Team heads toward Atlanta

With an estimated 6,000 fans filling the east stands of Assembly Hall, IU held its final practice in Bloomington Wednesday afternoon before departing for Atlanta for the Final Four. \nThe Hoosiers finished their practice session in front of the crowd, then addressed the Hoosier faithful, many of whom waived signs reading "GO IU" and "WE LIKE MIKE." \n"I think you heard me speak about a month ago and say we were going to the Final Four," senior guard Dane Fife said. "I wish we could get every one of you to go with us. We're going to play our hearts out for you and the rest of this state."\nIU will meet Oklahoma Saturday at 6 p.m. in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. Before they got 50 feet from Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers passed through a walkway lined by fans, leading to the team bus. Several Hoosiers recorded the happenings on video cameras as fans snapped pictures and handed out high-fives. \nThe Hoosiers will be the first team to hold their open practice in the Georgia Dome. They are set to practice at noon Friday.\nIU will be staying downtown along with Maryland, but Kansas and Oklahoma will be staying in hotels near the airport, which is outside of the center part of the city. Davis said the Hoosiers will likely see the Atlanta Hawks play the Raptors Thursday night before getting to work.\nWednesday Davis spoke of coaching against Kelvin Sampson, the Sooners' coach who is Native American. It is a rarity that a National semifinal pits two minority head coaches.\n"I really haven't thought about it. Facing coach Sampson is enough to think about. I like him a lot and respect him," Davis said. "He's one of the only coaches to call me and write me when I got the job. I've always followed him because of the letter that he wrote."\nAfter a season filled with distractions, the Hoosiers are headed to the Final Four, where there are more distractions than anywhere in college basketball. IU has gotten past the peripheral issues all year.\nDavis expects the same in Atlanta.\n"We haven't handled them in the past, but this year, they've been great," Davis said. "We have a good basketball team. These guys are really representing Indiana well. They want to win."\nDavis said Tom Coverdale is about 50-50 as to whether he will play. Monday Davis said the decision will be made jointly by Coverdale, Davis and the medical staff.\nWhile Davis has to deal with being the first black coach in any sport in school history, Sampson talked about coaching at Oklahoma. The Sooners' basketball tradition is nothing compared to what Oklahoma has accomplished on the football field.\n"We have seven national championships in football, and there's a reason why people think of Oklahoma, they think of football," Sampson said. "We're very proud of our football tradition. But basketball has always been something that's been important. I'm anxious to see how our fans react to our program."\nHawk talk\nRoy Williams is at his third Final Four, but he still is not used to the distractions that come with moving this deep into the Tournament.\n"You know how dumb I was? I think I will be able to enjoy it. Once we get past the ticket request and room requests from everybody in the world, it will be fun," Williams said. "But when I'm on the court, I'm going to be really concentrating. We're there to play as well as we can, and that has to take priority."\nWilliams also gave the national media an update on Kirk Hinrich, who suffered a sprained ankle in Kansas' first round win against Holy Cross Mar. 14. Hinrich is the Jayhawks' third-leading scorer and should be available Saturday.\n"He's not 100 percent by any means," Williams said. "He gave me more tired signals in the Oregon game than he did all season. He went about nine days without doing much on a conditioning base."\nMaryland back for more\nAll week Maryland has been asked about last year's Final Four in Minneapolis. The Terrapins were the inexperienced ones last year, and it showed. In its fourth game against Duke that season, Maryland lost a 22-point lead and fell to the Blue Devils in the semifinal round.\nTerps coach Gary Williams said experience matters and Maryland has an edge on everybody else at this year's Final Four.\n"I think you have to go through it. If you've been through it as a coach, you can get through to your players some," Williams said. "You know its going to be crazy, but you assign yourself times during the day when you're going to concentrate. You prepare for the game just like a regular season game."\nMost people are anticipating the match-up between Kansas and Maryland, which will follow the Hoosiers' game against Oklahoma. The Terrapins might have found their match in Kansas as far as a post presence is concerned. \nWilliams is trying to find a way to stop All-American Drew Gooden.\n"He's a great player. You don't see many people that big that have that quickness," Williams said. "He's got great timing. He's a versatile player. He's a problem trying to match up with."\nNOW SHOWING\nThe Buskirk-Chumley Theater announced it will open its doors free to the public.\nDoors will open at 5 p.m., said Mike Wilkerson, president of the theater's board of directors. The theater seats about 600 people. Bloomingfoods will offer concessions, and the game will be shown on a 12-by-nine foot rented television, he said.\n"We want people to know this is for the community and not just about community arts," he said. "We are really (hoping) everyone feels welcome there."\nWilkerson said opening the theater will give people a chance to cheer with other Hoosier fans without waiting hours for a table at a restaurant.\n"People want to be in a group of some kind," he said. \nFree parking is available in the city parking lot located behind the theater off Fourth Street and at the city parking garage at Fourth and Walnut.\nWilkerson said if the team beats the Oklahoma Sooners and go on to the championship game, the theater will re-open for Monday night's game.\nRegion editor Kara Salge contributed to this story.