PARK RIDGE, Ill. - It wasn't exactly a thawing of the cold war, but Illinois coach Bruce Weber decided to play nice when asked about the latest round of sanctions placed on Indiana's basketball team.

“I'm not going to talk about him. We hope that anybody in our business tries to adhere to the rules. I know I'm not perfect, my staff's not perfect,” Weber said. “You're going to make mistakes, but you hope guys make a conscious effort to stay within the limitations that are put on you because that's why they are there, to help us.

There was no wink or smirk.

Where's the drama? Like this year's World Series, there was little during Sunday's Big Ten media day.

Get this: Most of the morning centered on on-the-court matters.

Shocking, isn't it?

Sampson only had to field a couple of questions about how the team has handled the news of the sanction, which included the loss of a scholarship and a $500,000 raise for the coach.

Instead, most of the focus was on D.J. White, Eric Gordon and the school's first top-10 ranking in a preseason poll since 1994. That had to be music to the coach's ears.

The Illini didn't exactly like how Eric Gordon landed at IU, so some figured Weber would have an opinion on the latest bit of news at IU. Seated on the opposite side of a hotel ballroom, Weber didn't nibble at the bait.

“Our people (keep a close eye on monitoring their own calls). It's very closely monitored. Again, I'm sure we've made mistakes along the way,” he said. “Heck, I have enough trouble remembering my kids' name. One assistant may call and you don't communicate and you have one call a month. Did we call him or not? You might make a mistake here or there. That happens. Everybody probably has a secondary violation somewhere. That's a good thing. That means your people are watching and trying to help.”

The issue everyone was interested in for IU was handling lofty expectations with a cast that includes six newcomers.

“The expectations of having a great season, that's really not in the mind-set. Getting Jordan Crawford to where he can guard the dribble better, getting Eric Gordon where he sustains his defensive intensity throughout the possession. Those are the things on my mind,” Sampson said.

“We will be able to score better than last year because we have more guys on the court who can make a basket. Because we are unselfish, I think we will be a better offensive team.”

IU is ranked No. 9 in the preseason coaches poll. It's the first time the Hoosiers have been ranked that high since the end of the 2002 season when they reached the national title game. Hmmm.

“Titles aren't won on paper. We've got to stay humbled,” White said. “Whatever is on paper, we appreciate it, but in the back of our minds we know we have to play.”

Some coaches try to shield their teams from the hype. Sampson seemed to embrace it with a warm hug.

“You want them to think they are going to be good. But I think being humble and staying hungry, because there are a lot of games on the schedule that teams are capable of beating you,” Sampson said. “This time of the year there's a fine line with balancing confidence or having a swagger. You have to earn that. We're still developing an identity. How we want our kids to play. We're working on our identity. But there's no question in my mind this team has a chance to be really good.”

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