Weekend Wrap-Up: Drifting to Sleep...and a Wake Up Call

Here at BS, we love Purdue players to wear their hearts on their sleeves, sell out when on the field of play and play with heart. Our Boilers did just that in East Lansing on Saturday...and the reason is probably their coach. Danny Hope sold the idea of his players making something happen, being aggressive and playing like there was no tomorrow...And his players did just that. In the process, the Boilers almost pulled off a gigantic upset similar to aOSU in '09. But, unlike in Ross-Ade last season, they simply couldn't finish.

The games are pretty similar in the way they were played. Purdue played with the lead for much of the game in both and the more-talented squad scratched and clawed its way back into the game. But, Purdue stepped up and made plays last year, and simply collapsed this season.

Unlike many games this season, there are plenty of positives to take away from this one...but, like most games this year, there were a ton of negatives. But, the main problem really was the timing of these mistakes was critical.

I joked in my prognostication for the game that it would take multiple defensive TDs for Purdue to win. And Ricardo Allen got the message as he had his second interception for a TD in two weeks. All day long, Allen played blanket defense and made play after play. At one point, I asked myself why MSU dared throw his way. The only times he wasn't there to break up the pass was when Purdue's scheme called for zone or asked for the corners to back off of the line of scrimmage.

Kerrigan also played large in spite of being clothes-lined and held for most of the game...but as MSU decided to simply double and triple team him, the rest of the line just didn't take advantage of the situation.

Rob Henry played very well at times and made some awful decisions others. I think much of that can be chalked up to his age and maybe his injured finger still...In my opinion, Henry played well-enough to lead Purdue to a win. I like that he is willing to check out of plays when he sees the defense in the wrong set for potential success. I hate the way he doesn't seem to see it until it's too late. I like the fact that he's willing to take shots down the field. I hate the way he seems to make those throws blindly at times...and seemingly to no one.

The special teams, like Henry, was way up and down. Wiggs got involved with an important 52 yard field goal...but both he and Webster, while punting, had some horrible kicks. Barbarette had an important long kickoff return...but the punt protection let an obvious block formation in nearly unabated. In fact, multiple players could have made the block of the punt that sealed Purdue's fate.

Coach Nord had some brilliant play calls...but also seemed to struggle making effective calls on first down. Landholm & Emanuel had Purdue's bend, but don't break defense dialed in early, but played it too safe in the fourth quarter time and time again...plus, they gave Cousins too much time and allowed him to pick Purdue apart (he played brilliantly, by the way...and gritty too).

No Purdue fan that I know was surprised that Purdue lost. But, most were surprised in the manner in which it happened. The offense showed that it had a pulse, the defense played hard and made plays for three quarters. But the team combined to rip the hearts out of the Purdue faithful. Granted, MSU made plays, but our Boilers all but presented the opportunity for Sparty on a shiny silver platter...and (as you all know) MSU won, 35-31.

After the game, I was so deflated and "meh" that I simply enjoyed having my family over for dinner and forgot to do a post-game wrap up...that's why this is so late. This is kind of what this season has done to me as a fan, honestly. I've been to every home game, watched every away game on TV, but I'm sapped of enthusiasm...and hate admitting it, because I'm not usually that way, especially about Purdue football. I still love the players and feel like they're giving everything they have...and much of that is because of Hope's ability to motivate them.

BUT, I also feel the lack of football IQ by this staff has simply killed this team over and over. From stupid time-outs (again and again), to inconsistent play-calling, I'm frustrated with this coaching staff. We had a commenter yesterday get angry at people for having the audacity to complain about these coaches, but I'll always support the players first. Afterall, they're the ones who are really bleeding for the University and the coaches as they follow their marching orders.

For the second year in a row, the Bucket is what it was in the mid-90s. An in-state rivalry that means nothing outside of the borders of Indiana. And it's funny, 30 minutes really changed that. At one point late in the second half of both games, IU was tied with Penn State and Purdue was up by 15. One half our later, Purdue had given the game to MSU and IU had done what they do- rolled over...on their home field, FedEx Field.

I don't have the hatred for IU (especially in football) that I do for UND...and I while I want Purdue to beat IU, I have a really hard time getting "up" for this one. I hope our Boilers don't feel the same way I do.

Mackey Madness (Kinda)

Oakland came to Mackey tonight and was clearly more-ready to play than Purdue. The Golden Grizzlies held the lead for much of the first half and didn't go away until late in the second. Like many contests versus mid-con teams, their drop-off in talent after their starting five was sizable. Purdue's depth was something they couldn't keep up with, so the Boilers improve to 3-0 after winning 82-67.

The box score tells you that Purdue's Big 2 both played well and carried Matty's crew. But, a few things might get missed just by looking at the numbers.

First, Smooge started the game ice cold and didn't score until around 9:00 left in the half. It's not coincidental that after he started heating up, Purdue began to assert itself. But, he had an uncharacteristic amount of turnovers (4)...but was lock down on defense at times. He finished with 26 points, was 4/5 from three, 4 assists and 3 steals.

JJ seemed to do everything right...except shooting behind the arc. All of a sudden he thinks he's a three point shooter. Sure, he hit two tonight (doubling his previous high from last game)...but he missed three. In JJ's case, I'm just trying to look for something to pick on- he played huge in a game that was hyped to be a showcase for him and Benson (from Oakland). JJ finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks...and played 40 minutes. He was great, and made his teammates better.

John Hart's the third guy who comes to mind for me. He had 11 points off the bench in just 13 minutes. He shot poorly from three (1/5), but was a huge spark and played with a ton of energy.

On the other end of the spectrum, I'm not sure how Ryne Smith can stay in the starting line-up much longer. I like the guy, but, as Painter said, you've gotta produce to play...and I don't see it. He might be automatic in practice, but he's not in the game. Plus, he's not as strong as many of the guards on the team on defense and simply isn't able to assert himself at either end.

Terone Johnson (10 points in 17 minutes) or DJ Byrd (6 pts, an assist, steal and block) might both be able to take his place, in my opinion. I really like DJ Byrd without the ball and on defense too.

LewJack, like Smith, struggled offensively, but unlike Smith, continues to be very good defensively. But, he was rocked a few times by picks up top and was visibly shaken up as he was taken out of the game. But, tonight might have been the first night this season where Barlow looked like he should be starting at the point. Kelsey only scored 4 points, but he had 5 assists and 0 turnovers. I like LewJack as a starter and Barlow off the bench though because their styles are so different...but it could work either way, I believe, and might be best to judge depending on the opponent.

Outside of JJ, none of Purdue's bigs did much to write home about- Bade had no points...but more disparaging, 0 rebounds. Carroll the same, and Marcius didn't play. This is the first game this season where Purdue played significant talent under the basket, and the rebounding battle showed it- Purdue lost that 26-31. If nothing else, Bade & company need to make rebounding their sole focus- especially when JJ is scoring like he did tonight (which should happen often).

Not sure if it was the fact that they were coming off of such an easy win, or because Oakland is a pretty good team (they were 17-1 last season in conference and went to the tourney), but Purdue was flat for much of the first half and couldn't separate themselves until Oakland was just beat-tired. But, Purdue allowed way too many points in the first half and seemed to let Oakland dictate the pace...noteworthy, but not bothersome unless these problems become a trend.

And I know there's no transitive property in sports, but Oakland lost by 24 to West Virginia to open their season...and WVU lost to Minny earlier tonight (after beating UNC). At this point, I don't think any of this means much.

Next up, Austin Peay on the 23rd.

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.

Quarterback-Heavy Gumbo

There were so many things to talk about today, many related to QBs, that I thought I'd just dump it all into a gumbo post. So let's get started.

Own a Piece of History

Yes, that's right -- you can get the pictured Curtis Painter Colts jersey for the low, low price of just $200. It's rare that a young man has the chance to be a local hero (cough) for his college team and follow that up by staying local with the beloved pro team... and then get cut from the practice squad in August. Curtis clearly (and wisely) did not demand his familiar number 12 from Jim Sorgi.

Irish Don't Get The Montana They Really Want

It'll be fun to see how the UND loyalists spin this one. Legacy Nick Montana has decided not to attend Notre Dame despite his father having gone there (and his brother Nate being there), and instead will attend....wait for it... Washington. The same Huskies who went 0-12 last year. Wow. To choose a program in the kind of disarray that UW is in over the supposed up-and-coming and ready to pounce UND program is rather telling. Could Joe Cool have advised his son to stay away? Who knows? Maybe Nick was just worried about living up to the legend of Pickles Clausen.

So Much For Those "Turning Over A New Leaf" Headlines

Sadly, Ryan Leaf's life continues to plummet down the toilet. He's now wanted as a result of a grand jury's indictment on nine charges against him relating to prescription painkillers. I no longer want to make jokes about him, and really nobody should. He's a troubled man and it's just plain sad.

Compliance is the Word of the Day At IU

According to this story, compliance "comes first" at Indiana. Well, at least something comes in first at IU. From the story:

Fred Glass gathered the Indiana coaching staff before he was introduced as the school’s athletic director and told them his top priority: compliance.

It was a word one of the coaches just didn’t want to hear.

“A coach said, ‘You know what, we’re sick of hearing that. We’re sick of hearing compliance,’ ” Glass recalled being told during a visit to Fort Wayne last week. “ ‘We are a compliant place with a compliant culture, and we really don’t like hearing that.’ ”

Yes, I'm sure you indeed don't like hearing that, coach. Being reminded about compliance when your basketball program was sort of decimated by a non-compliant coach just two years ago must be a real drag.


JaJuan and Ostrich Continue USA Basketball Tryouts Against Our Advice

Yes, they're all "honored" and stuff to be trying out for the USA Basketball's World University Games team. The rest of us would rather they sit in a barcalounger for the summer.

Five of the 16 players initially invited to try out are from the Big Ten, more than any other conference.

Oh, but yeah, the Big Ten is weak, right Digger?

The Indy Star Has A Purdue Football Opinion?

According to the Indy Star, the Boilers have a "Tough football schedule." It says so right in the headline. However, I might argue that starting the season with three of four at home against Toledo, No. Illinois and Notre Dame (all winnable games, even for this season's expectations) means that a 3-1 start, while not necessarily likely, isn't exactly far-fetched. We'll keep an eye on the Star to see if they contribute anything noteworthy, or instead continue to just be an IU lapdog.

Have We Heard The Last of Justin Siller?

This is completely unfounded, but according to on-campus BS sources, Siller remains enrolled at Purdue and appears (appears) to have no plans to leave. He has not transferred and apparently is readying to take classes this fall. If this is accurate, what does it mean? Has Siller had enough of football? Is it only a matter of time before he transfers to a school that makes him an offer? Or is it possible that he'll lie low for another year and then knock on Coach Hope's door? If you have any insight, shoot us a note.

JaJuan Johnson Got Good In A Hurry

We all know how JJ has been growing up before our very eyes, but it's hard to believe the jump he made.

I was perusing the bastion of journalistic integrity and professionalism that is the Indy Star this morning and came across the short note about JJ being named the team's MVP.

What struck me, though, was his metamorphosis from tentative freshman to near-dominating sophomore. And knowing he's back next year just continued to make us giddy.

While there are lots of things to look at when analyzing JJ's season, the lazy man looks to his PPG numbers and sees he went from 5.4 PPG as a frosh to 13.4 as a soph.

Here's to another 250% improvement for the '09-'10 season.

Boilermakers Slap OSU

Well, that was convincing. The Boilers made quick work of the Buckeyes in West Lafayette yesterday, smoking them by 25, their most lopsided Big Ten win of the season and their biggest rout since a couple of wins over hapless nonconference opponents back in December.

The biggest difference between this game and the Michigan game Thursday night was the following:

The Boilers shot the ball. No more putrid shooting really helps. Purdue shot 55% from the field and 47% from beyond the arc. (OSU - 44%, 24%) Add in our trademark stifling defense and the Bucknuts had no chance. Especially given who their coach is.

Big Shot Rob Hummel once again led the team in scoring with 17, which continues to leave us all wondering if this is a good sign or if it simply means nothing.... will the back act up at the worst possible time or is this what we have to look forward to? Because it's kind of awesome having him play and play well.

Nemmy got over his sniffles. The big Serb poured in 14, while Smooge added 11 and JJ had 12. A terrific all-around effort from the boys.

The defense was back. Chris Kramer remember he was Chris Kramer and played solid defense again. Maybe being at home helped, who knows?

Misc other info...

For those wondering about the green shirts, as you may or may not have heard, the Paint Crew was wearing them to honor Marcus Green, the last remaining player from Coach Painter's first recruiting class. After the game he went up and posed for pictures with the students. A nice touch by the Paint Crew.


So now we're rooting for Illinois to take down the Spartans today.... and then go to PSU and lose. While we beat MSU at MSU, of course. Oh, and without tripping up over Northwestern at home on Wednesday. Yeah, that's all.

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?