AKRON, Ohio - Kelvin Sampson took it like a man. The Indiana head coach was razzed by Texas' Rick Barnes and Minnesota's Tubby Smith when he walked in the gym on Sunday afternoon.

"Where have you been?" joked Barnes. "Call me sometime."

"Still got the ankle bracelet?" added Smith.

Sampson wasn't allowed on the road a year ago and he also was unable to make phone calls to recruits due to NCAA sanctions from his days at Oklahoma.

Now life is good for Sampson, who has arguably the country's top freshman, Eric "E.J." Gordon, on campus in Bloomington.

"He does whatever you ask him to do," Sampson said of the talented guard. ``It's fair to say he's the most talented player I've ever coached."

Sampson said that Gordon has already stepped up his weightlifting regimen, especially after hearing that Kevin Durant was unable to bench 185 pounds at the Orlando Pre-Draft Camp.

"He's a guy that just doesn't act like a star," Sampson added. "You want him to defer a little bit, but you also want him to be aggressive."

Despite losing his backcourt from a year ago, the Hoosiers will be a tougher team. D.J. White is back up front and Gordon, Armon Bassett and another freshman, Jordan Crawford, are all guards that can create their own shot and also play with the ball in their hands. Sampson compared it to Roy Williams' Kansas squad that had Kirk Hinrich, Aaron Miles and Jeff Boschee.

"We'll be able to make plays instead of settling for 3-point shots," he said. "We'll be able to get to the free-throw line a lot more."

SPEAKING OF BARNES

Rick Barnes or best-selling author John Grisham?

That's the question that faces the Longhorns coach all the time.

Barnes went along with it once once on a flight with a woman who took him for the novelist, but then he woke up from a nap and found a pile of Grisham books next to him.

"I had to come clean," Barnes joked.

ODEN'S HACKING

Thad Matta's first reaction when he found out that former Ohio State star Greg Oden committed 10 fouls.

"They're calling it too close," Matta joked.

Matta did say that he feels like the biggest adjustment for the big man in the NBA will be spacing.

"That will be huge for him," he said. "Getting low-post position and passing out of the double-teams."

Look for the Buckeyes to go with a starting lineup of Jamar Butler moving back to the point, David Lighty at small forward, talented 7-foot freshman Kosta Koufus at power forward and Othello Hunter in the middle.

What about shooting guard? Daequan Cook left after his freshman season.

"He was adamant about his desire to go to the NBA and we supported it as long as there was a realistic chance," Matta said. "At one point, we thought he should come back, but he went 21st overall and made a good decision."

"Losing him, we're going to have to have someone step up and score for us," he added.

Look for freshmen Jon Diebler, Eric Wallace and Evan Turner to compete for the wing spot vacated by Cook.

EARLY EXIT

University of Oklahoma freshman swingman Chris Early was kicked off the Sooners team on Sunday. The 6-foot-7 Huntington High (West Va.) native was expected to fill a role coming off the bench for coach Jeff Capel.