of these other schools want to make comments on an IU site - I believe if you check the record - their school has a few violation problems of their own! IU is going to be this year, next year and years to come! GO IU!!!!
Posted: 9:59 AM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Why do some of these other schools want to make comments on an IU site - I believe if you check the record - their school has a few violation problems of their own! IU is going to be this year, next year and years to come! GO IU!!!!
Posted: 10:18 AM   by Anonymous Anonymous
It must kill you to think how good we are going to be! Just keep picking on Sampson but do me a favor, when we are celebrating our next NCAA championship....stay at home, we dont need fans like you.
Posted: 12:03 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Family member jobs and phone bill comments. Is that the best you've got? Apparently. How's the weather up in Canada eh? The forecast calls for a 100% chance of an embarassment followed up by 75% chance of denial.
Posted: 12:06 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Screw you,Illannoy. Gordon is ours,not yours. BAW,bruce all whiney sucks.
Posted: 12:40 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Get a clue hater IU will dominate the big ten this year and the only phone call Kelvin will have to make is to the bank to check his balance cause he earned it. Recruits will be calling him.
Posted: 12:45 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Too many bitter and whiny Illini fans on this blog!
Posted: 2:43 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Grow up guys just be glad the Hossier will win the big ten this year outright and be a #1 seed. Indiana is one of the cleanest programs in the nation.
Posted: 3:36 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
I think what Coach Sampson did was great, he had Gordon in mind when planning the trip. That showes he is a coach with family as a top priority! Go IU!!
Posted: 4:48 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
When IU is dominating illinois and everyone else in the big ten that phone bill will be well worth it
Posted: 3:12 PM   by Blogger lonewulf
You can't even tell me that teams like USC and UCLA are not offering who knows how many perks and bribes to players ... Sampson's big 'deal' was phone calls ... Go IU, it's about time we were back in business at the top where we should be.
Posted: 4:25 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Forget IU...UConn is back on the MAP!!!! O yeah, that Gordon kid has serious game. Too bad Ill. coudn't pay his parents as much as IU...oppsss...."Da Great One"
Posted: 9:00 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
Say what you want. . . we beat you twice last year. Recruits are nothing more than just that. Look at the top 150 from 3 years ago and their will be 75 players you've never heard of. The point is, till IU backs up their talk on the court they are still a has been that still wishes they had Bob Knight. Bruce Weber has 112 wins in the last four years. That's tied for the best with Donavan and some no name that coaches a little school called Duke.
Posted: 12:06 PM   by Anonymous Anonymous
umm...no you didnt beat us twice last year...
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