The coach has already talked to the Big Three about the potential of going to the NBA and will continue to talk to them and their families, as needed. Seems as though not much has changed: Hummel's knee guarantees he's back, Smooge has made no comments to indicate he thinks he's ready and JJ has publicly said he's planning to come back, though last week he hedged just a bit after the Duke loss. We'd be surprised if any of them left, honestly.
Donnie Hale's situation hasn't changed: if a scholarship opens up, he's getting it, but as of now none is necessarily expected to open up. While there's nothing to see here -- for now -- it's not the first time we've heard the remark that he gets a schollie if one opens. Is someone transferring? We haven't heard any specific rumors and any names we could come up with would be pure speculation.
Hummel's knee is progressing fine and he remains on a 4-6 month timetable, which would mean back to full use by late summer most likely, especially given Rob's work ethic. That's good to hear.
LewJack will have surgery next week to get the broken screw pieces out of his foot, and he "had damaged the screws to the point they caused him great discomfort." Yeesh. I'll bet. Painter also said that once Jackson is healthy, the coach wants to see him become a perimeter scoring threat (don't we all, coach):
"He's got to be able to make a shot," Painter said. "It's just that simple. Once he's able to make an open shot and get something to his intermediate game, whether it's a floater or a runner ... I think he has a chance to be one of the best point guards in our league."
Matty is excited about the size for next year, especially since it might allow Rob Hummel to play the 3 instead of the 4 and turn Purdue into a terrific rebounding team. I loved this quote:
"I don't care who it is on our team, you have to rebound the basketball. If you can't see that as a void on our basketball team, you've been blind-folded this year."
Coach Matty also isn't letting anyone get too comfortable, saying about DJ Byrd that while he's versatile, "he has to have a hell of an off-season, just like a lot of other returners."
We're back on the air tonight at the usual time of 10 PM Eastern to discuss the end of the Purdue basketball season, the neat set of double-rules in all games involving Duke, the nutritional value of Cadbury Cream Eggs and much, much more.
We'll look back at the season that was, we'll spend a good chunk of time looking forward at the bright future, we'll talk about why you should be really looking forward to late November (if you aren't already), we might touch on spring football and at the end, we'll all hug and have a good cry.
Well, quite honestly, nobody deserves to win this thing. Seriously, how insane is it that Boilerdowd -- with a pretty crappy bracket -- is in the 99.3 percentile out of ESPN's 4.8 million entries?
In the BS version of things, there is definitely still some variation that can happen. Jaun Moore run 4 Kramer is leading things, but with Ohio State as their national champ, it's going to take a winner like Butler or Michigan State to keep things where they are. Now, I could sit here and study all the permutations, but I really don't have that kind of focus. However, I do see the following:
jmpurdue5117 1, currently in fourth place, can still gain 480 points and has Duke winning it all. A win or two by Duke and this entry has a good chance.
Chris kramer is the man, to their credit, has Butler in the Final Four. They also have Duke winning it all, but being behind jmpurdue5117 1, cannot catch up.
JojoWagz43 1, currently in 18th place, has Duke and WVU correctly in the Final Four and WVU winning it all.
Fuzz18500 1, currently in 25th place, has WVU winning it all, but also the only correct Final Four team. So if WVU loses in the semis, it's over for Fuzz.
It would also appear that if Michigan State pulls it off, Total Hummeliation could vault from 83rd to the winner's circle.
And honorable mention to Andrew Mizener 1, who, yes folks, has Butler winning it all. Can he win? I don't think so, since enough guys ahead of him have either Duke or WVU making the title game and would thus still have more points than Andrew even if Butler does take it home. Still, big nuggets picking Butler.
And one more honorable mention, to Coin Flip (no really) for...well... it appears to be flipping a coin for each and every game. I really hope that's what happened, because if he chose Tennessee, Marquette, Gonzaga and Richmond, with Marquette winning it all, well... we'd recommend counseling.
I've scanned a number of entries, but have not seen anyone with more than two Final Four teams correct in our group. If you succeeded in this and I missed you, please let me know. (Although I'm pretty sure you'd be winning -- by a lot -- if this happened.)
Remember, the winner of the BS Bracket Extravaganza gets valuable prizes.* You get a free post on the site to ramble about anything you want AND you're invited to join us as a featured guest on the Handsome Hour season finale next Wednesday, April 7.
With basketball season officially over, we enter a long drought for me. Sure, I like watching Indy Car, but it's nothing like college basketball and football for me...and while the Yankees and Red Sox are set to play this weekend to kick off the MLB season, the length of both the season and the baseball game itself doesn't jive with my self-diagnosed ADD.
So, my attention, at least for a few weeks shifts to Purdue football practice. Sure, you can't really tell much about the team through the screens in the fence and while watching videos of drills, but it's a solid diversion.
Hope's squad had its first scrimmage with the kooky scoring system yesterday and the defense won. And if you're not into it enough to comb GBI and Journal & Courier for info, here's the skinnny so far:
-Lots of guys are injured. Specifically, linebackers. As of now, there are only 4 guys who have played significant snaps at any of the three positions available for spring. That could be good as it might help someone get seen early...Perhaps true Frosh, Will Lucas will show? But, in the Black/Gold game it'll create problems.
Keith Smith is out for the remainder of spring as is Ken Plue. The good thing about both of these guys is that they're pretty solid at their knowledge of the offense. The offensive line is banged up and depleted due to graduation and injuries. So, guys like Foy and Melton will get more reps...which is good.
Albert Evans and Nick Mondek are both out...I hope Evans is acting as a coach for the young DBs in his time off...because that unit will need it. There's plenty of reason for concern for this amazingly-underexperienced unit come the fall.
-Defenses always seem to come along a bit quicker...so it's OK to see the defense edging out the offense, especially early. But, I'm hoping the offense passes the eyeball test, for me, on April 17.
-Gary Bush seems to be the new apple of the coach's eye at this point. Bush put on some weight in the offseason and Hope likes what he sees from him. He's also talked a few times about how the battle between McBurse and Bolden will be fun to watch.
-Marve has been held out of practice from time-to-time due to soreness of his surgically-repaired knee. Not a concern, but it's helped give TerBush some more reps with the ones. The guy pushing Marve seems to be Henry. I think much of the Purdue fanbase is excited to watch him this spring.
-In a nifty team-unity move, Robert Marve brought his O-linemen with him to talk to the media last weekend to help him answer questions. So far, Marve's saying and doing all the right things as a team guy.
The sun has risen just fine the past couple of mornings, and I'm still damn proud to be a Boilermaker. As mentioned on this site, it's never a good feeling when your season ends. And, really, there's only one way for it to end where you feel really, really good. And Purdue is closer to that than it's been in a while. The tournament effort to get to the Sweet 16 and then play Duke tighter than they were played to that point was significant (remember, this is a Duke team that was up 30 on UNC in the first half in their late-season matchup). As the clock wound down on Friday night, I found myself immediately feeling and saying, "I'm really proud of these guys."
Oh, but what might have been.
Never A Complete Unit
At the start of the season, a Sweet 16 appearance would have been viewed as a disappointment. We all know how high expectations were. The Boilers had a chance to almost come home for the Final Four, as they did in 1980, and this is all the more driven home now for Boilermakers as we get to watch Butler have those stories written about them. It's hard to have anything but good feelings for Butler, as their students and loyal fans deserve this as much as anyone, but I did say to Boilerdowd this weekend that I'm truly jealous of the Bulldogs. I can't imagine how good this feels for them today.
But getting back to the Boilers, one point that I think is very interesting to ponder is the "what could have been," not from the simple, obvious Final Four perspective, but from what was expected or counted on for this season.
For one thing, Sandi Marcius was expected to be another big body Coach Matty could count on to at least clog the lane a bit, grab some boards, commit some Zoubeks (another word for fouls) and simply spell JJ when Johnson was in foul trouble or just needed some rest. But Sandi broke his foot and it made no sense to burn his redshirt when word was that he wasn't ready.
But let's leave that one alone. How about the fact that the Boilers essentially had the rotation they expected to have for a total of seven games? Seven. And even then it wasn't at full strength, since I'm talking about the games where LewJack was just coming back. The preseason #6 team in the nation wound up not having their regular rotation for almost the entire season. This got obscured by the fact that the Boilers played inspired, focused ball and got out to that 14-0 start. However, many of us saw the need for Lewis Jackson to get back this year, as the team could not handle the press well at all, even from mediocre teams. They needed their PG back.
LewJack returned on January 28 versus Wisconsin, but only played 20 minutes in a game twice before February 24. On that day, Purdue started their game at Minnesota looking, honestly, like they'd figured it out. Jackson was back and was beginning to play significant minutes again, the Big 3 looked comfortable, Moore was on a nice steady run, etc. Things looked good. During that first half, B-dowd and I even commented on how solid they looked in nearly all facets -- something that could not have been said too many times this year up to that point. And then, of course, Rob's knee went, and his teammates looked like they'd seen their puppy get run over.
To their credit, as we all know, they pulled themselves together and went 6-3 (including that Minny game) without Rob. Nothing groundbreaking, but they learned to play without him and they showed resolve and commitment that made us all proud. I've not heard one fan say they felt like the Boilers folded the tent. And think about that, because it's significant.
Lewis Jackson was finally getting up to speed.....and Rob was gone.
We've often said that things have to line up for you to go to a Final Four. Butler had everyone playing their system perfectly (and you can now see why Matt Painter really wanted Gordon Hayward). MSU didn't have to beat anyone higher than a 4-seed. Duke had a bracket full of shorthanded, inexperienced teams to get through. Point is, it has to line up. You need some breaks. I'd say this isn't being a Purdue homer: Purdue got few breaks this year. In fact, the breaks truly went against them.
Was Progress Made?
Have the boys matured further? B-dowd and I discussed this last night and it's unfortunate to think that while they clearly are a good team, they weren't quite emotionally mature enough to handle some things this year. Nobody can fault their effort or, as mentioned, the Sweet 16 appearance. But the way they reacted to losing Rob in the immediate aftermath (curling up into the fetal position for a lot of the rest of the Minnesota game and all of the MSU game) was disconcerting. However, when you compare the way they began the 2008-2009 season, another season considered promising, they did indeed take strides.
In December 2008, we all know how poor the boys looked against Duke. We also all remember the 0-2 start in conference play. The Boilers opened this season solidly, taking down Tennessee in the Virgin Islands, coming back from down 16 in the second half against Alabama, and simply outclassing Wake and WVU at home. But the hiccups remain, including an 0-3 stretch in January, only putting up 44 against MSU at home (Rob or no Rob, that's ridiculous) and being simply embarrassed on a national scale in the Big Ten Tourney against Minnesota. The point? There's a lot of maturing still to be done.
"Help Is On The Way"
Someone on ESPN's cast of misfits said, in the wake of UNC getting absolutely dismantled by Duke at the end of the season, that "help is on the way" for Roy Williams. Not sure how many five-stars he needs to, you know, make the tournament, but it's kind of a silly statement. However, for the Boilers, help is indeed on the way in a number of forms, with the overall theme being depth.
For one, Sandi Marcius should be healthy and ready to bang next year. Patrick Bade will be a sophomore and hopefully will practice rebounding over the summer so he doesn't look like he thinks basketballs are live grenades. And coming to the mix is Travis Carroll, another center to give JJ some rest. You'll never want JaJuan in foul trouble or playing soft as he does from time to time, but if it happens at least Matty will have a multitude of options. And with this size, it will be rare that an opponent will have the definitive upper hand in the post.
Boilerdowd's lust for the Johnson boys is hard to describe. No, I'm being silly, but b-dowd is very excited about Terone and Anthony coming aboard next year, and he's right to be. Both four-star players (for what that's worth), these guys are difference-makers and the thinking here is Terone could (and maybe should) see some time in the starting lineup. He's a thick kid who can play the point or score the ball (hate that term, I sound like Hubert Davis).
Donnie Hale is a power forward coming on board without a scholarship as of right now. He agreed to come to Purdue over his other finalist, Xavier, with no guarantee of a schollie for next season. So unless someone goes pro or transfers, Donnie might be paying his own way for a little while. We'll see how this goes.
One More Year, JJ
Which leads us to a sidebar about going pro. According to Neubert, JJ hasn't ruled it out as of now. Which, I think we can agree, might be a bit silly. We think he'll be back, but if he was a
first round projected pick, we couldn't blame him for going.
However, NBA Draft Express doesn't have JaJuan projected as even a second round pick as of now. In fact, they have him as a second round pick in 2011. So he clearly has work to do. As Neubert puts it so well:
"When he gets the ball around the rim, he's got to be able to score or get fouled 90 percent of the time, rather than getting stripped or tied up."
More Reasons For Excitement About The Immediate Future
Getting back to next year, I know I was thrilled to see the minutes some of the younger guys got in the tournament. Ryne Smith developed some confidence and has now hit some big shots on the biggest stage possible. But even bigger to us was DJ Byrd's postseason. DJ was a DNP as recently as the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Think about that. This is a guy who didn't have double-digit minutes from Dec 22 until the Big Ten Tournament.
He played a total of five minutes from Jan 31 until that Minnesota game in the BTT, including six DNPs. But then he came alive, having his two best offensive days since the first game of the season against CS Northridge, scoring 11 in the crushing against Minnesota and putting up 10 HUGE points (including 2 of 2 from three-land) against A&M.
DJ also played strong defense, never looked out of position or overwhelmed and was even barking at teammates on the floor -- in a good way. If you're looking for an intensity leader to replace CK3, we think you might have him in DJ. (And he needs to keep the intense haircut look; we love it.)
Thanks, But No Thanks, Media-Types
Purdue has the tenth-ranked recruiting class in the nation for 2010. Oh, but only fourth in the Big Ten. Yeah, you read that right. So let's shut your pie-holes, national media, about what the Big Ten lacks. It's pretty effing rugged.
In addition, several scribes were venturing well into douchey territory and seemed to be working hard at alienating college basketball fans. A very smart move when you're a.....college basketball writer. Wait, what?
One of these clowns is Gary Parrish, of whom there is not a single photo in existence where he doesn't look like a complete buffoon. He's now saying the Boilers are going to the Final Four next year, but Gary felt the Boilers barely deserved a top 20 ranking as the season wound down -- not because they were losing games (they weren't), but because he felt Rob Hummel being out made them...a below-average team.... I guess? Hard to understand. We emailed him politely and were given the condescending pat-on-the-head treatment. He's one of the many who can kiss off next year -- as stated before, we don't want your positive remarks, either. You've denigraded Purdue enough that we don't care anymore. You're a lost cause. We know Purdue's not as sexy as slimy Calipari's Cats, and that's fine. We like our program clean.
Keep It Up, Students
There have been periods in Purdue sports history of which we're not especially proud, when students seem to not care at all. While it's perfectly fine to not be a sports fan, it still grates on us because we take this stuff way too serious, by our own admission. But seeing the Paint Crew and their massive numbers honoring the team as often as they do is simply wonderful for two old guys like us.
Camping out in the cold, being creatively supportive during games, singling out guys to thank as the season winds down, road tripping through the night on buses.... we can't possibly name all the ways in which we think the students do an amazing job acting as the 6th man and doing us alums proud. You guys are doing great things and you'll look back fondly on this time in your lives. Keep doing it.
Want proof of how awesome the fans/students are? Here they are at the airport at 2 AM on a cold February night welcoming the Boilers home from Minnesota, where the season took a crushing turn.
That video really gets me. The guys had won a hard-fought game and lost Rob for the season. We didn't know it for sure at that moment but it didn't look good. And yet the screaming for the guys and the chanting for Rob is just terrific. Seeing that smile that Hummel can't conceal is all part of the greatness of it.
Yes, we're going to focus on football in the very near future.... but we keep saying we wish next basketball season could start in maybe a week. Eight months can't pass fast enough.
No Foul: Kramer reacts to running into Goonbek's elbow
It 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.
Thanks to everybody who joined in the Twitter party last night during the KSU v. X gave. Like J said, it was a game that really was tough to react to- big shot after big shot and two teams that were just sparring. Great back and fourth game...and a really fun conversation with our interwebnet pals.
The bi-product of the late night that I ended up staying up too late and had to wake up at 4:30am to head down to Boiled Sports Southern headquarters here in Houston. In my sleep-deprived, drunk-like state, I forgot my phone and nearly missed my flight. The big plans I had for live-blogging the game from Reliant were left in Indy in the family truckster...but we'll still be posting our thoughts from time-to-time this weekend...hopefully joyfully.
We're about to head out to the pep rally/drunkfest with the Purdue family that's down here for the weekend...how's the mood you ask?
It was festive, at least in Houston's Hobby Airport. A solid Purdue showing throughout the terminal and the Southwest Airlines flight crews wished all of us, and the team well before landing on each connection as our presence was pretty obvious. The atmosphere is fun, but let me be real honest, my memory won't be nearly as positive about this trip, without a good showing from the good guys.
I'm confident that Matty will have them ready and all parties involved have a fresh memory of the Mackey debacle last season. Tune in at 9:57 (eastern)...if the telecast is more-handsome than normal, you know why.
Sour Orange Jim Boeheim acted like the whiny crybaby that he is following his #1 seeded Orange's departure from the tourney last night at the hands of the Butler Bulldogs. He left the court and barely acknowledged Butler's Coach Stevens. Way to represent!
Now, whether you want to call it gamesmanship or just lying, we all know that Coach Boeheim knew his injured center wouldn't be available this tournament...but he kept that to himself. Turns out, the politicking didn't pay off and the over-rated, over-seeded Orange were beaten, pretty much from start to finish, by the Horizon League Champs.
For those keeping score at home, that's 7 of 8 Big East teams out of the dance.
We're heading out...For those of you also attending the get-together near the Houston Galleria, look for J and I, we'll be wearing Purdue t-shirts and hats. Come over and I say, "Hi."
To Your Call Once More We Rally; Alma Mater Hear Our Praise. Where The Wabash Spreads Its Valley; Filled With Joy Our Voices Raise. From The Skies In Swelling Echoes Come The Cheers That Tell The Tale Of Your Vict'ries And Your Heros, Hail Purdue! We Sing All Hail!
Hail, Hail To Old Purdue! All Hail To Our Old Gold And Black! Hail, Hail To Old Purdue! Our Friendship May She Never Lack. Ever Grateful, Ever True, Thus We Raise Our Song Anew; Of The Days We've Spent With You, All Hail Our Own Purdue!
The guys looked pretty loose and the shooting was very crisp. Lots of buckets made by lots of different guys. It's always easier in a nearly-empty building with no defense out there, but still. I'd rather that than a bunch of bricks.
Some general observations:
--Sandi Marcius is flipping huge. Dude makes Bade look like a twig.
--Bubba Day can shoot the lights out from the elbow three.
--Lewis Jackson makes 90% of his midrange jumpers in practice. It'll come along, everyone.
--Rob Hummel was sitting courtside in shorts, sneakers and two knee braces. He looked ready to practice. Heh. If only.
--Matt Painter watches like the godfather, only stepping in to instruct when he sees something he really wants the guys to work on. Otherwise, he does a lot of observing.
--Kramer has a very nice shot, though we all know that. He needs to keep using it.
Last night, we were asking Handsome Hour listeners who they'd like to have call guys like Chris Kramer, the way that Drew Brees called Joey Elliot before the Purdue-OSU football game last fall. There were some good suggestions given, from all eras, including the idea that John Wooden could send a text to CK.
(How would that text look? "Dear Chris. STOP. Good luck today. STOP. Make us proud. STOP.")
But one of the best suggestions was that nobody is as intense as Chris Kramer and so the only guy who would make sense to call him is.... himself.
CK: How'd you get this number? I told you to leave me alone.
Future CK: No, no, not Chris Collinsworth.
CK: Oh.
Future CK: This is you, Chris. From the future.
CK: What? Come on, man. *bites piece of plywood*
Future CK: I swear. Who else would know about that Buckeye fan you beat up just for fun and dumped in the Wabash?
CK: ... *chews plywood thoughtfully*
Future CK: Are you eating plywood instead of Triscuits again? Ugh. Listen, man, I just wanted to call and remind you that this is the biggest moment of your basketball life. And to go out there and make us proud.
CK: By breaking Jon Scheyer's legs?
Future CK: No. Listen, younger version of me, you need to settle down a bit. Eating ground glass isn't good for your digestive track. Trust me on this one.
CK: Whatever, I like it spread on my muffins in the morning.
Future CK: Nevermind. Listen, you are the leader right now... you're a senior, you're tough --
CK: And handsome.
Future CK: -- you play great D --
CK: And I'm handsome.
Future CK: -- you know how to antagonize the opponents --
CK: AND I'M HANDSOME.
Future CK: Yes, FINE, dammit, and you're handsome. Do you honestly think I don't know that? I'm YOU, for pete's sake. Jeez, I don't remember being this vain.
CK: What'd you call me?
Future CK: VAIN! What are you going to do about it? Come through my time-traveling phone and kick your own ass?
CK: Maybe. You know what I did Manny Harris' cousin after he broke my nose.
Future CK: *sighs* Yes. Yes, I do. Do you think she ever walked again?
Patrick Bade: *peeks out from under a pile of laundry, ducks back down again*
CK: *distractedly gnawing on a parking meter* Who?
Future CK: Never mind. What do I hear you gnawing on?
CK: Your mom.
Future CK: That'd be YOUR mom, too, you idiot.
CK: Are you talking about my mom? Because I will seriously kick your ass for that. You know how I got Billy Packer fired.
Future CK: You didn't get Billy Packer fired.
CK: No, but I could have. Clark Kellog's afraid of me.
Future CK: What does Clark Kellog have to do -- you know what? Never mind. Are you ready for this game tomorrow?
CK: Of course I am.
[pause]
CK: What game?
Future CK: *sigh* I'm just glad the team bus takes you where you need to go and they put a uniform on you and you go out there like a madman.
CK: What'd you call me, punk?
Future CK: Oh, for the last time, I'm YOU! You can't beat me up, I'm in the FUTURE! And you would be hurting YOURSELF.
CK: *crushes cell phone in bare hand, cackles gleefully*
It's your favorite time of the week -- and ours -- as the Handsome Hour streams live tonight at 10 PM, Eastern, 9 PM in Houston. Click on that link to go to the Handsome Hour page and listen live. If you miss out, it will be available immediately after as well.
Topics tonight will include.... aw, hell, you know what we're all gonna talk about tonight!
Please feel free to call in and join the discussion starting about quarter after (that's 10:15, ET). We like to hear ourselves talk for at least 15 minutes before we begin sharing the airwaves.
For those who don't follow us on Twitter and haven't seen this on their own yet, a 17 year old in the Chicago-land area has picked Purdue to go all the way in his bracket.
"So what?" you're saying... "A bunch of idiots in the BS bracket challenge did the same thing."
Well, yes, but do any of those idiots have their bracket 100% accurate after 48 games? Seriously, 48-0?
While there seems to be some sentiment online that this is a hoax, NBC surely believes it, as they wrote the article and then emailed the link to us, thinking we might be interested.
Odds of a perfect bracket at this point. One in 13,460,000. And while that's pretty amazing, completing the trick is even longer: somewhere between 1 in 35,360,000 and 1 in 1,000,000,000,000.
Nice work by our leader, P. Sadler, whose entry -- psad21 -- is in the 100th percentile of ESPN's nearly 5 million entries.
However, watch out for Keaton Grant is the man, as his entry has 7/8 Elite Eights remaining and all Final Fours, as well as BoilerPaulie, who has 8/8 and 4/4 remaining. Folks, we have entries in the hunt for the overall title, and that's pretty cool. It's also truly amazing, given how things went for the past four days.
Our Boilermakers, in the Sweet 16, after taking out Texas A&M by two. Four days ago, there were 64 teams in the hunt. 48 have been dismissed. And the Boilers were, as everyone knows, expected to be one of the sure-fire upsets of the first round. Why? Because all anybody knew was that they lost a key player from a team everyone was looking for reasons to doubt all season....and Rob's knee injury was that reason. Every talking head and casual joe felt the same: "Ooooh!! A shiny object! An upset pick!"
Of course, the Boilers are now 6-2 since the moment Rob's knee made like a stalk of celery in the Barn that night, including wins over two teams who, let's be honest, very few outside the loyal Purdue family felt the Boilers could beat. As Travis said over at H&R, "We're still here."
The Game
As for the game itself, well, this is an easy one to break down, because we all saw it with our own eyes. The Boilers played their now-usual, lethargic first half. JJ did not establish himself, Smooge had some shot troubles after hitting his first couple, and both JJ and CK got two quick fouls each. But the thing that troubled me the most about the first half was the fact that the Boilers got to the foul line...wait, let me check my notes... yes, here we go: ZERO fricking times. Zip. A Blutarski-ish 0-for-0. That's...kind of incredible.
At halftime, I spoke with Boilerdowd, and I said that this is our team. How many years have we been saying this? They're a second half team... have been for years. Basically, for Painter's entire tenure. Let's be honest: JJ shut out in the first half, nobody playing particularly well, zero free throws....and only down seven? I'll take it. And I fully expected a charge out of the gate to begin the second half.
Well, LewJack tried to spark that, with a mighty mouse rush to the basket. But then it seemed like A&M was ready for the Purdue onslaught. Yes, if you watch film on the Boilers, you have to know they're a strong second-half team. It's not immediately obvious from their offense -- rather, it's their defense that grinds down opponents into submission. Perhaps A&M was aware of this, as they did indeed look well-prepared. They then went on a 8-2 spurt to make it 40-29. Once it got to double-digits, I was more than a little concerned. The run wasn't coming, it appeared.
And then it did.
A 17-2 blast by the previously dormant Purdue offense made Gminski's first half comment that the hoop on the left side of your TV screen was unfriendly seem prescient. The run was led by several guys -- a true team effort. But Chris Kramer was the spark, running the point at several times during the second half and getting JJ back into form.
It should also not go without mentioning the young guys. Sure, we're all in love with our long-timers, but the kids -- Ryne Smith, DJ Byrd, Patrick Bade -- who had played sparingly all season long were suddenly thrust into major, critical minutes. This will undoubtedly pay HUGE dividends next season... but we were worried about THIS season. And these guys delivered, pretty much never making a single move that made us smack our foreheads. And as young guys without a lot of PT under their belts, that's terrific.
Once the Boilermakers were back in the game -- and back into the lead -- I felt a lot better. Yes, I still paced a bit, yes I still think I might have broken my finger slamming my hand on my sofa arm when Smooge lost the ball at the end of regulation, but I felt better. Why? Because as we've mentioned here at BS before, we like these guys when they're backed into a corner. And when they begin punching their way out of that corner, it seems to go well for them in the end. Their heart often wins out, cheesy as that may be to say.
It's hard to be critical of your team when they make it to the Sweet 16, but let's be clear: they've got A LOT to improve if they want to have a chance of beating Duke. We'll discuss Duke a bit more later but, frankly, it wouldn't matter who they're playing next. They need to get JaJuan Johnson involved early and he needs to take command and attack the basket. Attacking the basket leads to free throws, which is something we need from JJ. He's going to commit fouls -- there's no avoiding that. But he has to make his minutes worthwhile, on both the offensive and defensive ends.
Looking at the box score, what jumps out? Well, besides Chris Kramer leading the team in scoring, how about DJ Byrd pumping in TEN points off the bench, on 4/5 shooting? Clearly, the Boilers aren't close to winning without his assistance. Again, this is huge for next year.
The box score has the rebounding edge to A&M at 40-30, though I saw it closer than that elsewhere. Regardless, we have to come to grips (if you haven't already) with the Boilers being outrebounded without Rob. The critical thing is to not get obscenely outrebounded. And Purdue managed that today.
Oh, and Lewis Jackson shouldn't have more rebounds than JaJuan Johnson.
One more thing on the game itself... EsPN's article seemed to want to suggest that Chris Kramer "ignored" his coach and decided to make the play himself. In reality, according to Painter, the plan was to run a curl for E'Twaun, but if he saw daylight, he was free to take it to the hoop. I'm fine with that call, frankly.
Summing Up
I feel like they just won more than they did. And no, Purdue haters, this isn't because our team sucks or our program isn't used to success. You'd understand better if you'd lived through this program over any number of years, like all of us who convene together online or in bars or in dorm rooms do. This is a group of guys who we feel as though we've come to know. We haven't, of course, at least not most of us. But we know them because we see their effort, we see their hustle, we see their silly videos. Some of us see them on campus, or on elevators, or in passing in classrooms. We watch their press conferences, and we see something in their eyes. We hear Chris Kramer say before the Siena game that losers make excuses and winners get it done. And we believe him. Because Chris is steel. He's a Boilermaker.
We've watched these guys grow up. From freshmen giving national champ Florida all they could handle in 2007 to now, CK and KG have pulled the oars for four years. JJ, Smooge and the Ostrich have been doing it for three. These guys are family, not to us as much as to each other. And so when Rob went down, well... you know how your heart felt? Imagine if you'd been going to battle with Rob for years. Working hard, towards your goals, pulling on those oars. And now Rob can't pull anymore. It's not easy to recover from.
However, these guys have the talent. Getting past the mental hurdle was the biggest step. Sure, learning how to run the offense without him was, no doubt, critical. But we're talking about a talented team here. These guys are not suddenly untalented without Rob. And we're seeing the whole group grow up...even more. They're tough, they're resolved, they have a controlled anger about them.
"This is totally gonna screw up Digger's bracket!"
Wait, wait, wait. This can't be right. I must be reading this wrong. Purdue pulled off the upset of the mighty Siena Saints in the first round of the tourney?
Hell yes, you bet your sweet ass they did, 72-64.
Sorry, but we -- along with every other loyal Boilermaker -- are fricking sick and tired of our 28-5 squad being minimized and written off. Yes, they played poorly last Saturday against Minnesota. News flash: it's not last Saturday. Were we thrilled with this performance? No, we were not, and neither were you, in all likelihood. And that's because those of us who are real fans of this team know they're still capable of big things. Rob's absence hurts, to be sure, but with two current all-conference guys, a former all-conference guy and the current Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, it was a little premature to suggest the Purdue Boilermakers wouldn't dispatch a MAAC team. Not a MAC team -- a MAAC team.
The Saints were all but favored in today's game and Brando and Gminski calling the game on CBS really -- REALLY -- wanted to be calling a 13 over 4 upset. Sorry, fellas, to disappoint you, but Purdue doesn't lose in the first round. It just doesn't happen.
The first hald was complained about by Boiler faithful, including us...BUT, while it was not a good half, the good guys were only down three. To try to be impartial for a moment, if nothing goes right for a team and they're only down 3, that's actually a good sign.
In the first half, there was plenty to be concerned about, as Moore played soft, nobody could rebound and JJ seemed to shrink three sizes against a team he could -- and needed to -- dominate.
Boilerdowd and I commented that we hoped Coach Matty got this team's attention at halftime. I think he did.
When the second half began, the Boilers played the game they are capable of playing, dominating defensively, converting breaks, forcing steals and bad passes, grabbing rebounds and asserting themselves with rattling dunks. As I said to b-dowd after the game, wouldn't you love to see them play that way for even one complete half? They'd be up 20+ on almost anybody.
Ryne Smith finally arrived and took the uniform from the imposter who has been wearing it all season. We kid, of course, as we love all our Boilermakers equally, but it was terrific to see Ryne hit a couple of huge threes. That was about it from the bench, though, as the Boilers' starters did an OSU impression, with everyone but Lew getting 31 minutes or more.
Concerns include the one we knew would continue -- without Rob, rebounding is a huge, HUGE problem. Being outrebounded 42-37 by a MAAC school is.... how you say..... not good. The Saints' top two rebounders had 25 combined, but the good news is JJ led all with 15 boards. Let's aim for our boys keeping the rebounding battle close going forward and we'll all agree to call that a win. Agreed?
Special mention to the efforts of the seniors. Keaton Grant started slowly but kept shooting -- and we needed him to -- and knocked down three treys. And, of course, Chris Kramer became Chris Kramer in the second half, stealing balls, getting breakaway dunks and pissing off the opposition. For those who missed it, early in the second half, as Purdue was making a big run, Kramer saved a ball going out of bounds and whaled it off of Siena's Kyle Downey (I believe), who did not care for that. He stepped up towards Kramer, who gave him that patented, Kramer Look of Disdain. We were all thinking it, too: Mr. Downey, trust us, you want no part of Chris Kramer. E'Twaun Moore stepped between the two and saved Downey from becoming a permanent part of the hardwood.
In the end, the game was a marginal performance, except for about the first 10-12 minutes of the second half. In this case, that was all that was needed. In the next game, we'll likely need more than just 1/4 effort, boys. Hopefully, they're pacing themselves. That said, we liked what we saw. It looked like the guys were increasing learning who they are. It's been hard to pinpoint exactly what to expect from this team, especially since Rob went down. Let's hope they've begun to seriously figure it out.
Oh, and continuing our memo to the mainsteam media: We do not want any props from you anymore. We get accused of whining when you slight our program over and over and over. No more. We quit on hoping you wise up. Leave 'em for dead, it's fine with us. And that includes next year. We don't want to hear a damn bit of pro-Purdue out of stooges like Goodman at Fox, Parrish at CBS, Katz at ESPN, or any other similarly uninformed buffoon who hasn't watched a Purdue game all year. Suck it, all of you. We're through hoping for respect. Our boys will force you to not be able to ignore them. Kind of like they did -- again -- today.
Okay, let's make no mistake here -- that was a terrible shot selection by Ali Farokmanesh of Northern Iowa. That was the kind of shot Boilerdowd used to take at the co-rec (from the same 25-30 feet) and his teammates would go "Oh, no no no -- okay, yeah, yeah, nice shot..."
I loved the radio call I heard on an update on Fox Sports Radio this morning... the radio guy said Farokmanesh "gets it at the elbow..." The elbow? Yeah, I'll say.
Anyway, that was pretty amazing yesterday. And it's got everyone saying this is the BEST TOURNEY EVAH! But is it? Or were we just starved for an awesome first day? As you may recall, last year was the chalkiest tournament in many years, with practically no upsets, few close games in the first round, and all four #1 seeds making the Final Four.
I also saw some chatter that this kind of "ensures" we're going to see expansion. And to that I say, you don't know that. One could argue this proves how perfect things are right now. But as I've said before, and I should take my own advice, it's not about what's perfect -- it's about making money.
BS Bracket Extravaganza
In the BS Bracket Blowout (which, yeah readers, only 300+ entries?), I absolutely love that after day 1, the guy alone in first place (entry "Hummel's ACL Destroyed Me") has Purdue winning it all. Warms the cockles of my cold, dark, cynical heart.
As for my own bracket, I'm not that bothered by Georgetown or Florida losing, even though I had them going a couple rounds in. No, I'm more mad at myself for picking Texas and Notre Dame, two programs I knew better than to take but for some reason allowed myself to click on. Seriously, I normally would pick against ND out of spite, yet I didn't in our bracket? Hope I did in another one elsewhere.
Boilergal, are you aware that there's an entry out there called Cougar4Kramer? So between yours (Kramer's Cougar) and hers, there seems to be a line forming for ole Chris.
Nice Showing, Big East!
What I am a little bugged at Georgetown for is paving the road to at least the Elite 8 for Ohio State. Seriously, unless Thad Matta coaches them out of the tourney, they should barely break a sweat getting that far, where Kansas should be waiting to show the Bucks the folly of only playing six guys.
As we noted yesterday, Notre Dame also did what Notre Dame does. And really, nice job showing up Harangody. Four points? All in the final minute? Nice putback at the buzzer when your team was down three, by the way. Worked perfectly with your trademark, mouth-breathing, dumbass expression that immediately followed.
Marquette also continued to show that the Big East was overseeded like the women of Boilerdowd's skirt-chasing days. Seriously, Marquette was a 6-seed? They weren't good all year, then made a decent run in the Big East tourney and then we give them a 6? While everyone was bashing the Pac Ten, Washington took their 11 seed and, with much the same team as last year's, took down Marquette.
And then, of course, Villanova, who did their best to lose to 15-seed Bob Morris. And if not for some horrible, pro-nova calls down the stretch, RMU probably would have pulled it off. Up 8 with about 4 minutes left? Nova finished 4-6 down the stretch and bowed early from their conf tourney... yet steals a two-seed? Come on.
As I said to Katz on Twitter, I fully expect to see lots of articles at the start of next year about how "down" the Big East is after this performance -- you know, the articles that would be written about the Big Ten if they performed this way after being overseeded. It won't happen, but let's not forget that it should have. Or that the Big Ten had its way with Big East teams this season (5-2).
On We Go
It's time for Day 2. I had that bleary-eyed but happy feeling late last night that I get on these opening days every year. 12 straight hours of hoops overload. And on those occasions when CBS is doing it right, you see the final five minutes of game after game after game. The typical lull is at dinner hour, when they pitch you to your local news and then come back for the start of a game in your region. Which makes loads of sense, CBS -- just as everyone's coming home from work, turn your coverage into a snoozer. Awesome!
Oh, and on that subject of local teams. I get that you think people in Texas want to see all of the Texas game. However, I'm willing to bet that the vast -- vast -- majority of viewers are like me. Yes, I want to see my team, but if another game is in the final minutes and it's close, I would be willing to forgo hearing Verne Lunquist's opening ramble and a panning shot of my team in their warmups doing a shootaround in order to see the end of the close game. Seriously, who watches the tourney but only wants to see their team? Is this sort of thing that hard to figure out?
The Handsome Duo will be back in full effect tonight for the Handsome Hour.... and we'll discuss whether Purdue even has a fighting chance against the favored powerhouse Siena Saints. (Purdue's the small school with the 13 seed, right?)
Tune in at 10 PM Eastern, 7 PM in Spokane. Or listen to the podcast at your leisure. Of course, most of what we'll be discussing will happen over the course of the next few days, so it may be best to listen live.
AND, best to give a call and let us know what you honestly think Purdue's chances are, as well as any other discussion fodder on the tourney. It's a great time of year to be a college hoops fan.
I'm sure most of you already know this...and I was going to let it pass without mention...but after prodding from a pal of mine, I thought it might be the right thing to mention this important aspect of the upcoming contest.
I really believe with or without Rob, Purdue is a better team than Siena...if they can get on the same page and expunge any remnants of what we saw v. Minnesota. But there is something going against our Boilers...something that is a force that might be too great to stop- Love.
Everyone wants to be on love's side...this will be no different. From the media, to the casual fan, there's nothing like love...and no feeling like being just in love.
So this Friday, ironically, the Forces of Good will be fighting love itself...It's going to take a big effort to defeat (j'i)love.
In all seriousness, this guy Just'in-love Smith, is a pretty great story...and if nothing else, we appreciate his service to our country...but we also hope he loses in tremendous fashion on Friday afternoon.
At the beginning of their time at Purdue, two members of this year's Senior class were probably given a better chance for success because of two ACLs that tore before they arrived in God's country. David Teague and Carl Landry were both held out in '05-'06 because of knee injuries...and they both came back strong in the following year. That fall was the first semester on campus for KG and CK3.
Purdue had been on the decline for a few seasons- the twilight of Keady's tenure at Purdue left a court named after him and a few seasons that almost-everyone wanted to forget. And his successor had little-to-no success in '05/'06 as he bandaged the line-up with walk-ons, transfers and players that really didn't fit the Purdue mold. But the foundation of Matty's philosophy is well-embodied in Grant and Kramer.
Both were 3-star athletes, according to Rivals. Grant came to West Lafayette via Bridgton Academy Prep in Maine. He was offered by a slew of SEC programs who knew him from his HS career in Florida, as well as a team he'd later run into in the state of Washington, UW...but decided to come play for Matty. Kramer was known in the AAU ranks for his athleticism and ability to defend and break people down off the dribble. He was also known for his exploits on the football field as he passed for over 1,300 yards and ran for around 1,000.
They both played a ton as Freshman...honestly, they had to. But they answered the bell. Both ended their Frosh seasons with some noteworthy moments offensively...but, probably most-important to their coach, they both were in the top-5 all time for steals as Freshman- Kramer first, Grant, fifth.
That first year, Grant and Kramer both played a lot of point guard, played a few more minutes than might have been ideal and physically beat on themselves not backing down to the upper classmen they defended night-in, night-out. Along with Teague and Landry, they led Purdue to the NCAA tournament...where they beat the favored #8 seed Arizona Wildcats. The game is probably best-remembered for Kramer's shot from his knees. Purdue lost the next round to the later-crowned National Champ Florida Gators.
The next year, Kramer and Grant's hard-nosed, never-say die attitude taught the Baby Boilers what would be expected of them by their coach. Keaton Grant grew into one of the BT's best three-point shooters and the team's MVP. Kramer became the league's most-hated player (outside of West Lafayette, of course). Purdue's record improved to 24-8, and earned the Boilers the 6 seed. They were once again playing a team that the media was in love with, Baylor. Many thought Purdue couldn't keep up with Baylor's fast pace and size...They did, of course...the runnin' Boilers won 90-79. The next round, Purdue fell to the FF-bound Xavier Muskies.
In '08/'09, Expectations were high for the now-maturing Boilers. Purdue's identity as a defensively-minded team was well in place. But, in the off-season KG and Kramer both had surgery to help get the hobbled veterans back up to speed. Kramer was at 100% at the beginning of that season...but Grant wasn't. Gone was his explosiveness and along with that, the lack of reps in the off-season seemed to have adversely-affected his long-range jumper. Purdue battled during this season...Battled through Hummel's back injury, Kramer's ankle injury, and later broken nose, KG's recovery, and a flu that seemed to go around the team twice. But at the end of the season, everything kind of came together as the Boilers won the BTT title and earned a 5 seed. The first round, they beat Northern Iowa. But the next round, once-again, no one thought they could win as they were just three hours away from UW in Portland, OR (thanks committee). But, tough defense and a general angry demeanor fueled Purdue to victory. The next round, they lost to UConn...who went to the FF.
This season started off much-better than '08/'09. Everything was clicking. Grant's explosiveness had returned, Kramer swam Purdue to victory in the US Virgin Islands and the Boilers started off strong. After a hiccup in the mid-season, Purdue found its rhythm once-again and looked to be heading toward big things in the late season...and then, another ACL injury to one of The Big Three rocked the Boilers. In this injury, it seems harder to find the silver lining than the previous two that changed the trajectory of Grant and Kramer's collective college basketball career. And since then, Purdue has been all-but left for dead. But, Purdue did enough to win a share of the BT regular season title.
I think the easiest thing to do right now for many Purdue fans is begin looking toward the future. Lots of talent should be returning and a stacked recruiting class is on its way it...BUT, KG and Kramer are on their way out. Their importance to this team shouldn't be discounted. From clutch three-point shooting by Grant throughout the last four seasons to Kramer's uncanny knack to find a way to put himself in harm's way, these guys deserve a much better sendoff than what we saw Saturday night...We know it...and so do they.
Now, Purdue is once-again the underdog heading into the dance. Everyone points to Siena's tournament record, their athleticism and Purdue's rebounding woes as some of the reasons a victory by Siena wouldn't even be considered an upset.
Purdue's been pretty inconsistent in its offensive production of late, even before the Minny game...and looks like a team that is still trying to figure out its identity in the wake of Hummel's injury. This early spring isn't going at all like most Purdue fans thought it'd be going at this point, no doubt about that. And now, a season-long top-5 team who was staring at a possible 1 seed looks like it's now a long shot just to get out of the first round of the NCAA tourney.
So, if you need it, I'll give you two good reasons this team is still dangerous...and why you simply cannot give up on the Boilers.
GBI has a story up right now about Matty's conference this morning with the media. It's a good read, but for those who are lazy, here are the highlights:
