Others will love to hate him...But Scott will be our type of player

I've spent the morning reading a bit about Bryson Scott's approach to the Junior/Senior Indiana All-Star games...and have liked what I've been learning.

On the court, Scott plays with reckless abandon, a short memory and complete disregard for his own well-being...but off the court, he seems to be very aware of the past and is always keeping score.  These two parts of Scott's persona seem to align well and form a hard-nosed, tough-as-iron, uber-driven player that is defined by a constant pursuit to prove people wrong and silence critics.  In his effort to let his play speak for itself, he's earned a name for himself as a guy that never stops competing.

I'll go a step further- some opponents of Scott already don't like the guy all that much...and opposing fans of the teams he's played on seem to hate him.  We've been down this road before, Boilers...And even before he's officially on campus as a student athlete, I can tell you that this sounds like a marriage made in heaven.

Finesse and silky-smooth play is fun to watch...but finesse can fail a player when the nicks and cuts of a long B1G season mount.  But, grit seems to become deeper-ingrained as the games get bigger and a player's will is tested.  Scott has been testing his own will, quite vigorously, for years...training himself to fight through pain like he fights through picks and using his temper as a bit of fuel to his competitive fire.

It's tough to compare a player to a legend (or two) before he's put on a uniform...and it's something that I hardly ever get into the practice of doing.  BUT, I'm not talking about scoring or the amount of games a guy will win...I'm talking about competing, annoying the competition and having a motor that doesn't quit. So in this case, I feel pretty good about making these comparisons.

Brian Cardinal made everyone mad who wasn't a Boilermaker...if you don't know this, you were born and raised in the gold and black. Nearly everything he did was designed to get under the skin of opponents...but he always did it with a bit of a grin; I think that grated on them even more.  He'd grab the ball out of his opponent's hands after the whistle, dive for anything that was on the ground, look frantic and unathletic one second, and rain a three with someone in his face the next.  But more than any of this, he was driven...and his hard work separated him from the competition.

Chris Kramer stuck his nose into every conflict that was on the court...that earned him at least two broken noses while at Purdue. He'd swim to loose balls, rip the rock away from bigger players, be in the opposing PG's jersey (and in his nightmares)...and on offense, he'd facilitate and get everyone involved.  He'd lull opposing defenses to sleep as if to say, "nothing to worry about here, I'm just going to pass it..." Then when the blinked, he'd drive around a few of them and flush it in their face.  He wasn't as large as Cardinal, but he was a tremendous athlete...and instead of developing his scoring ability, he worked, and grinded on defense and abusing his body as he prepared for battle.

The will that both of these guys had is their commonality...the fact that IU fans hated them with a passion made us love them even more...Everyone in the conference thought their careers were seven or eight seasons long because they played right away, and logged tons of minutes in crunch time.  Keady and Painter were forced to play them because they made everyone better...and their attitude and approach to the game was something that every team would love to have, but few do.

That's why Scott's arrival is crucial to Purdue right now.

Purdue's identity was hazy at best last year. Defense didn't create offense...in fact, defense was no where to be found at times last year.  I said that after IU shellacked them, they'd be ready to play IU the second time simply for competition's sake.  Sure, IU was drastically more talented, but I thought Purdue would have a stronger will than they showed.  As a team, last year's group didn't seem to know how to compete for much of the year...that was the saddest, most bitter thing to accept as a fan who's become accustomed to watching teams always fight and compete.

While Scott isn't big, he's athletic, he's mean, he's stubborn and he's HUGE on fight.  Players like Hammons need to be kicked in the ass to get them to play like the world-beaters they are...and players like RayDay need other bulldogs come along side them; Scott might be that bulldog.

Bryson Scott is probably sick and tired of hearing about the guys that went to IU and Michigan and anywhere else really...has grown tired and annoyed at the Indy Star telling him that he wasn't close to being the best player in the state...but I'd bet he listens each and every time words like that are uttered, and sees them as another challenge that he'll meet.

Here's to critics squawking in the direction of B-Scott for the next four years...and Scott silencing them again and again.

Bryson Scott arrives on campus on June 17.

What if CK called CK?

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.

--------------------------------------------------------

Scene: Locker room, Chris Kramer is alone.

[A phone rings]

CK: Hello?

Future CK: Hi Chris, this is... Chris.

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*

The Blue Tongue Shot (and other photos)

Purdue Underdogs Their Way Past Another Lower Seed

Well. Well. Well.

Look at what we have here.

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.

They're Boilermakers.

Thank You, Chris

More later. My heart hasn't slowed down enough to allow a coherent recap.

Boilers Pull Upset; Advance to Second Round

"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.

Choo-choo, muthas.

This way to the second round, boys!

Can't Give Up on These Two

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.

Good Guys Finishing First (team & second...and honorable mention)

"Are you flippin' serious? No JJ on the first team?!?"

I'm not a glass is half-empty guy...but how JJ was kept off of the A-BT first team is beyond me. No matter. It's pretty awesome to see so many Purdue guys gaining hardware for their trophy cases.

All Big Ten First Team
Ostrich
Smooge

All Big Ten Second Team
JJ

All Big Ten Honorable Mention
CK3

BT Defensive Player of the Year
CK3

All Freshman Team
Kelsey Barlow

Coach of the Year
Matty Painter

Purdue should strive for nothing less than the entire starting five from our beloved Boilers being the All-BT first team squad...Mr. Jackson & Mr. Johnson, we'll be holding your table.

Congrats, Chris!

In probably the first of his many similar accolades for '09/'10, Chris Kramer has been named the Yahoo Sports Defensive Player of the Year. Also, Smooge was on their third-team AA squad.

Nice job, fellas!!

Senior Profile: Chris Kramer

Tonight, Chris Kramer -- CK, CK3, Chris MF Kramer -- plays his last game at home in a Boilermaker uniform.

Chris came to Purdue with Keaton Grant and he, too, agreed to come play for a program that had been down for a few years.

Kramer came in and has been a fan favorite ever since. CK took the baton from guys like Brian Cardinal in terms of hustle and became well-known as the best defender in the Big Ten as well as one of the most-respected in the country.

Chris' numbers have been remarkably consistent over his four years at Purdue. He's averaged between 5.2-7.2 points, 2.4-2.9 assists, and 2.9 to 3.2 rebounds. This is a guy who is who is and always was this guy. He's also averaged two steals a game...for four years. Which, as you know, makes him the all-time Purdue steals leader.

Chris is the epitome of Purdue toughness, of Purdue fight, of the grit that people think of when they think of Purdue. He's not considered flashy, even though he can do this:







He can also shoot when needed, with his freshman and junior years featuring mid-30% three-point shooting. But Chris rarely shoots, mainly because he knows that's not usually what the Boilermakers need. What they rely on from him is what he does best: take charges, draw fouls, make free throws, irritate opponents, get Manny Harris to get himself ejected from a game....

CK does it all from a hard-working perspective. As is so often said (and overused), he's the guy you love on your team but hate when he's on someone else's. Chris is the guy who will get the floor burns and take the broken nose and draw the hard charging foul.

And then, when you least expect it, he'll drain a critical three or surprise everyone with a tomahawk jam.

The guy is so tough, a rumor got going strong that he's going to play football for the Boilers in the fall. He currently says that's not the plan, but maybe Coach Hope just hasn't asked him yet.

When we look forward to next year and the Big Three being seniors, many of us get excited at this prospect. However, there are those of us who felt this year was the best shot at a Final Four in decades, mainly because the Big Three were juniors and CK and KG were back as seniors. Leadership is hard to define -- Chris does it with his actions.

We'll miss Chris Kramer more than any of us realize. So when he dons the gold and black for the last time at home tonight, remind him how much we love him....floor burns and all.

Chris Kramer Peers Deep Into Your Soul

Chris Kramer is on the cover of the first Purdue Alumnus magazine of 2010. Which seems odd, given that he's not yet an alum. But no matter. I'm sure our female readers will appreciate this cover and request poster-sized ones to put up in their bedrooms.

I also see a story in the mag is about "Breakfast Club at 25." Do you think they mean the tradition is 25 years old? Or is the article about whether it's still cool to go ogle college chicks at Breakfast Club once you reach the age of 25?

Another Test Passed

As I watched Purdue's game tonight against feisty Alabama, I was preparing mentally for what I was going to write tonight. And as the Boilermakers played lethargic ball in the first half and allowed the Tide to take a sizable lead and hold it for a long time, I began to think the theme of tonight's wrap-up would be one of some disappointment -- a test not passed. Which wouldn't be horrible -- losing to a quality opponent in the non-conference schedule, etc. But then things changes, and this game was yet one more building block for the special season we all hope we're witnessing, as Purdue won 73-65.

The Boilers came out hot, busting out to that 9-1 lead, while Alabama went 0-4 from the floor. And then the Purdue shooters went their customary, first-half icy cold. Good when you're talking a tall beer. Bad when you're talking a tall Boilermaker (named Rob Hummel).

Let's be honest here -- neither team was quite what they appeared to be in the first half. Alabama is good, but not that good. They played suffocating defense (more on that in a minute) and absolutely shot the lights out. I don't have the numbers in front of me for the first half, but 'bama was hot and was not wasting shots. They didn't need to rebound all that well because they were hitting things and causing turnovers. They were making the most of their chances.

Purdue, on the other hand, is not as bad as they looked -- I hope. They simply could not handle Alabama's pressure defense and full-court press. I can't count the number of times the Boilermakers made errant passes, lazy passes, dumb passes.... passes that lacked thought or vision. The kinds of passes boilerdowd used to make at Mrs. Boilerdowd during their courtship. You know what I'm saying -- sloppy.

The theory on playing a trapping press defense like that is to not dribble the ball, but to pass it immediately to keep from getting trapped. Purdue clearly planned for this, but it was almost to a fault. There were many times I found myself yelling at the TV for Purdue to dribble upcourt, dammit! When there's an opening and you can get 10-12 feet upcourt or, importantly, across the timeline, you do so. Yet Purdue continually looked to pass even when they probably didn't need to, leading to near-10-second violations on multiple occasions. This, as boilerdowd pointed out to me, is a great example of where Lewis Jackson's quickness and ballhandling skills would have been a invaluable asset. If you're an athletic team that's got Purdue on the schedule, you'd be smart to work on your trapping press defense. Yes, I know Tennessee did it, too, but I think we can all agree the Boilermakers looked a lot better against the Vols.

I don't know what went on at halftime, but it looked like the same two teams came out for the second half. Never a good sign. I was hoping to see, well, what we're used to seeing from Purdue -- a takeover. But at first it didn't come. Alabama stretched that nine point lead to sixteen and, I'll admit, I thought that was it for tonight.

And then the Boilermakers went on a 43-19 run to end the game. Ho-lee-sheet.

That was insane lockdown defense. Suddenly, the Boilers were intercepting passes and grabbing every rebound and pushing up the floor. And they didn't do it by getting hot and raining threes -- they did it in their methodical manner. Grind down the other team, continue to do the things you do well. That is, play strong defense....and the rest will come. And did it ever.

JJ, who had three fouls before ten minutes had elapsed in the first half, became a presence again in the second half and while he only wound up with ten points, his impact was noticeable. I had a great feeling as they closed the gap, seeing JJ, CK, Smooge and Ostrich playing their game. When we have our big guns out there, I think this team can hang with just about anybody. And yes, being the #5 team in the nation, they should be able to. But you know as well as I do that sometimes those rankings are only on paper. Or at least you should know that -- Jimmy Dykes mentioned it about 400,000 times during the broadcast.

As JJ was re-establishing himself, Hummel was putting together a great night, shooting well, rebounding, playing great defense himself. And, of course, Chris Kramer was a machine. That second half felt like the Rob and Chris show.

We've talked a lot about building blocks and taking steps and working towards a special season. This game is yet another example. Good teams do what Purdue did tonight. Lesser teams do not crawl out of a 16 point second half deficit on the road. Lesser teams do not withstand a 23-2 run by the other team. Seriously, look at that -- Alabama had a 23-2 run in the first half. They had a pretty intense student section, a pretty loud arena and a pretty focused team that fully believed they could and would win. And yet Purdue wore them down and made them cry uncle.

Are you starting to believe? Choo-choo.

Miscellaneous Thoughts

• "The SEC on ESPN"? Since when? I thought ESPN showed college basketball...period. Why the affiliation?
  
  
• I don't need to hear from Jimmy Dykes any more about how Purdue hadn't proved themselves yet because they hadn't played on the road. Beating Tennessee -- a top 10 team -- in the Virgin Islands doesn't count because it was a neutral court. Okay.
  
  
• Dykes also called Purdue a "quiet #5."
  
  
• He also compared Rob Hummel to Kyle Singler, which, while, um, I guess (they're both white, after all!), I don't see what Singler has to do with this game.
  
  
• To Dykes' credit, he also referred to Kramer as "the best perimeter defender in the college game" a number of times.
  
  
• Enough about the Heisman. Nobody cares. If we cared, we'd be watching the Heisman coverage on the primary EsPN channel. I'm sure they're still talking about it. It had zero to do with this game. Dykes and Blackburn must have mentioned it at least a dozen times, right?
  
  
• DJ Byrd showed signs of progress but still made errors. He hit both his three-point attempts and was fouled on a third -- which was when Purdue had finally tied the game. And then he bricked the first to attempts. He also had a couple of costly turnovers when the game was still in doubt. Those can be rally-killers and while I'm still happy he's getting this kind of playing time, he needs to begin showing improvement. I think he took some steps tonight, but they weren't without some bumps.
  
  
• Curtis Shaw, one of the officials for the game, got into it with the Alabama student section and had a few of them ejected. I'm not sure he's allowed to do this, but even if he is, he really shouldn't be paying attention to the students at all. What were they doing? Yelling at him? Uhhh, so what? This is college basketball. What did you think you were officiating, Curtis? Thumbs down on this. The students did not appear to be leaving their (pretty cool) risers right near the court.
  
  
• More nuggets from Jimmy Dykes: "Purdue has mentally closed the gap to ten points."
  
  
• And another: "Chris Kramer is a one-man linebacker." (I'd be frightened of a two-man linebacker.)
  
  

Please feel free to share your observations in the comments. Great win.

Indy Star Purdue Hoops Preview

Man, these guys look tough. Kramer is peering into your soul. Hummel has sneakers the size of a schooner. E'Twaun looks chiseled (did he do some pushups right before the shoot, like I would?).

The Indy Star puts forth a preview article, fortunately not written by Terry Hutchens.

Boilermaker Hoops Picked for Second Place; Hummel All-Big Ten

Chris Kramer laughs at your selections, Terry.

For those not following today's Big Ten basketball media day closely, the Boilermakers were a consensus pick -- for second place. I don't know about you, but I really don't care about this. In fact, if it takes any kind of a target off their backs for a little while, so be it.

Another miscellaneous tidbit, as a regular reader pointed out in the comments of another post, Smilin' Terry Hutchens did not pick JJ or Robbie for his preseason all-Big Ten team.... and sadly, that bumbling clown gets a vote. Well, the votes were tabulated and thankfully other people do realize how good Sir Hummel is and he made first team.

BS Liveblog and Purdue Interior Defense Both Weak

Well, for starters, the attempt at using the "Cover it Live" liveblog/chat technology was a rousing success clusterf-ck. Our apologies to anyone who specifically came here to use it and was as frustrated as I was. And kudos to those BS readers who made their way into enemy territory at Maize N Brew, as they were indeed able to get it working and we all enjoyed a decent chat for a while.

As for the game, well, what can you say? This was an absolute must-win for the Wolverines and they played like it. Well, Sims and Harris did, anyway. And I don't fault the Boilermakers too much in this one for a few reasons.

For one thing, Manny Harris caught fire. He was jacking up threes from wherever he felt like it and they were going down with more frequency than an Ann Arbor co-ed (hey-yo!). I knew it was bad when Manny made an awkward-looking turn and shoot move where his legs were sort of splayed out in two different directions and we had a hand in his face and the ball still rattled home for three. Not much you can do when a guy is unconscious like that. Well-done, Manny. I dare say you made up for a) getting booted from the Jan 31 game, and b) whatever it is you did to get your ass benched in the loss to Iowa. I'd say this win over a ranked Boilermaker team more than evens out the loss to that lousy Hawkeye team.

DeShawn Sims was an animal. Seriously, this guy looked unstoppable in the post. He was basically doing whatever he wanted down the stretch. Now, part of this is because Nemmy Calasan had the sniffles and wasn't playing (seriously, let's get this team some Thera-Flu and some Vitamin C) and JJ got into foul trouble early and wasn't out there. I might question Coach Matty a bit, though, because as the game was slipping away and Sims was manhandling KG and others, what harm would there have been putting JJ back in? What was going to happen? If he stemmed the tide, great. If he fouled out, we'd have been no worse off.

Robbie Hummel was the only one hitting. If not for Rob's play early-on and his stout 24 points, this one would have been out of hand fast. Robbie came to play and was looking rather warm in the first half. It's amazing how game-to-game his back issues really are.

Speaking of shooting.... Michigan shot the lights out, pumping it in at 63% from the field. That's very hard to overcome, no matter who you are and how good your defense is. They also went 50% from three-land. Again, how do you stop this? (The Boilermakers, comparatively, shot a respectable 46% from the field but a stinky 28% from three.) Still, Michigan couldn't hit free throws down the stretch and the Boilermakers had a couple of chances to cut the lead to 4 or 5 in the final minute. I know the UM faithful in the livechat were beginning to poop themselves at that point. I will say it's fun following a team that honestly does scare other teams as one of those, "They're not dead until the buzzer sounds" kinds of teams. I think these Boilers are entering that zone of respect.

Both teams "needed" this game but the UM guys needed it a lot more. The Boilers are a tourney lock and simply did not have the desperation, the desire for "revenge," or the home crowd in this one. Michigan's jumping-up-and-down student section of 16 kids really was rocking. I kid, I kid.

Other thoughts...

The Boilers now fall back into a tie with Illinois for second in the conference, two games back of MSU with three to play. Still, if the Boilers win their two home games against OSU and NW and MSU loses one game before we play them, well, hey... stranger things have happened.

The black unis looked awesome, I thought. My dad happens to be visiting me this weekend and so we watched together and I pointed out that I didn't like the necktie-and-collar look and he said he actually thought that was something he liked about the new uni. But hey, my dad's a retired accountant, so collars and ties are the norm.

Chris Kramer looked off to me. That one rush to the hoop and attempted dunk was weird. Yes, he was clearly fouled, but that no-call seemed to throw off his whole night. He wasn't accurate with his passing and he was no where near as effective on D as he usually is. I hope this is an anomaly and not a portent.

Please share your thoughts in the comments....

Manny Harris's Elbow and Chris Kramer's Nose Have Not Forgotten One Another

As you may recall, the Boilermakers and Wolverines got together on January 31 in West Lafayette and mayhem ensued. Manny Harris elbowed Chris Kramer in the schnozz, Kramer went down and bled with a broken nose (which, according to some, he faked -- hey, he's dedicated to his cause), Harris was ejected, Coach Beilein tried to manhandle the ref and we all generally went bananas.

UM and Purdue fans haven't ever truly hated one another, I don't think, but if it gets crazy again tonight I think that could begin to happen. And maybe a new bitter rivalry will get going.

The Boilers come into tonight's game having won four in a row and with Hummel's back issues constantly in question. One moment he's going to sit out the rest of the season, the next minute he's playing against cellar-dwellars like IU. Your guess is as good as mine.

Since that 1/31 game, the UM squad has gone 3-3, which isn't so bad except that they lost to Iowa on Sunday. They're now 17-11 (7-8 in the B10) and officially a bubble team. Tonight is their last home game of the regular season and then they go on the road to Wisconsin and Minny. So to say tonight's a big game for them would be accurate.

It's also yoooge -- in my opinion -- for our Boilers. Win this game and then hold serve at home against OSU and Northwestern, and then we head to MSU for our showdown. Lose any one of those, though, and the regular season race is over. So tonight's the first -- and toughest -- step to getting to that showdown game against MSU.

I don't expect the Boilermakers to overlook Michigan tonight. Painter will have them ready and will remind them of how lackluster they looked against IU. This Michigan team has already proven they can win -- UCLA and Duke know this -- and they led the Boilers at the half a month ago, in West Lafayette. Crisler should be rocking and the hate that will be leveled at Chris Kramer will be infuriating to Purdue fans, as this guy did nothing but play solid defense and irritate Manny. But the fans will get on him, big time. Fortunately for us, CK seems to play even better when this is the case.

Also, keep an eye out for the new Boilermakers road unis -- the black on black should be cool.

We'll also be experimenting with a joint liveblog tonight, in the spirit of all of us fans getting along. You'll be playing nice in the sandbox with the readers of Maize N Brew, if you so choose.

If the liveblogging technology works and is well-recieved, we'll use it in future games, too, and I intend to liveblog our first round tourney games for those who have to work and will be unable to see it. I'm not sure if it WILL work tonight and I know the staff of Boiled Sports isn't entirely sure we'll be able to be online during gametime, so if we're not... well, play nice. And if the livebloggy thinger doesn't work, well, we're not technical geniuses. But we are handsome, and what more do you want?

Check back at gametime for the liveblog stuff to be up and running.

The 2008-2009 Season -- How We Got Here

Doing season wrap-ups at year end is always kind of anticlimactic and, really, just a space-filler. You've got nothing else to talk about so you do a wrap-up. So let's talk now for a minute about the current basketball season and how we got to where we are.

And where is that exactly? That's back to a very nice place to be... that place where you "contol your own destiny." Which sounds a bit more grand than it is. If I could literally "control my own destiny," I'd steer said destiny towards a place where I was independently wealthy and Jennifer Love Hewitt was on staff for no other reason than to be a motorboating companion.

Anyway, the Boilermakers are now 9-4 in the Big Ten, one game behind the Spartans and in control of whether or not they win the Big Ten regular season title.

Looking Back

Looking back on the season, we all expected big things from this team. And Boilerdowd noted right away that our expectations -- and the national media's -- were too high:

"Let's keep things under control," he warned, "Teams full of freshman don't often play like our guys did last year. They were playing over their heads."

"Also... I like a man's ass in bicycle shorts. What can I say?"

Okay, so he didn't say all of that, but you get the idea. And it's true -- last year's team was an aberration. No, it's not that these guys aren't good -- they are. But that it could all come together so well and that our boys could contend for the Big Ten title while being so very young.

Then this season came along, injuries plagued the team and an inexplicable 0-2 start happened. Suddenly, things were very different -- quickly. The hopes for a Big Ten title vanished and it simply became about having a good season. Hummel's back worsened, even as the team ran through six straight wins.

Looking back, though, at the losses, you could make a case that this team should be 12-1 in Big Ten play.

The 71-67 loss at Mackey to Illinois -- hit our free throws, even a little bit, and that's a win.

The 67-64 road loss to PSU -- come on, it's PSU. No excuse.

The 80-72 road loss to OSU -- I don't care if Hummel was out. JJ scored 30 and we had the ball for the last possetion of a tied game. Should be a win.

The road loss at Illinois was a sound defeat from start to finish.

Looking Ahead

So what's my point? I have no idea.

Oh, right... that things can go in different directions so easily and so quickly. This team went from media darling to 0-2 bust to gutty team to conference contender. And it feels like each switch happened in a matter of days. Could they be that team that gets their act together in March and wins four in a row to make the Final Four?

We suppose, but we agree here at BS that the Boilermakers time is a year or two away. This year's squad is indeed gutty -- but they're way too thin and injured to make a deep run, at least logic would say so. You can't rotate just seven guys -- with only 4 or 5 truly healthy -- and expect to keep up with the teams you'll need to beat in March. Would we be completely gobsmacked if they made it to Detroit? No. But we don't expect it to happen just yet.

Back in the beginning of the season, we said that a successful year would be consistently being ranked in the top 15 and making a run to a Sweet 16 berth. That looks strangely intelligent right now, mainly because we're S-M-R-T.

As for what's immediately ahead, there are five regular season games left.

Tomorrow against IU should be a win.

Next Thurs @ UM should be a win, but of course has us worried.

Two days later hosting OSU should be a win, but will not be a cakewalk.

March 4 against Northwestern -- there's no excuse to not win that one.

And then the finale in East Lansing. If the same smothering defense shows, I don't care how prepared MSU is and how much they remember their ass-whipping in WestLaf -- it won't matter. However, I have to believe the Spartans will hold serve at home in this one.

If the Boilers win the Big Ten regular season crown, we here at BS say take a dive in the Big Ten tourney. You gain little and could instead rest your guys. That rest is more valuable to this team.

What have we learned about these Boilermakers?

When JuJuan Johnson cuts to the bucket and puts down a beastly dunk (like the one pictured above), you should have a good feeling because it means good things. He's done this a number of times, and it always seems like a giant awakening, like a guy saying, "Okay, enough of this bullsh-t. I'm taking this mofo over."

We've also learned that JJ is a legit threat whenever he has the ball. The overpowering dunks are one thing, but the ability to pick-and-roll nicely as well as put in soft-touch baskets in the lane -- sometimes even while falling down -- creates a comfortable feeling. You can tell when Johnson's on and who doesn't like it when their Johnson is standing tall? Wait, I mean.... oh, never mind.

We've also learned that Big Shot Rob Hummel is someone the Boilers CAN play without. They've had to practice all season without him, so seeing the team get better at playing without him only makes sense. Now it feels like a team that is good enough to win on a lot of nights even if Robbie's not playing -- and when he gets in there, it's like having a sudden extra weapon. Boilerdowd and I also learned on a visit to campus on 1/31 that Robbie can have any freshman girl at Purdue he wants. When we stopped a group of frosh girls to ask some trivia about Purdue (video forthcoming....one day...), one of the things we asked, just randomly, was who the best current player is. Without hesitation, and with that little girl, starry-eyed voice, they chimed, "Robbie Hummel." Oh, Robbie, you lucky dog.

If there was any doubt, Chris Kramer is the heart and soul of this team. He's a cocky boy, yes, but he's a co-captain for a reason (why KG is, I'm not sure, actually). His defense is the very definition of "smothering" and he's managed to piss off some of the smoothest and most talented offensive players to come through the Big Ten recently. I also know of several females who would not be bothered at all by having Chris Kramer in their personal space. Take note, Manny Harris.

We've learned a little more about who Keaton Grant is. He's not the guy who used to be more of an offensive weapon. It's time to deal with that fact. KG is a complementary player who, when he's feeling it, puts up beautiful rainbow threes.

We've learned that Bobby "Buckets" Riddell should be treated as more than a walk-on. Fortunately, it looks like Matt(y) has realized it as well, as Buckets is seeing time in the first half these days. This guy is a solid baller and he passed up opportunities to be the man at D-II and D-III schools just because he wanted to play for the black and gold. This, of course, makes us love him even more. His solid shooting and decision-making doesn't hurt, either.

We've learned that a lot of us don't like Nemmy Calasan. He likes to take ill-advised, boob-ass three pointers from the top of the key. Yes, Nem, have you ever wondered why you're open for those so often? You're not Detlef Schempf. (Dowd thinks Painter allows this to keep Nemmy happy.)

So those are just some of what we've learned thus far this season. Hopefully there will be more to learn.

Like how Jennifer Love Hewitt looks it a lavender-ish catsuit.

Built for speed or comfort?

More On The New Unis

As we've discussed here, the Boilers are switching uniforms. And much like Iowa, they're just doing it midseason. Hey, why the hell not? Nike donates money to put their swoosh on our scoreboards and their unis on our guys, so they get to make the call. Great world we live in.

Thanks to the site, Crawfordsville Area Sports Blog for the photos below. Let's take a look.

I have to say, I definitely like the black and I think the outline makes the numbers very readable, but my first thought about this one is that it reminds me of those dark Oregon jerseys. Not saying it's logical, but the dark on dark reminds me of them.

Keaton, keep your eyes front and center, son. BoilerGal has first dibs on CK.

Is it me, or should CK take a size larger in that jersey?


And here's my main complaint... in this photo and the above one, I especially notice it -- when I glance over the pictures, it looks to me like they're wearing shirts and neckties underneath the new jerseys. All-in-all, I think we can all agree we like them. And, of course, we'll need to see them in action.

Unless we're mistaken, that action will be tonight, as our Boilers host the MSU Spartans. If we're going to beat them, tonight's the night, folks.

Thanks again to Crawfordsville Area Sports Blog for the photos.

UPDATE: Special thanks to an anonymous reader who pointed out that during the press conference, it was announced that Nike would provide alternate unis in gold for next season. When next season? Who knows. Probably 2/3 of the way through the year. Said reader also provided a link letting us know that one Painter-coached squad has worn the golds and it was his first season against IU. Check this out for the visual evidence. (I really like those, by the way, especially with the black down the sides.)

UM Panties Remain Bunched, Cause Strange Justifications

We found it interesting that the write-ups from several prominent and respected (usually, even by us) Michigan sites were so up-in-arms over the incident in Mackey Arena on Saturday. The incident, which you know unless you accidentally navigated in here while doing a Google search on Boiled Crawfish or something (and if so, welcome), was the one in which Manny Harris of Michigan put his elbow into Chris Kramer's nose and was then ejected from the game.

First, let's take a look at some of the foot-stomping going on out there in the 'sphere:

From the UM Rivals board:

Watch the clip and tell me: did Manny even make contact with Kramer's face? I don't think he did. I think Kramer flopped and broke his nose when he fell on the floor.

Yes, I'm sure that's what happened. Kramer's face never hit the floor. Come on. Look at it frame by frame.

From Maize n Brew:

"Unfortunately, Purdue's Kramer was checking Harris from approximately 1 inch away with his face very closely. So when Harris swung through, his elbow caught Kramer in the nose (who quickly went to the floor) and what transpired next could only be aptly described as a sham of officiating."

Who "quickly went to the floor"? Is this implying Kramer was acting? He actually lost consciousness. So yeah, what a flopper. Let's move along.

MnB then goes on to quote from the rule book, as do other sites, but they of course pull the parts that support their boy.

Do you really want to use the rulebook? Because so can we. Many of the UM sites are saying sure he deserved a flagrant, but since he didn't MEAN to hurt Kramer, he shouldn't have been ejected. Unfortunately, just like not knowing how fast you're going isn't an excuse to get out of a speeding ticket, not "meaning" to hurt someone is no reason not to be penalized. Let me share a subsection of Rule 10, Article 13 with you:

Rule 10, Article 13, sub e, sub-sub 2: Two free throws [are awarded] for an intentional personal or flagrant personal foul and the ball awarded at a designated spot nearest to where the foul occurred.

Any flagrant personal foul shall result in ejection of the offender.

Read that last line again. Not to pick on anyone in particular, but Michigan Sports Center makes the case like this:

This was a ridiculous call simply because Harris didn't intentionally hit Kramer. I can't stress that enough. It was an accident.

Once it was determined that it was a flagrant personal foul, Manny was done. It's not debatable. And it doesn't matter if he really is a nice guy and didn't mean to do it. He did it and so he's guilty.

What's really disappointing was the normally level-headed MGoBlog's take, which was this:

"It's one thing to lose. It's another thing to lose partially, largely, or entirely because of the incompetence of a referee.... [It was] a foul and was adjudged one until such point as Scrappy Heady IQ Head For The Scrappy Eckstein started gushing blood out of his nose and the Purdue crowd cried out, at which point it was cause to boot Manny Harris. From there Michigan imploded."

A few things... one, we're not arguing that the Big Ten officials are awful and incompetent and stealing money from the NCAA. They miss calls both ways. But these digs at Kramer as though he embelleshed this are just ridiculous. He didn't "gush blood" for effect. And it wasn't the crowd being angry that got Manny booted -- it was a couple of other things...

As already detailed, no matter how sweet a guy Manny Harris is, it was a flagrant foul. And a flagrant foul -- especially one causing injury -- is cause for ejection. Even if Manny teaches disabled children how to walk again and has singing voice that makes doves appear. It's irrelevant.

And, yes, Zack Novak's blatant elbow in the previous game against OSU does affect things. Sorry, boys, but your team is being looked at more closely now. You have guys throwing elbows and getting suspended and so when another elbow happens in the very next game you simply cannot act outraged that people begin to ask questions.

One of the other popular things today is to take rips at Jay Bilas' comments on ESPN that night. He said Belein has to "get his team under control." And this is true. Whether or not you think Manny's elbow was intentional, it's now a pattern. And who is responsible? The coach. None of us here think he's coaching them to elbow guys. But both incidents occurred when his players were very frustrated -- one in a blowout loss (Novak) and the other when their leading scorer was getting worked by Kramer.

And what about the other comments made by guys more respected that Bilas? How about Bob Knight pointing out that if the defender gets up on you, that's his space. You do not have the right to swing your elbows into his nose. That is a flagrant offensive foul.

Michigan fans have every right to be bothered by this situation. But to toss the rulebook around and act as though it's silly to eject a guy who drew blood by committing a textbook flagrant foul -- especially in light of recent elbowing fouls on the same team -- is just being a little bit short-sighted. We thought maybe everybody just needed to calm down after a disappointing loss and would then come to their senses. Guess not, though.

What enraged most of the Mackey crowd more than the play, though, was that after the decision was made, Belien's repeated physical turning around of the official to continue arguing with him. Matt Painter gets a technical foul at the end of the first half because he argued with the officials over a non-call when Robbie Hummel gets mugged, yet John Belein can assault the referees at his leisure and until he's done with his dissertation. We were there and, trust me, that's what almost caused the riot.

When Kramer got the elbow to the face, we didn't actually think Manny should be ejected. We were actually pissed at the officials at that point. As Boilerdowd said to me, "You have two teams that play pressure defense in each other's faces and you call a total of ten team fouls in the first half. This is what happens."

Was this like someone stepping on another player's head or like Zack Novak's elbow in the previous game? Absolutely, unequivocally, not.

Was it a flagrant foul that the rulebook says you get ejected for?

Yes, it was.

A Helping of Coach Sanctions, ND Really Sucks, Everybody Hates Chris(?) and Wisconsin Tonight!

There's just so much we could write about today, but there are only so many hours, so many posts.... and, hey, we have jobs, you know.

We'd be remiss if we didn't continue our crack investigative following (which can be summed up by: "He's a cheater!") of Kelvin Sampson, or Coach Sanctions, as we affectionately call him.

Coach Sanctions is back in the news, now appealling his NCAA penalty. Let's go to the article:

In November, the NCAA, which found Sampson had committed two major violations, slapped him with a five-year show cause penalty -- meaning that if he applies for another job in the next five years, the school hiring him must appear before the NCAA and show why it should not be subject to penalties.

Sounds simple enough. So what's the basis for the appeal?

The first point of appeal claims that the NCAA infractions committee misinterpreted testimony by former Indiana assistant Rob Senderoff, leading it to conclude that Sampson knowingly placed impermissible recruiting phone calls, according to the report. The second point of appeal claims the NCAA's enforcement staff was biased and indicated an assumption of guilt by requesting a hearing before all of its interviews were complete.

Oh, I see. We're back to the, "But I didn't know they were impermissible phone calls!" argument. Gotcha. And as for the second point, about indicating an assumption of guilt without completing all the interviews, well, this isn't the United States judicial system we're talking about here. You're not protected by the laws of the constitution. No one is charging Coach Sanctions with a crime. I'm glad everyone paid attention in their fourth-grade social studies class, but "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't apply here. If the NCAA decides they've seen enough, they are allowed to act on the "where there's smoke, there's fire" approach.

But hey, I'd be curious as to what program out there would consider hiring this lying jerk.

Chris Kramer is Hatable?

Storming the Floor has released a list of the most hated players, in their opinion, in college basketball. And, shockingly (to me, at least), Chris Kramer made the bench of the all-hated team. Keep in mind, this team includes guys like Hansbrough, Paulus, Blake Griffin, etc. And their justification is "Everybody hates a great defensive player."

Well, we don't. We love Chris Kramer. And from what I've seen, there aren't many opposing players or coaches who truly dislike Kramer. Think back to Brian Cardinal -- now that was a guy we would have hated if he were on another team. But I'm surprised about Chris being included on this list.

We Told You So

Hey, yeah, I think Notre Dame has been exposed as a fraud. Yes, I'm sure the Big East is just that tough and that's why the Domers are 12-7 overall and 3-5 in conference. Of course, that doesn't explain why Marquette is 7-0 in conference (and just beat those tough guys from South Bend in South Bend). Huh. Maybe Notre Dame just sucks. And to see that idiotic display on Saturday when College Gameday was there and they were screaming like green-clad, a-holes, as though they're just mad about basketball in South Bend! Give me a break.

Boilermakers In Cheese Country

And tonight, our Boilers face off in Madison against the angry and desperate Badgers. At least they won't be distracted by attractive co-eds. Zing!

Boilerdowd may be by later to give more of a legit preview -- I'm never sure (we're about as seamless as Obama taking the oath of office around here -- hey-yo!). But we'll be sure to weigh in on the game and what it all means afterwards. But let's just say the Boilers have left themselves no margin for error after that 0-2 conference start. They're on a good roll right now but need to get a little more healthy.

The Boilers also are among the best in the nation in FG percentage defense, which, to me, is a little misleading. Because, while the Boilers do play very good defense, sometimes a few bad shooting days by your opponents helps this kind of a stat. (Think of Davidson's awful shooting day as well as Minnesota's, as a couple of examples -- was that all us? Or maybe 50/50?)

Point is, though, the Boilers have been playing good defense, shooting well and the Badgers have been struggling and not shooting well. Tonight's game in Madison is critical as the Boilermakers try to stay within a game of MSU in the Big Ten. The Boilers should honestly win this game if they're as good as they're supposed to be.