Plawecki and Turner are Purdue's Athletes of the Year

Congratulations are in order for juniors Kevin Plawecki and Ariel Turner for winning Purdue's Athletes of the Year for 2011-2012.

Plawecki, as most of you know, is a catcher for the Big Ten Champion Boilermaker baseball team who was recently drafted by the New York Mets and is thus doomed to a life of....being a Met. (Sorry, my Yankeeness is showing. Actually, if Plawecki winds up a Mets regular, I will have no problem at all pulling for him as one of my own.)

Turner is probably lesser known by the masses, but she deserves just as much congratulations from you. From the story linked above:

Turner is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, who received AVCA first team All-America honors and second team Academic All-America accolades. She ranked in the top six nationally in both kills per set (4.84) and points per set (5.46), also leading the Big Ten in both categories.

Plawecki and Turner will now be the Purdue representatives for the Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Year awards, to be voted on by the conference media and announced on the BTN at 7:30 PM, ET, this coming Monday, 6/18.

Our Midseason Review

As I'm sure you all know, JJ is a mid-season All-American according to the Sporting News. While the media see Johnson for what he is, I'm sure 25 doesn't care too much about that. Versus Penn State, JJ didn't fill it up, but it might be one of my favorite he's played this season. He quietly went about his business, grabbed 15 boards and made some very important passes to move the ball around the perimeter. As PSU's zone sucked in on JJ as a diversion, space was created for Jackson to drive and Smith to get open looks.

That's really what the best players do- make everyone better.

Same goes for Moore. Like JJ, he's been scoring around 20 points/game, but he doesn't get much media attention for his defensive effort, his rebounding and his distribution. Plus, and I don't think this surprises anyone in the Purdue family, when his shot hasn't fallen this season, I haven't seen him pout, whine or take one possession off. Moore quietly plays with a chip on his shoulder...but we haven't seen him get angry (at the other team) this season like he did late last year toward the end of the year. And while his opposition wouldn't like him when he's angry, Purdue fans and his teammates love him that way.

Both JJ and Moore have played exactly how Matty has wanted them to...and probably precisely how Purdue fans expected. Compared to last year, here's how their numbers have changed:

Player Min Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk

JJ +2.7 +3.8 +1.4 +.4 -.2 +.3

Smooge +.8 +2.9 +2.1 +.3 +.2 +.2

Both players were good-enough to garner conference and national honors last
season...and both have gotten better in nearly every category. They're much
of the reason Purdue is in the position it's in at this point...but that's obvious.

Here are a couple of other players that have impressed us so far and some honors
that we're bestowing on the just because we care.

Defensive Player of the First Half

Kelsey Barlow

Like Chris Kramer had to do, Barlow has been given the toughest assignments time
and time again. And other than Richmond's Kevin Anderson, he's pretty much shut
all of them down.

Offensive Player of the First Half

JaJuan Johnson

He's simply taken over the game time and time again. I think the interesting part
of JJ's game is the fact that he seems to play bigger and better on the bigger stage.
It'll only get larger from here out as Purdue begins to play ranked opponents and the
conference and nation's elite. Sampson, Leuer & Sullinger will all square off v. JJ
in the next three weeks.

Most-Improved of the First Half

John Hart

I know, I know, Smith is the "it" guy right now, but before Hart went down, he
was consistently providing a boost...and Purdue really needed it at that point
because no one outside of the Big 2 were stepping up. I'm looking forward to his
return. If we were only judging on the BT season, there'd be no question who
received this award.

One of our readers said Matty should be leading for coach of the year at this
point. I don't think there's any doubt about that...especially if the media looks
at where they thought Purdue would be following Rob's injury. Painter's quote,
"Our goals haven't changed." (which is emblazoned on the front of the
Mission Houston shirts) showed exactly the way he has approached the season.
And his team is beginning to believe that regardless of who's injured, they're
still one of the nation's elite. Hats off to Matty.



(please excuse the technical difficulties...our provider has been pretty lousy the
last few days)

Wednesday Gumbo

Worthy

Most of you already know this, but Mr. Handsome, Drew Brees has received SI's Sportsman of the Year Award. As you know, I've had a mancrush on #15/9 since the late 90s (probably like most of you), so I love seeing him get the recognition he deserves. He represents the best of not only Purdue sports, but also the Purdue family. If you've read his book and followed his career, you know this.

I don't think it's coincidence that he was a major part of the resurgence of Purdue football, then the Chargers' organization and finally, the Saint's organization...and on a greater scope, the city of New Orleans. Thank God there are athletes like Brees that break the stereotype of the selfish athlete...But I'm more grateful that he's a fellow Purdue alum.

Congrats Drew. Congrats SI for getting this right.

VATech BS

For those of you that also visit Gold and Black, you know by now that Neubert and Co. were denied press credentials for tonight's game. So, they, like us, won't be coving it in person.

The reasoning for the Hokie AD denying the credentials was supposedly because of their affiliation with Rivals and the standard message board formant on that site.

Problem is, every major basketball program in the nation (pretty much) has a Rivals site.

I hope Purdue and the rest of the BT return this favor to VaTech next season. This is BS...and not the awesome kind you find daily here at your favorite website.

More Important than Sports

If you visit here regularly, you know we don't cover the women's game very often. But, I am making an exception as this sounds like an amazing story and an out-and-out miracle.

Lady Boilers Forward, Drey Mingo is recovering from Bacterial Meningitis. A week ago, her odds of surviving didn't look great as the way her body was attacked was aggressive. Her condition forced Purdue's women to cancel their trip to Mexico for the Caribbean Challenge...but 8 days ago, basketball was no one's concern within the program. Now, the team and Drey's family are looking at if and when she'll play again...Truly great news.

A Purdue football player (I believe Joe Hagins) contracted Spinal Meningitis back in the late-90s...and it was no where near this severe. But I can remember how the Purdue family rallied around him. To all the students who know Drey, make sure to encourage her when you see her on campus next semester.

The Media Giveth...The Media Taketh Away.

All growns up.

Kerring for Ryan

Ryan Kerrigan is a talented, fast and strong football player. Plus, he seemed to put a maximum amount of effort into each down. There are plenty of guys that have that motor that coaches want, but don't have the production that Kerrigan does. But because of the combination of effort, ability, production and beautiful, flowing hair, Kerrigan received some well-deserved attention on Monday.

He is the first, first-team All-American at Purdue since Anthony Spencer. He is the BT's & (of course) Purdue's defensive player of the year and MVP. Kerrigan was also Lineman of the year and received recognition for his sportsmanship. That's pretty cool- he'll knock you on your ass...then help you back up.

He'll receive other awards by the media too in the coming weeks. But, his most prized award will probably be the large, solid gold-plated trophy that's on the way to him right now- The (coveted) Boiled Sports Purdue Defensive Player of the Decade. Due to cost, only one of these has been (or perhaps ever will be) given...Keep checking your mailbox, Mr. Kerrigan. J's 11 month old son packed it up and shipped it himself. It's molded out of all of J's gold chains, ear rings and bracelets that he wore in the 80s and 90s.

Other Boilers Honored

Wiggs, Beckford and Allen were all All-BT Honorable Mention. For some reason, I couldn't find any Purdue offensive players on the list. It could be because many were thrust into action after not being on the depth chart in camp...(related) it could be because the offense simply couldn't score for halves at a time. Regardless, I think Rob Henry could be a guy who receives some awards in the next few seasons. If so, he needs to work on an acceptance speech. Because every time I've heard him talk, I can barely hear him or understand him. That'll come in time.

All signs seem to be pointing to Keith Smith getting his sixth year of eligibility in '11. He'll be Purdue's 3rd player in three seasons to be granted this. Hopefully no one has to do this on the Purdue roster for the next five, because in all cases, it was due to horrible injury.

Here's to Bolden, Smith, Siller and Marve all making full recoveries and making one of these post-season recognition lists next year. Everyone already knows their names...but most of the media has probably forgotten about them. Purdue fans haven't.

Free Fallin'

I didn't get to post yesterday due to interwebnet problems at the BS world headquarters...But a lot happened.

First, Purdue dropped from 10th...to 22nd in the writer's poll (8 to 18th in the coach's). A significant drop was warranted, in my opinion...but 12 spots is a pretty huge drop. If you want to analyze the lack of consistency within the poll, it's not difficult. I'm not going to do that today. But, I will say that it makes Purdue the hunter once again. That might not be a bad thing. They played with no edge or grit versus Richmond. Painter should have been, and was embarrassed by the lack of effort by his squad. There will be others this season, but this is a pivotal moment for the team.

Big Ten Network Awards Like Purdue-OSU Tilts

Yeah, we didn't notice this because we tend to nod off a bit this time of year as you know, but the Big Ten Network aired their third-annual awards show the other night. Tip o' the cap to 11W for noticing it and mentioning it... otherwise, we never would have.

Interestingly, Matt Painter was not nominated for men's Coach of the Year (which covers all sports, not just hoops or football). Take that as you will. However, Purdue-OSU basketball was nominated as the Game of the Year and "Ryan Kerrigan versus OSU" was nominated for Most Dominating Performance...as was "Robbie Hummel's First Half vs OSU."

Yes, let's indeed celebrate that one.

Spring Practice Awards

Robert Marve and Caleb TerBush both received spring practice awards, with Marve sharing the Newcomer Award with Will Lucas and TerBush taking the Most Improved Award with Dwayne Beckford.

Also interesting for me to note was that the Hammer Award for the top hitters went to Logan Link (great name, by the way), a safety -- which makes sense -- and Jared Crank, a fullback.

Is it a good thing when one of your top hitters is on offense? I'm fine with it.

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.