Thursday Gumbo

We've gotten a few e-mails asking what we've heard in regards to Coach Hazell's staff...Not much.

The new coach has kept his process pretty quiet, smartly, mind you.  But a few things have become known in the last few days- first, Paul Haynes won't be his DC.  After the Arkansas dumpster fire coaching staff was blown up with their hiring of Bielema, Haynes was contacted by his alma mater, Kent State to become their head coach...he obliged.  Perhaps just as Purdue made hiring another mustache important after Tiller left, Kent State looks like they went after another bald and beautiful coach to fill coach Hazell's sizable shoes.

I've heard a very quiet, almost undetectable, murmur that Hazell is interested in Fickel.  He'd carry a hefty price tag that I'm not sure Purdue could swing.  BUT, he's a Tressel guy (who's advising Hazell), he's not a Meyer guy, and a ton of aOSU fans are less-than-in-love with the ex-interim-Bucknut coach.

Hazell has interviewed and talked with current Purdue coaches and he was impressed...but hasn't made anything public about who's staying or going, yet. He's impressed with Kevin Maurice, Purdue's current supervisor of player personnel...but hasn't gotten too specific after that.

One thing that's pretty awesome about Hope's staff is that they've all been able to hold on to the verbal commitments that Hope received...and those that have been visited by Hazell have been impressed.  That's quite a contrast with many of the programs that are currently feeling the growing pains of announcing a new coach for next season...and that should make Hazell's transition much easier.

Message board and twitter rumors say Marcus Freeman will come with him from KSU...but that's still speculation.  What we do know is that Hazell has given up sleeping for the month or so that he's coaching KSU and Purdue.  He still has nine spots open for his class of 22...and three of that class should be enrolling in January after Christmas break.

Ike (in gold), a few of his ex-teammates, and LBD (blonde) take in a game at Mackey

Lone Defection
DEnd, LB and WR are all positions that are currently getting attention...and DE specifically needs a good get as redshirt Freshman Kingsley Ike is in the process of transferring elsewhere.  That's too bad; I liked the guy and thought he might be one of the next guys in the Den.

Ike hails from Texas and is the only current player to leave the team since Hope's departure.

Practices Shorter
Interim Coach Higgs has made bowl prep practices shorter for the Boilers as they get ready to play on January 1 in an effort to keep intensity high and players healthy.  Virtual pal of BS via Twitter, Crosby Wright says it's been effective as the practices have been sharp and intense.

I was kind of concerned about motivation being a problem for the squad without a permanent coach in place...glad to see that's not a problem.  But, the Senior-laden Boilers surely are leaning heavily on the pillars of the team in order to keep some semblance of consistency.

In Case you missed it...
Jay Simpson won't be suiting up for our Boilers for the rest of the season due to a nagging foot injury that isn't healing.  He'll be seeking a medical hardship waiver that would make him a Freshman again next season...but the NCAA has to grant it first.

A UND shooting forward played in 10 games last season before tearing his ACL...he averaged 34min/game...Simpson has averaged under 8/gm.

Having Simpson as a super-Freshman next season would be a big boost to that class and the program at large...but I won't believe it until it's official.  Since Keith Smith wasn't granted his sixth year a few seasons back, I don't have a ton of trust in the NCAA.

Who am I kidding...I've never had a ton of trust in the NCAA's judgement or consistency.

Monday Gumbo; Pre-Indy 500 Edition

Big Jay Gets Screwed...Again
Jay Simpson had surgery on his foot recently following breaking his foot a few weeks ago.  In spite of needing surgery to repair the break, his docs still say he'll be available for the trip to Italy with his Boiler teammates. I'd venture a guess though, with two months out of commission, Jay will exhibit some rust come early August.  He says he's currently about 10 pounds heavier than he'd like to be...so getting in shape for the '12/'13 season, while not impossible, will be difficult for Purdue's 6'9" Freshman PF.

This isn't the first time Simpson has had to have surgery on a foot; a few years ago, he had similar surgery on the other foot.

In November, Simpson joins a youthful, but talented frontcourt with fellow Freshman, Hammons and Hale, along with Sophomore, Jacob Lawson and Juniors, Carroll and Marcius.

Still Champs...But...
The Baseball Boilers dropped their first series of the B1G season in Iowa over last weekend.  The sub-.500 Hawkeyes managed to score at least 6 runs in all three games of Purdue's final series of the regular season.  Now, Purdue heads into the B1G tourney as the #1 seed in the conference...but needs to play well in an effort to host a round in the NCAA tourney.

Back on the Team
OJ Ross practiced all Spring without a schollie for the Hope's team after academic problems and enigmatic behavior put the starting behavior in the doghouse.  Dwayne Beckford had another run-in with the law during the winter that forced him out of Spring practice and off of the team.

Both players have had their scholarships re-instated...but make no mistake, both cases aren't the same.

Ross, while exhibiting some laziness, both on and off the field probably should be given another chance to play in the fall.  Purdue's receiving corps desperately needs stability and experience...especially with Antavian Edison's status still a question mark following his arrest in Florida earlier this month.

But, Beckford, in my opinion, has had more than enough opportunities to stay out of trouble, and simply hasn't been able to do so. I think Hope really wants to see the kid graduate...and I appreciate that idea. But, as we saw at the end of Tiller's time at Purdue, letting guys who repeatedly break the law does no good for the program in the longrun...and really doesn't do much good for that individual either.

While Purdue needs help at LB even more than WR, I'd rather not see #3 playing for my alma mater in the fall...but I'm not the guy who makes the call (obviously).

Edison's weapons charge in Florida still has a ton of ways it can go.  Who knows if Antavian was unaware of the weapon in the car, if it was his or if he tried to deflect some of the attention off of his uncle (who is already a convicted felon)...regardless, this seems like a really dumb situation to be caught in...and if he gets off with misdemeanor charges and a plea (which I think he will), hopefully, he never puts himself in this position again.  Unlike Beckford, Edison has never been in trouble with the law before this incident...but if he's charged/convicted with a felony weapons charge, he'll surely be off the team and kicked out of school.

Spake or Steele? Everyone's a Winner here
I'm a big fan of blonde-haired sports reporters with dimples. Weird, I know.

I think Samantha Steele is one of the best in the business...she's knowledgeable and very good to look at as well.  But racing fans, specifically NASCAR fans know Shannon Spake...and probably like her quite a bit.  IndyCar fans have Jamie Little (I'm not a huge fan).

But in a cage match for on-field (or on track) supremacy, who wins- Spake or Steele? Weigh in on the upper right of the page on this week's poll.

No losers in this competition

No-Bump Bump Day
I spent two afternoons at IMS in the last three days...and gathered some more opinions of my favorite form of racing...here are some nuggets.

Bourdais' new paintjob is badass.

-The extra boost used to help make quals and practice faster and more entertaining did exactly what it was supposed to do.  BUT, I don't think it's a coincidence that there were four crashes in that period.

The new chassis, as it's configured now has a ton of downforce and makes it easier to drive.  The combo of additional horsepower and taking out as much wing as possible led to some pretty dramatic wrecks.

-Before a few teams left Lotus to seek some engines that would actually compete at Indy and everyplace else on the circuit, it was tough to find an extra engine in the IndyCar garages.

After a few of those Chevys went backend-first into the outside walls, the engine shortage became an even bigger deal.  The end result was a Bump Day at IMS that had exactly 33 driver/car combos...and four or five drivers left with their hats in their hands as they sought rides to get into the show.  Next year, with another year of development, and hopefully the loss of Lotus and another manufacturer (i.e. Ford or Mazda?) coming into the league, Bump Day should return to where it was in 2011 and before.

-I'm all for safety of the drivers...but let's look at what racing really is at its core: Go as fast as possible and beat your competition.  That principle is no longer in play in any of the major racing leagues in the world.

NASCAR machines were going 205+ in the 90s...CART had cars that would do close to 250 on a straight-away in the 70s and 80s (sure, they couldn't turn at anywhere near that speed) and F1 continues to take away aero advantages to make driving the car more of a challenge (I'm actually a fan of this as it seems much of F1 racing is out of the drivers' hands)...

The point is IndyCar needs to get back to the days in which teams were encouraged to innovate and press for speed. Sure, that idea led to a Buick that went 236 mph...but couldn't hold up for more than 40 laps of race conditions; but isn't that the point? Everything in racing is about risk/reward.

Allowing the teams to change aero packages next year is a good step forward...and hopefully, with another year of development, the Honda and Chevy engines will be able to get closer to 230 again. But the fact that multiple drivers were over 235 mpg 20 years ago, and can barely crack 225 now makes fans like me long for "the good ole' days".

That said, I still love IndyCar and the month of May at IMS.

Baby Boilers v. 2 (2012)

Painter's 2007 class was in the top-5 to top-10 depending on which magazine was doing the ranking...and Matty simply had to have that class make an instant impact due to attrition during the spring prior to the original Baby Boilers' arrival in God's Country.

Things are much different now.

The last four seasons, Purdue has been a regular among the best in the conference, is a perennial NCAA tourney team, had been ranked for nearly four-straight seasons and the program is back on sure footing.  But the incoming class is important for a number of reasons.

First, and probably least-importantly, this class helped reaffirm some faith in Painter as a recruiter.  Sure, the '09 & '10 classes had a total of three 4-star players, but they were all guards.  Many thought Painter was having trouble getting highly-touted bigs to take Purdue seriously in the wake of the past few seasons.