Sampson ready for fall after uncertain summer

Don't ask IU basketball coach Kelvin Sampson how the team is going to do this year. Truth of the matter is, he doesn't know.\n"There's an excitement with me since I am coaching a new team," Sampson said. "People ask me, 'How are we going to be this year?' And I have no idea, no clue."\nHe isn't blowing you off when he says he has no idea; he genuinely doesn't know. Sampson is inheriting a team that although is talented, hasn't been able to work much under Sampson this summer.\nDue to NCAA rules, Sampson and every other head coach in the nation, is forbidden to practice, scrimmage or even watch tape together with his team. Sampson cannot coach his new players in a practice situation until Aug. 28, when classes begin.\nFrom there, Sampson and the Hoosiers are permitted to practice together for only two hours a week. The off-season practice rules continue until Oct. 13. Once that date arrives, teams are considered "in-season" and are permitted to practice 20 hours a week.\nWhen asked what the NCAA training rules were like when he played Sampson said, "I'm not even sure if they had rules back then. Remember I played coming out of the Chuck Taylor era."\nWith the NCAA training rules harnessing what Sampson can do, Sampson would like to see one change made in the rules.\n"If a kid is in summer school taking classes, I'd like to see the same out of season practice rules," Sampson said. \nIn other words, if a player is taking summer classes, the coach thinks the player should be permitted to practice with his coach for two hours a week during the summer.\nSampson worries that with the players somewhat on their own, they can sometimes get in trouble basketball-wise.\n"Summer is when bad habits are created," Sampson said. \nWhile his players practice on their own, Sampson has spent the majority of his summer stationed in Bloomington. He's been occupying himself by watching tape, moving into his new house, helping his wife who recently broke her foot, and growing accustomed to his new town. \n"This is a beautiful city," Sampson said of Bloomington. "I've been making the drive from Indianapolis to Bloomington a lot. I wish the airport was closer. I've learned how to take the 67 turnoff to Martinsville, I've got that all figured out. It's a beautiful drive."\nAlthough he has been enjoying his time in Bloomington, Sampson is ready to get his hands dirty and work on his favorite thing: basketball. \n"I am not going to be a diplomat in August," Sampson said. \nOnce practice begins Sampson said he is going to be "teaching, getting the kids to understand this system."\nThe only thing Sampson can do now is wait for Aug. 28 to roll around so he can begin working with the team more. Don't ask him how the team is going to do; he doesn't know. But there is one thing Sampson has noticed from watching tape and talking to people this summer.\n"I haven't seen anything we can't overcome," Sampson said. "It's about teaching"