Here's what they're doing:
On August 4th, a bunch of old guys* who used to play basketball for Purdue will suit up again to play against one another for your delight and entertainment**.
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| Distinguished. |
You'll see heroes of yesteryear like Troy Lewis, Todd Mitchell, Brian Cardinal, Kenneth Lowe, Carson Cunningham, David Teague, Matt Kiefer, Bobby Buckets, Tarrance Crump, Marcus Green, Chris Kramer, Mark Wohlford along with maybe even a few more...and the youngest old guy on this list (so far), Ryne Smith.
After the alums play one-another in a game-til-the-death,*** the whipper-snappers will suit up for their last and only tune-up scrimmage in front of a live, studio audience before heading to Italy. That's right- not only will you get to see some of your favorite Boilers from the 80s, 90s, 00s and 10s, you'll also get to see the future of Purdue basketball...from Byrd and Anthrop's c/o '13 to the class of '16 (or '17, depending on RS), on together on the court for the first time, to the public.
Jay Simpson's surgically-repaired foot should be ready by then...so everyone should be playing. Also, you'll get to see DJ Byrd's dialed-in jump shot- he's been working with ex-Purdue great (possibly greatest), Rick Mount.
How much would you pay for all of this? $1,000,000? No. $10 US. Not too shabby. For me, August fourth is now the light at the end of the tunnel of my summer doldrums. Usually, that date is pretty cheery for me anyway, as I mark the anniversary of my birth on that day each year, but this year, it'll be extry-special as I'll be watching a real sport**** after months of regular season MLB baseball being nearly all that's available.
J and I talked about this event...and we thought the possibilities for upcoming games might be endless. You see, this is the first time and event like this has ever been hosted by Purdue. What if they tweaked it next time, and invited back transfers to play Purdue greats- maybe you'd see Smooge raining treys over Clyburn, Landry posting up Vanderveran, Lutz trying to stop David Lesmond, Minnoy being swatted guarded by JJ or Hummel stealing his old pal, Martin's, lunch money.
One can dream.
But for now, we don't need to dream...Instead, just know that in 52 short days, you're all invited back to Mackey to send off the new Baby Boilers, and co. to Italia in style.
*"Old guys" is a completely subjective term...some old guys might or might not be 12 years younger than the writer of this post.
**Warning! The last time something like this was planned by the athletic department was a flag football game for Boiler football alums...that game was rained out. All signs point to this not being a possibility in Mackey Arena.
***Not really.
****I'm sure this will piss off some of the readers...dag-nabbit, I just wrote about Purdue baseball; can't win, I guess.
Addendum: Does anyone know if AC was installed into Mackey during last year's renovation? I think not...hydrate and wear flowy clothing.
Addendum: Does anyone know if AC was installed into Mackey during last year's renovation? I think not...hydrate and wear flowy clothing.
5 comments:
Very excited for this. If it goes well, I hope it becomes a tradition in some way.
In response to the addendum... the answer is, unfortunately, no. I forget the exact number that I heard, but it was most definitely an exorbitantly large amount of money to install air conditioning into a building that is really very rarely used during the months that you'd "need" it. In this particular instance, I'm gonna have to endorse MJB's decision. It probably would have added to the downtime we had with Mackey as well.
This is definitely cool. Wish I could make it.
"this is the first time and[sic] event like this has ever been hosted by Purdue" - um... didn't they do this before, with alumni greats such as Mat Ten Dam coming back? Not saying this isn't a great idea, just that this isn't the first time.
edit: found reference to the previous alum game - way back in 2003. It was part of midnight madness, so yes, this is the first 'stand-alone' alumni game, at least that I was able to find in my 15 seconds of extensive research: http://oldgoldfreepress.com/columnist/Bob_Richards/columns/340.shtml
Don't mean to bust your balls. Just... wanted to bust your balls. Keep up the decent work.
Smart Alec- Matt Ten Dam played in an alum game? That is awesome in itself. Did he kickbox any of his opponents?
I will be attending this! Maybe Greg Eifert, Curt Clawson, Chuckie White, Doug Lee, Tony Jones, Steve Sheffler, Dave Barrett, Porter Roberts, Marvin Rea, Herb Robinson, Melvin McCants or EVEN Luther CL-never mind....will be as well!!! BTFU!
@bdowd - sure did, at least according to reports (I was long gone). (the playing part, not the kickboxing part).
Here's a few details culled from questionable sources on the internet (see the link in my previous comment):
"By a few minutes into the 20 minute game, Matt ten Dam had eight points, two boards, an assist and a steal for the White squad. Ervin and ten Dam both eclipsed their career scoring totals in twenty minutes of alumni play."
And for an in-depth look into what it was like to live with Mat (read all 25 parts, plus the epilogues when you have about 8 hours of free time, it's riveting):
http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2009/06/livin-large-part-1.html
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