No Foul: Kramer reacts to running into Goonbek's elbowIt was a surreal night. J and I had great seats- we were just rows from the court. Before the game, we were close enough to talk to the Ostrich, Matty and co. as they came off the court after pre-game warm-ups...we also got to talk to a pair of stoners wearing matching Zubaz and Duke T-shirts. As the game started, our Boilers were flat offensively, but busting their collective ass on defense. Displaying the "vaunted" point-per-minute offense for most of the first half, and scratching and clawing their way to a very close, nip-and-tuck first half. But, J and I envied what many other Purdue fans in Reliant had- a bunch of fellow Boilers with which we could enjoy the game.
So, after sitting among poser Duke "fans" with no connection to the university and Baylor carry-overs who didn't like my demonstrative manner, we headed to the Purdue section across the court from the Purdue bench. We scanned the crowd for a few empties, but to no avail. But, Chris Kramer's Papa was kind-enough to welcome us into the family seats as CK3's Mom was away from the seats and Mr. Kramer himself was shooting a few photos, we got to know Chris' little brother a bit and watched a few minutes with the toughest family in all of the land.
It was pretty awesome...But the late second half wasn't as awesome.
Purdue's bugaboo of offensive ineptitude crept back into the game and the game began to slip a bit. But, as Duke's goon, Zoubek, stepped into and elbowed Chris Kramer during a pick on the top of the key, CK3 was knocked out cold, and it seemed, so was Purdue's tournament run.
EsPN didn't want to acknowledge it, and CBS (we're told) didn't show it, but we saw it. The toughest guy on the roster, the heartbeat of the team, was lying on his back on the floor of Reliant Stadium, and wasn't responding to his teammates trying to help him up off of the floor.Just as Kramer was finally off of the court, a verbal skirmish broke out in our section. A supremely-douchey Dukie decided it'd be a good idea to taunt the Kramer family as Chris struggled to clear the cobwebs out of the attic.
But, Kramer got off of the mat, the team tried to reel in the game, but the damage was done. Purdue didn't recover and lost, 70-57.
The CK3 and KG era is over, sadly. And make no mistake, these two are the winningest class EVER at Purdue...and they are the foundation for what's coming. And in my opinion, it's another visit to Houston in '11.
From the new controlled-anger of D.J. Byrd, to the resolute focus of Smooge, to the depth at PF/C for the first time in Matty's tenure in God's country, to the return of the Ostrich and the reformation of The Big Three...there are plenty of reasons to believe in our Boilers. and while I'm let down by the way I felt at the end of tonight's game, I know that there's only one way to avoid this feeling. And I think Matty and comapany also understand that.
I'm already excited about the late-fall of '10.
11 comments:
Rough,but expected. I'm sad to see the Seniors go and am already trying to pump myself up for next season. However, with all of that, it stings the way we lost again and how bad some of the no calls were. I'm not saying we necessarily should have won but it should have been much closer. Next year, no injuries, perfect season!?
Wow, I had no idea Kramer got knocked out... They should the contact on the pick and I was livid, but they never showed him KO'd on the ground, or even mentioned it... Zoubek = Joe Krabbenhoft
CBS did say it should be an offensive foul. Later they said the shot made on that play was the turning point of the game. It really was. i think if they call the offensive foul there, the game looks a lot different.
Really every one of Zoubek's picks was a moving pick. And the other guy flopped every time they called a charge on Purdue.
The Refs also missed a goaltending call.
But really Purdue beat themselves by not hitting free throws, especially the front end of one&ones...
We played tough, but just ran out of gas.
Some may say they did great, but i'm still disappointed. We may have done better than experts said we'd do, but i had higher hopes & expectations of this Purdue team, even w/o Hummel.
The team should be great next year, but the loss of Kramer will hurt.
Purdue keeps breaking my heart.
One of these years...
It's tough to see the season end, and especially tough to see CK and KG go, but the future does look bright for all the reasons mentioned in that last paragraph. Next year's team should be better offensively, and we all know Matty isn't gonna let the defense slide just because CK is gone. This is a preseason top 5 team, and a return trip to Houston should happen. Even Gary Parish thinks so: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/13119839/write-it-down-purdue-will-be-in-final-four-next-year?tag=headlines;collegebasketball
So hold your heads high Boiler fans. There is nothing to be ashamed of. Painter has improved this team every year since he has been here, and the trend will continue.
BTFU!
A disappointing but somewhat expected outcome. A solid season for the Boilers.
Now, the wife and I head to Conseco to watch Terone Johnson and get pumped for next year.
I agree with mmmookie: Zoubek was setting moving picks that would have made Bob Knight proud, and the way he initiated contact on the Kramer screen certainly reminded me of old-school Big East play. The officiating was pretty bad, as usual.
However, while better officiating could have made the game different, the offensive problems were really the key. Some was due to Duke's pressure (again the Boilers looked like they'd never faced man-to-man pressure) and some was just poor execution. Lack of movement, poor spacing, poor shot selection.
The defense was great for most of the game. I'm proud of this class, this season, and that game.
I didn't think the officials were unfair, but they did change the way they called fouls at various points in the game. Tick-tack to beat down to normal to beat down to tick-tack. I've never seen so many changes in the way a game was called.
That being said, officials, I think did a decent job even though they missed some obvious calls: Goal tending, Zoubek's smack down of Kramer, Singler holding a pushing every time down the court.
In the end, IMHO, the one difference that would've won the game is quite a shocker. I would never have guessed it, but stats bear it out.
Chris Kramer...on the bench. Kramer didn't add many stat lines. In fact, when he was on the bench, our offense tended to pick up, and our defense didn't suffer that much.
I love the kid, but this was not his game. I think we would've been better served after Zoubek's pounding to sit Kramer. It was a turning point in the game, Duke caught fire offensively, and we badly needed offense, which Chris couldn't provide against Duke.
That being said, I was so proud of the Boilers. They played hard, and they lost to what I have believed all year would be the #1 contender for the NC.
Thanks, Chris and Keaton for such great years!
It's been hard to comment on our BS site after the game, but I think I should throw in my 2 cents. Thanks to the great BS writers and readers...I'll miss you and this bball team. My heart goes out to KG, CK, MW the most. Thanks for the incredible run and what you personified: heart, will, talent, class...something we should all carry over into whatever we are doing. Thanks boilers. This Texan will miss you.
Did anyone else enjoy seeing Turner get his shot blocked as much as me? And did you notice how he walked right off the court without shaking hands or talking to anyone? What a chump.
I've had a few days to lick my collective wounds. Another FINE season by Matt Painter and company.
Of course if I had a magic wand I would change some things a)a healthy Hummel b) a Fianl Four victory c) reducing the Dookies to 4' minnie-me's with two left feetses....
but maybe most important of all I would use my magic wand to ensure the health of the team next year...also I would put Painterfairy's with each of our boys so that he can have eyes on them and encourage them and advise them to STAY OUT OF TROUBLE.
I still have one question, even days later....
Where was Jon Hart?
He didn't play at all....why? I'm not sure it would have made a difference, but I never even heard mention of it anywhere.
Post a Comment