The Scoop has spoken with Devin Ebanks, the top Class of 2008 target of Kelvin Sampson and his assistants, and the 6-8 small forward from New York City confirmed that he will make his college choice known during a tournament in the Bronx this upcoming weekend.

As first reported by Mike Pegram at www.peegs.com, Ebanks plans to hold a press conference of sorts sometime during the Rumble in the Bronx Tournament at Fordham University on Saturday.

Ebanks told the Scoop he will choose between Indiana, Miami and Rutgers.

Though Ebanks has often mentioned Rutgers, it appears to have made a late surge. When Ebanks played in the May Classic at Assembly Hall he said Miami and Indiana were “neck and neck.” He’s told the Miami media the same thing.

But Ebanks has also been on the record as saying he’d like to stay closer to home, and only Rutgers fits that criteria.

“I pretty much made a decision over the weekend,” said Ebanks, who plans on speaking with coaches from all three schools this week. “Next weekend seemed like the right time to make the announcement.”

Ebanks, who plays his high school ball at St. Thomas Moore in Connecticut,  is considered a top 15 player in his class by both Rivals and Scout.

Donnell Jones, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound high school senior from St. Petersburg, Fla. has signed to play football at Indiana next fall, according to today’s St. Peterburg Times.

Jones played linebacker and running back as a senior last fall as Lakeland High School. He is expected to play defensive back at IU.

We’ll tell you more about Jones as soon as we can reach him on the phone.

We’re honest with each other, right? That’s how these things have to be if they’re going to work. Or so I’ve been told.

So, a confession: The Hoosier Scoop has been hurting. We’ve been lax with updates and giving you guys something to look out for.

Believe me, we have our reasons. But we’ve heard the cliche and we know not to make excuses.

Instead, let me introduce this new feature. Every Sunday, we’ll offer you a preview of what we have planned for the week ahead. No further explanation appears warranted, so let’s go.

SAMPSON FATHER/SON CAMP

I’ve written a story about Kelvin Sampson’s inaugural father/child camp at Indiana. He had 56 families for his first camp, which took place over the weekend.

FOOTBALL PREVIEW MUSINGS

The 2007 college football magazines are on newsstands. I have purchased them, and I will attempt to read them. Then, I’ll share a few observations.

ERIC GORDON ALMOST A HOOSIER

Eric Gordon will play a game at Edgewood High School on Wednesday night as a member of the Indiana All-Stars. He’ll play a team of juniors, including Edgewood’s Garrett Butcher, as part of preparation for the annual Indiana vs. Kentucky games. He’ll move to Bloomington soon and begin working with the team — informally, of course.

So that’s a start. Anything else you guys would like to read?

Yes, I’m here with former H-T intern and Hoosier Scoop contributor Matt Dollinger in the gym where much of the movie Hoosiers was shot. There’s an all-star game — dubbed the Hoosiers Reunion All-Star Classic — taking place here.

Interestingly, the teams have been set up so that the two Indiana recruits — Eric Gordon and Eshaunte Jones — are matched up against Purdue’s recruits Rob Hummel, Jujuan Johnson, Scott Martin and E’twaun Moore.

Dan Dakich has officially been named the director of basketball operations for Indiana’s men’s basketball team. The Hoosier Scoop reported that it could happen earlier this week.

Here’s the full release from new IU media relations director J.D. Campbell.

———————————

Indiana men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson announced today that long-time
Hoosier Dan Dakich will return to campus to serve as Director of Operations
for the program. He will replace Jerry Green, who retired earlier this
spring.

I’ve known Dan for a lot of years,” Sampson said. I’ve always had great
respect for him. I think he’s a man of great integrity and  a great
basketball person who can do a lot of things to help our program.”

The Indiana native began a 16-year association with the IU program in the
fall of 1981 after graduating from Andrean High School in Merrillville.

“My family and I are thrilled to be back at Indiana University,” Dakich
said.  “It has been an extremely important place in our lives. I thank Coach
Sampson for giving me this tremendous opportunity and I look forward to
joining his staff in our quest for National and Big 10 Championships.”

He played for the Hoosiers from 1982-85 and was a team captain during his
junior and senior seasons as the Hoosiers finished with an 84-39 record
during his career. As a player, he helped Indiana win one Big Ten title,
earn three NCAA Tournament berths and finish as the NIT runner-up his senior
season. As a junior,  he was named All-Tournament at the Indiana Classic and
as a senior he earned similar accolades at the Hoosier Classic.  He is best
remembered for his excellent defensive effort against Michael Jordan in
Indiana’s upset of North Carolina in the 1984 NCAA East Regional.

Dakich also spent 12 seasons on the IU coaching staff from 1985-97. Dakich
helped the Indiana program win 73.7 percent (283-101) of its games over the
12 years he served as an assistant coach while the Hoosiers were winning
over 70 percent of their Big Ten contests. He was a graduate assistant from
1985-87 before being named full-time prior to the 1987-88 campaign.

The Hoosiers won a national title in 1987 and earned a spot in the NCAA
Tournament in each of his 12 seasons on the staff.  IU also captured four
Big Ten titles while finishing third or better in nine of his 12 years.  He
also coached six All-Americans and three national Player of the Year
candidates, including 1993 Player of the Year Calbert Cheaney, worked with
three Big Ten MVPs, and academically, graduated every four-year player to go
through the program (Dakich was the academic monitor on the IU basketball
staff his last seven years).

He also coached 10 players at IU who have played in the NBA.

Dakich returns to Bloomington after spending the last 10 years as the men’s
basketball coach at Bowling Green.  At BGSU, he tied for third all-time in
victories among Falcon coaches with 156 and also also was just one of three
coaches in school history to post four 18-plus win seasons or more in men’s
basketball. He saw 22 of 25 seniors complete their degree requirements and
had 12 former players sign professional contracts, including current Indiana
Pacers guard Keith McLeod.  In addition, he had two players earn MAC Player
of the Year and three lead the league in scoring during his tenure.

His 2000 squad won the regular season MAC title and played in the NIT and in
2002 his team advanced to the MAC Tournament title game and also played in
the NIT. Dakich also was heavily involved in community activities.  He ran
the Junior Falcons basketball program, a league for children ages 7 thru 14.
He also was involved with the United Way, Cherry Street Mission and
Make-A-Wish program.

“When we were looking to fill this position we were looking for someone who
could help us,” Sampson added. “Dan’s one of those guys that I’ve known over
the years and have come to really respect and what it came down to was him
being someone who could mesh with our staff. I think he’s going to do a
great job for us.”

Dakich, who was one of 16 former prep players chosen for the 2006 Indiana
Basketball Hall of Fame High School Silver Anniversary team, is a 1985
graduate of IU with a degree in telecommunications.  He and his wife,
Jackie, have a son, Andrew (13), and a daughter, Laura (10).

Not much more, mind you, but something.

The Associated Press has written this little update, which basically reveals that Hoeppner’s contract could be voided if he is unable to return to work. The report also states that the process to remove Hoeppner would have to be initiated by Rick Greenspan and he has yet to do so.

An interesting paragraph in the story brought up questions in my mind: “Athletic department officials and others are closely guarding the nature of Hoeppner’s illness and prognosis, citing federal privacy laws, despite the third-year coach being one of the state’s highest-paid employees, with an income topping $550,000 annually.”

This sentence assumes that those “athletic department officials and others” know the status of Hoeppner’s illness and prognosis. It seems at least possible that they do not know the full situation.

The fact that Greenspan told the H-T recently that he was “concerned” by Hoeppner’s absence seems to indicate that the athletic director is waiting to see what will happen, just like the fans. It seems entirely possible that only Hoeppner and his family know what is happening right now, and that they are holding out hope for a recovery sometime soon but can not guarantee as much to the administration at IU. What is clear now is that Hoeppner has given IU no timetable for a return and IU likewise has not given one to Hoeppner.

But as Bob Kravitz pointed out in his recent column (about halfway down the page), it is nearing the time for something to be done. With all due sensitivity to the situation and everyone involved, the stress caused by not knowing will soon do damage to the football program.

Can anyone think about situations that have been similar to this? Kay Yow, the women’s basketball coach at North Carolina State, was diagnosed with cancer in 1987 and beat it then before dealing with it in 2004 and 2006.

Hoeppner has never said he has cancer. When asked if the tumor removed from his right temple was malignant, Hoeppner replied by saying that he was not a doctor and did not know. That, obviously, was an attempt to avoid the question.

If your doctor ever fails to explain to you your diagnosis in terms you can understand, it is probably time to find a new doctor.

Dan Dakich, who played for Bob Knight during the mid 1980s and was most recently the head basketball coach at Bowling Green, is under consideration to join Kelvin Sampson’s staff as director of basketball operations, The Herald-Times has confirmed.

Dakich served as an assistant under Knight, eventually becoming his top aide. He coached 10  years at Bowling Green until he decided not to seek a contract renewal.

He would replace Jerry Green, who retired and moved back to South Carolina. The director of basketball operations is mostly responsible for scheduling and other administrative duties.

More on this story as it develops . . .