A lot has changed at IU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson’s collegiate alma mater since his 1978 graduation.\nThe school has switched names – from Pembroke State University to the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The enrollment has more than doubled, from about 2,000 to 5,632 this year. Instead of playing in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the Braves now play in NCAA Division II.\nOh, and this year, they got a football team.\nThe way Sampson rattled off facts about the small, historically American Indian university during his weekly press conference, it might have been difficult to determine which school he was coaching for had his Indiana Basketball shirt not given away the answer.\nThe Hoosiers play the Braves at 8 p.m. Saturday in Assembly Hall, and UNC-Pembroke might be one of Sampson’s favorite enemies.\n“I have a lot of fond memories of that university,” said Sampson, a Lumbee Indian. “My wife and I both graduated from there, my mother and father graduated from there. … That university is an anchor in our community.”\nSampson played basketball and baseball for the Braves. His freshman year he was coached by Pembroke State assistant and current Indiana Pacers coach Jim O’Brien. Sampson admitted he didn’t see much playing time on the hardwood and wasn’t the best fielder for the baseball team.\n“My position was to hit,” he said.\nAfter accepting the coaching gig at IU, Sampson sought to schedule his alma mater for an exhibition game – something he had done while coaching at Oklahoma. \n“It feels good to be able to help, and that’s what we are doing,” he said. “The kids on that team, the opportunity to play at a historic venue like Assembly Hall, being able to play in front of a great crowd like we will have Saturday night, those are things that those kids will remember for a lifetime. For us it’s still a basketball game, but it’s nice to be in a position where you can help.”
Not looking past the Braves\nThe Hoosiers hope they can avoid a recent trend of high-profile Big Ten teams losing exhibition games to Division II opponents. No. 8 Michigan State fell at home to Grand Valley State 85-82 last week, and two-time defending conference champion Ohio State dropped a game to Findlay 70-68 earlier this week.\nSampson said he didn’t think his team needed the extra motivation to stay focused, but freshman guard Eric Gordon, speaking to the media for the first time since enrolling at IU, said the team worries about similar upsets. \n“I don’t see how teams like that could lose to a Division II school like that. I don’t know if they’re not working hard, but Division I, this is a different level.”\nUNC-Pembroke finished last season 6-22, 5-11 in the Peach Belt Conference. \nIU rival No. 20 Kentucky dropped its second game of the season to Gardner-Webb 84-68. Gardner-Webb started Division I competition in 2000.\nD.J. White, team captain and senior forward, said the recent upsets have helped him keep the team from looking ahead. \n“At the same time, guys can look at that and see for themselves that anybody can beat anybody on a given night, so just come to the games prepared, practice to prepare, and focus,” White said.
