IU fans wanting to wish the IU men's basketball team luck and watch the final practice before its trip to Atlanta for the Final Four this weekend can attend an open practice and pep rally today at Assembly Hall. \nThe doors open to the public at 4 p.m., and fans can sit on the East side of the arena to watch the final minutes of practice. \nThe team will head to the locker room after practice, then come back on to the floor to acknowledge the fans. The team will then exit to the bus through the South entrance to Assembly Hall. Fans are invited to line the perimeter of the walkway to show their support. \nThrough IU's run through the NCAA Tournament, fan support has boomed, impressing the Hoosiers. \n"It's insane," junior Kyle Hornsby said. "It's an incredible feeling to walk around campus. In years past, sometimes, it's been hard to walk around campus. It's great to have such a fan base."\nAn estimated 18,000 of the more than 22,000 fans in Lexington, Ky., for the South Regional Final were red-clad Hoosier fans, creating an Assembly-Hall like atmosphere in Rupp Arena. \nThis is the Hoosiers' first Final Four appearance since 1992 and the eighth in school history. IU will meet Oklahoma, the West Regional champion, at 6:07 p.m. Saturday in the Georgia Dome. Maryland and Kansas will meet after the IU-Oklahoma battle.
PROUD RECRUITS\nRoderick Wilmont has been trying to convince his friends in Florida that IU basketball is for real.\nHe has proof now that the Hoosiers are headed to the Final Four. \nWilmont, a high-scoring senior guard at Miramar (Fla.) High School who's headed to IU to play basketball next fall, has tuned into all four of IU's NCAA Tournament games and has been impressed. \n"I've been excited," Wilmont said Tuesday. "Coming to school every day I'm like 'Did you guys see Indiana?' Everyone said they couldn't beat Duke. Coach Davis knows what he's doing. Now people are like 'I guess Indiana really does have a good team.'"\nWilmont said he was nervous during the final seconds of IU's 74-73 win over the Blue Devils, during which Duke guard Jason Williams missed a potential game-tying free throw. \n"I was acting about like Coach Davis," Wilmont said, referring to Davis' showing of his frustration on the sidelines at Rupp Arena. \nWilmont plans to either watch Saturday's game against Oklahoma at home with his mother and some high school teammates or take a trip to Atlanta to see the game in person. He'll decide Thursday whether to trek some 650 miles from Miramar, which is in south Florida, to the Georgia Dome. \nAll of the Hoosier success has Wilmont wishing he could go right through Atlanta on his way to Bloomington. \n"If I could, I'd come there now," Wilmont said.\nFellow recruit Daryl Pegram is just as pumped up. \n"It's a real exciting time for myself and my family," said Pegram Tuesday from his parents' home in San Bernardino, Calif., where he is on Spring Break. "Especially knowing I'm going to be a part of it next year."\nPegram, a 6-foot-8 forward playing at Worcester (Mass.) Academy, will join the Hoosiers next season along with guards Bracey Wright and Marshall Strickland. Already, Pegram refers to the Hoosiers as "we," calls Jared Jeffries "J.J" and Tom Coverdale "Cov."\nTo keep from jinxing the Hoosiers, Pegram plans to watch Saturday's game with his family, just like he's watched the previous four IU tournament victories. Because of his location in California, Pegram saw only the first five minutes and final minutes of IU's win over Duke, but that didn't stop he and his family from celebrating. \n"It was a great feeling," Pegram said. "My mom was jumping around. I'm really happy for coach Davis. We beat Duke, who was everybody's No.1 If you can pull that off, you have a chance to win any game."
BIG SCREEN VIEWING\nAssembly Hall will open its doors to the loyal but ticket-less fans at 4:30 p.m. Saturday for the 6 p.m. game. Parking for the event will be free in the south and west lots of Assembly Hall, and participants should enter through the south doors. \n"The atmosphere will just be incredible," said senior Suzi Shane, president of the Student Athletic Board.\n"We're going to show everyone what Hoosier pride and spirit is all about. Everyone has gotten involved, and we're expecting a huge crowd."\nConcession stands will offer food and soft drinks, and a variety of IU merchandise will be on sale. Officials are also making arrangements for University cheerleaders and a pep band from the School of Music to be present to excite the crowd.\n"We want to make it as close to a game day atmosphere as possible," said IU Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Richard McKaig, who is coordinating the arrangements with the IU Athletics Department and the Student Athletics Board. "Hopefully the crowds will be going as wild here as at the game."\nThe game will play on the screen facing the West stands, in the middle of the floor, and McKaig said that plans were in the works for CBS to provide a live feed of Assembly Hall to a national audience.\n"We're hoping that if, time permitting, as they've done in other big game situations, the station can pan back to Assembly Hall to show the world the spirit of IU."
Assistant Managing Editor Caralyn Martin contributed to this story.
