Indiana University Athletics
Sampson In Kuwait, Part IV
5/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
May 28, 2006
Indiana University basketball coach Kelvin Sampson is in Kuwait for the second straight summer as part of Operation Hardwood II. Sampson, who is part of a group of coaches who are coaching U.S. military basketball teams in a tournament from May 23-28, will make periodic reports on iuhoosiers.com. This is the fourth report.
It was another amazing day today. After we ate breakfast at 6 a.m., we coaches got into vans and they drove us to the command center. This command center monitors everything. If you can envision a movie theater setting where probably 125 people are sitting behind computers and staggered from row-to-row. Then they have three huge screens, which displays all the pertinent countries and each convoy traveling with surplus to the troops all over. Of course, everything was very tight security, but it was just an amazing experience to see that sort of technology.
Then we went to the hospital and that was another humbling experience. The hospital itself is an enormous tent. The entire tent is sectioned off to different departments, and is air conditioned as well. We learned how things operate and had a chance to meet and greet some of the injured troops. One young man who was a 20-year old kid from Florida was in there with a broken ankle he suffered during a firefight in Iraq. It was great to meet him. Here is a young man who is a half a world away from his family, and you could tell it meant a lot to him to see us coaches.
 Sampson discusses strategy with his team during a timeout.  |
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Another soldier in the hospital was a man from Ohio who was a huge Big Ten fan. He wanted Coach Izzo and me to pose for a picture with him because of the Big Ten connection. Yet another great experience.
The highlight of the day occurred when us coaches were paired in two's and allowed to drive the M-1 tanks. These are some of the most powerful tanks in the world. They put us in full gear and assigned us a soldier, but we were allowed to drive. They told me the tanks could go up to 60 mph and would crush a humvee. We were driving the tank on the practice course and I took it up to 60 mph. It was the most amazing feeling.
The single elimination tournament began today. My team received a bye, so we practiced for 45 minutes. This is a very big deal for them, so we worked on a couple of new things for the tournament. This is such a great group. I asked them to be on the court at a certain time, and when I arrived 10 minutes early, everyone was there, with water bottles and ready to go. Some of them even had to practice in uniforms because they had to get back to work.
 Sampson goes over a set play during the tournament. |
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I have met so many soldiers from all over Big Ten country. I have already met 12-15 from the state of Indiana. When you greet them, you can just feel that kinship with them. They just want to stop and talk to you, you know, ask questions about the team and how things are going. They were telling me the Indy 500 was this weekend, and were asking if I had ever been to the race. Even though they are racing fans, you can tell they are passionate about IU basketball, which was great to see. In fact, I took a group picture with all the Indiana soldiers. We are getting prints made, and I told them I would sign it.
There is such a sense of gratification when you go to bed at night, and a sense of excitement when you wake up in the morning. Last year's experience was amazing, but this one tops it. You just feel so good about what you are doing, and what you have been able to give back to these young men and women.
