Why Peck Matters

According to GBI, Painter and Purdue might not be, dare we say, are probably not done picking up transfers who can play next season. Having five guys leave the roster for one reason or another can be tough on a program...BUT, having the right guys stick around is absolutely imperative.

J talked a bit about Peck's decision last week.  I didn't have the chance to weigh in as I was traveling and didn't have the ability to post...but this will probably be the last post about Errick Peck road to Purdue and potential impact.

Errick Peck wisely chose to come to Purdue around the middle of last week and will be a good fit.  There's really no second-guessing that- A smart, versatile player who can run the floor and works hard is never a bad thing. A person who gets good grades and and is described as a very, very, very good kid (according to multiple sources) is generally not bad for chemistry.  Atop of that, Peck chose Purdue because he likes the place, likes the coaches, likes the guys on the team and feels that he plays better in front of his family...which is an hour South of God's country.

This Purdue team needed, really needed Peck for multiple reasons; many we've talked about over the last few weeks.  I've heard some Purdue fans try to minimize the importance of an ex-Ivy league player that averaged 10 pts/game...and I've heard others nearly guarantee Purdue will be in B1G conference championship contention because of the addition of the 6'6" Indianapolis native. The reality of Peck's impact on this team will probably fall in between these two forecasts.

Will Peck wear the historically-significant #13 for the black and gold?

Peck's FG % is in the top 4 of Purdue's returning roster, his 3-point % and rebounds per game are both in in the top-3 on the roster, and his free throw shooting % is in the top-2. 

But outside of the statistics and in addition to the win/loss record, Peck's decision matters for less-obvious reasons.  Having a good locker room guy, a solid teammate and someone who will do whatever he's asked to do makes everyone better: Running practices should be a bit easier for the coaching staff and just coming into Mackey for meetings and practices might be better for players if the team's chemistry improves because of this addition and other subtractions.

But the long term effect of Peck to the program is something that I hope helps the coaching staff go after, and more-importantly, land guys that fit the program. Don't get me wrong, I still want and expect to see highly-rated players coming to play for Painter...and if you want and hope for Purdue to make another Final Four before you die, this is an essential part of that expectation.  A good fit for the program isn't necessarily the best basketball player available.  A good fit for the program IS a guy who can play the game (obviously), but really wants to play for Purdue and who understands what the Purdue program is all about.

Purdue fans, myself included, have openly expressed their concern with the lifeblood of the program- recruiting. But even the most critical fan should see that recruiting efforts are trending upward.  The class of 2012 averaged 4.0 stars and the class of '13 is just below that (if Jay Simpson is now counted in that class)...and I'm not sure how many stars a Senior transfer who might average 10 points and 5 rebounds would garner, but landing Peck is nothing to sneeze at.

I still believe that RayDay will benefit from Peck's transfer more than anyone on the team as the wily veteran will be able to teach him a thing or two as they square off in practice; Time will tell if this prediction pans out.

Counterpoint: They're just kids

I grew up off of 38th street in Indianapolis. And like most of the guys Purdue is currently recruiting, I was a pretty good student.  But that didn't stop me from talking in a way that didn't indicate that when around my friends.  I used to make my parents and older brother pretty angry with my talk, and the way I walked and dressed...but honestly, I didn't give a damn.  And I don't think a recruit should care too much about what a website says about the way he Tweets, either.

J asked me to look over one of our new contributor's posts yesterday...and my first response was that I thought she sounded like my Mom.  One of my pet peeves is when people switch 'there' and 'their' or 'your' and 'you're'...but when a teenager's grammar isn't up to snuff on Twitter, honestly, I could care less.

There is a lot of absolute garbage on Twitter-  It can be the worst of people's emotions displayed in a uber-condensed 140 characters at a time...But I haven't seen that from any of the guys Purdue has offered.  Perhaps that's because I don't really tend to follow these kids too closely until they're nearly on campus, or maybe it's because most of Purdue's recruits don't post in this way all that often.  This idea comes from me not wanting to sound like Rabjohns (or others) chasing around a guy that's less than half of my age...it's pretty creepy.  But also, I don't want to look like a buffoon and feel like one if they decide to play elsewhere.

A 14, 15, 16 year old kid loves the attention received virtually and elsewhere because he's good at playing a game...and gets plenty of it elsewhere.  If Nikki tweaks a guy a bit because she doesn't like his grammar, I guess it's not a huge deal.  I disagreed with her post, but I don't think it's the deal that some of you are making it out to be. At BS, we've always prided ourselves listening to other opinions...even though our new contributors are posting on the site, we don't agree with everything they think/write...this morning's post is an example of that.

If you don't like it, by all means, let us know...discussion and even argument is a good thing.  But if you could, don't respond with curse-laced, name-calling diatribes...We don't have any time for that.

We've decided to pull the post from earlier this morning- not because of the disagreement it brought up, but because we feel it didn't represent what this site stands for.

We have a couple bedrock foundations that we live by- we'll always rip on the administration and coaches before going after a kid.  The guys that are paid a decent wage should be able to take the criticism of a couple of alums, especially if it's level-headed and reasoned.  We don't like criticizing current players, generally...unless they're doing something personally that's detrimental to the team or the university.  A recruit that doesn't use correct grammar isn't really hurting anybody...that's why we pulled the post.  Plus, a kid who might be interested in coming to Purdue to literally sacrifice his body and all of his free time for the name on the front of the jersey shouldn't be the topic of a negative post, unless there's a character issue...I have no reason to believe there's one here, so the post is gone.

Thanks as always for coming to the site.

Weekend Gumbo

Still not a ton going on around Purdue sports...and that's OK because it's just that time of year. Brian Cardinal sprinkled some Boiler luck on the Mavs and helped them turn the game around the other night v. the detestable Heat...but even with the chance of seeing Cardinal for a few seconds each game, I'm still having a hard time caring about the NBA finals. My distraction of choice, Indy Car, is in a short respite following the big race, meanwhile, J's Yanks are one of the best teams in MLB...still nothing holds our attention like Purdue basketball and football, so we're biding our time like the rest of you.

Danny Hope has offered nearly 150 players for next year's class...already. About seven of those players are quarterbacks as Hope's staff is still smarting from Bellamy's departure from last year's class, and offensive linemen are also a high priority as the need will be great in the coming years (as we've been saying for two).

Hope thinks that Purdue's team is sound, for the most part, academically, and doesn't expect much, if any, attrition due to grades in the next few weeks. Every interview I've read from Hope has him mentioning that this team has the parts to contend for a championship (I'm not sure which one) and his optimism, as always is bubbling over. Like we've always said, it's tough not to like a guy that's eternally optimistic, but my eyes disagree with his assessment. I hope I'm wrong and Purdue's third-year coach is on the mark.

Another noteworthy point that Hope has talked about is that Bolden is 100% following his second ACL recovery but Marve isn't quite there, at least at this point. Let's keep in mind that Henry was a unanimous captain choice for this team...as a RS Soph, so it's his job to lose in the fall. That said, when you pass as infrequently and ineffectively as 15 did at times last season, it's tough to stay healthy...so Marve needs to be ready as we saw in '10. TerBush, of course, will also be back.

On the basketball side, two of Purdue's recruits, Derek Willis and Kendall Stephens are both receiving invites to events put on specifically for the nation's elite and seem to be catching everyone's eye. Stephens has been battling a few nagging injuries during the early summer AAU circuit and Willis has had a rise like no player I've seen Purdue recruit in the last decade. I have no reason to believe this other than a hunch, but with two slimy coaches very near by, I'm concerned that Willis won't stay committed. This is precisely why we don't like talking about verbals and why it's always smart for coaches to continue recruiting until signing day. That said, I like both the '12 and '13 classes with the verbals that are in the group quite a bit and think a ton of these guys really understand Purdue's philosophy.

Sprintin' Shane

Purdue football signee, Shane Mikesky added to his already decorated track career by winning another 110 hurdles crown and helped Zionsville to third in the state in the 4x100. Mikesky is a wildcard for the Boilers and reminds me a bit of John Standeford or UND (jackface) Jeff Samardzija.

There's an old phrase that track speed isn't football speed, and I tend to agree, but athleticism is athleticism...and this kid's got plenty of that...and a 6'4" frame isn't horrible either at WR.

Here's an indoor race from God's country that Mikesky won back in '10:

PSU moves on from the DeChellis Era

Ed DeChellis decided it was time for him to part ways (a few weeks ago) with the Lions by making the step up to the big time with Navy, in doing so, he left PSU in a bit of a lurch, but they've now found their guy. They didn't look inside the PSU family, instead they went to basketball powerhouse, Boston University to find their guy. Meet Patrick Chambers.

Chambers is a 40 year old coach who led BU to the NCAA tournament and isn't lacking in enthusiasm or optimism. In fact, he seems a bit like Danny Hope in that category. He called PSU a program in better position than was Villanova a few seasons ago (I'm positive he's ignoring the past successes of the Wildcats), is impressed with PSU's newfound commitment to win championships, and thinks of the Lions as a sleeping giant awaiting to angrily rise from its slumber. If you're friends with Mr. Chambers don't tell him that he wasn't hired as their football coach...it'll ruin his summer.

Our Look at the Indiana Elite Story

Most of you have probably read the story that was on EsPN.com yesterday that involves the Forehead, and Indiana Elite Coach, Mark Adams...but some of you might not have had the chance to read the details...here are some key aspects of the story:

Indiana Elite: One of the best AAU teams in the state of Indiana, if not the nation for producing D-1 talent.

Mark Adams: IU Alum and current AAU team, Indiana Elite, Coach & Founder of A-HOPE (organization that brings kids from Africa and tries to get them opportunities to play D-1 basketball). Being an IU alum, Adams has (understandably) surrounded himself with fellow Hoosier alums inside of the IE

teams and orgainization.

Drew Adams: Son of Mark and former assistant coach of AAU team, Indiana Elite. In spite of thin resume, he was hired by Tom Crean as Director of Basketball operations and Video production (April, 2010). Prior to EsPN’s article accusing Crean & the Adams family of unethical, if not, illegal behavior, he left IU for the same position at New Mexico (hired by Steve Alford).

Mike Barnett: Board of Directors Member/Coach for Indiana Elite and Lead Position for Adidas’ Grassroots. Grassroots sponsors events and teams and has both men‘s and women’s teams and events that it is involved with. Notably, Indiana Elite is an Adidas team (along with 5+ other teams nationwide). Grassroots also helps organize/sponsor a Spring AAU Super Regional Tournament in Bloomington on campus at IU.

Kory Barnett: Walk-on Senior Forward for Indiana University. Son of Mike Barnett.

Timeline of recent Indiana Elite Players committing to Crean:

Indiana Elite produced Bade, Byrd, Jackson and TJohn. Not all of the talent from IE goes to IU.

Here's my take on all of this:

I know Tom Crean can recruit...and really doesn't need to get deep into the muck, mire and dark underside of college basketball recruiting. But, whether he intended to or not, he's placed himself in a questionable position...and there's more than smoke here. He hired a guy to his staff that was under qualified...and the defense for this hire by many is that it's all about relationships and creating a pipeline for talent.

I don't see any violation of NCAA rules here by IU. But, to me, this is another example of how many IU fans will legitimize unethical activity in the name of winning (make that attempting to win). Many did so in the wake of Sampson's issues saying "they were just phone calls" (their story changed after the NCAA was through with their findings)...and now the talking point seems to be "recruiting is about friendships and relationships...that's all this is". As one of my pals put it it's about "Dirty, slimy, sleazy, disease-ridden relationships", but yeah, relationships none-the-less.

I never saw anything unusual with IU getting Zeller & Ferrell...those always made sense to me. But, some of the others didn't...and Perea, the crown jewel of the class of '12, and coincidentally, the guy in the center of this controversy, was the one that made the least sense to me. It made more sense after reading the article.

Let's keep in mind that Crean has had some solid talent that he's brought to his teams since he's been a head coach. But, top-20 talent is another level and is really difficult to hammer down. DWade was great out of high school, but scared some other schools off because of his academic concerns...so his stock wasn't among the elite. But now, on the legs of back-to-back-to-back awful seasons, Crean has found a way to win the hearts and minds of some of the state's most-talented players (following two years of being persona non grata in the Hoosier state). Plus, and more-notably, in this process, he's snagged two truly-elite players and a couple others that were wanted by everybody.

Whether Tom Crean is shrewd or slimy, you can decide for yourself...we already have our own opinion of the guy.