BY RODERICK BOONE
Just got finished attending the Indiana press conference and I came to scout my courtside seat. I took a look over to my right and who do I see but Billy Packer himself. He's seated with play-by-play man Jim Nantz.
Guess it's not hard to figure out Packer would be at this site considering his North Carolina roots. He did play basketball up the road at Wake Forest you know. And his son, Mark Packer, hosts a show on an all-sports station in Charlotte.
Looks like the elder Packer is feverishly taking notes as the Hoosiers practice at the end of the court I'm sitting at. The Hoosiers must've recognized me and felt they had to put on a show for me.
The arena was loaded with UNC fans just prior to Indiana coming out, but they filtered out pretty quickly. This place is going to be jam-packed tomorrow. I heard an arena official tell someone that the tickets sold out in 10 minutes when they went on sale.
By the way, Indiana coach Dan Dakich just pulled two random young fans out of the stands and put them underneath the basket to rebound during the Hoosiers' shooting drills. So for free admission, not only do they get the chance to go on the court, but they are mere feet away from the players they came to see. What an experience that must be, huh?.