Peck Chooses Purdue

A week ago, boilerdowd wrote about Cathedral alum (and now Cornell alum) Errick Peck potentially transferring to Purdue to play his fourth year of college eligibility. It became official yesterday, as Peck will sign on to do some grad school in West Lafayette and play a year of ball for our Boilermakers.

This works out due to NCAA rules that allow Peck to play a year at a place like Purdue as a result of the fact that he'll have graduated from Cornell but only played three years of basketball there because of a knee injury that cost him a full season. So on that front, Peck fits right in to the pantheon of knees.

One thing B-dowd did mention in passing in his column about this was the face that Peck and Barlow knew one another in high school, but that he didn't think Painter should let that be an issue. It sounds like Matt Painter did indeed look past such potential influences, because Peck even mentioned Kelsey when announcing his decision to choose Purdue:

“In the end, I think Purdue fit me just a bit better. Plus, with (former Boilermaker) Kelsey Barlow and I having played together in high school, I always watched them in the tournament and kind of followed them from afar. But when I was at Cornell, I really focused more on myself and my studies. That took enough time in and of itself.”

I'm not sure if we should be concerned. I don't think we should. This is a guy who played for Cornell seemingly without incident. In addition, he's graduating from Cornell which, yeah, I know athletes do get something of an easier road most likely, but it's not like the easy road we know it could be at some D-1 programs.

Jeff Washburn's column for the J&C quotes 2009 Indiana All-Star boys basketball team coach David Wood of West Lafayette as saying that Errick Peck is "the guy you win with." Wood also calls Peck a "first class human being" and "a really, really good young man." Wood also mentions that:

"From a basketball standpoint, he will bring versatility. He can go out on the floor, and he can bang down low. He also will bring physical strength. He is a guy who can guard a power forward or a small forward. He can make an 18-foot shot, which is good, because this is a Purdue team that can use guys who put the ball in the basket."

Yes, David, we know.

Given the preponderance of underclassmen on the 2013-14 basketball roster, a guy with experience, leadership qualities and, oh yeah, talent is something that is very welcome. He obviously won't have enough time in God's country to become a fan favorite the way four and five year players have. However, can he fill the role of recent leaders like Rob Hummel, Ryne Smith, Chris Kramer and others in terms of leading by example and putting in the work so that others take notice? We hope so and look forward to seeing Errick in Black and Old Gold.

Choo choo.

[We'll return you to your regularly scheduled coveraging of Formula 1 racing shortly.]

Kelsey Barlow: University of Illinois-Chicago Flame

Kelsey Barlow is now a University of Illinois-Chicago Flame. The former Purdue clowner, smack-talker and defensive nightmare (to opponents) will transfer there this season but will be forced to sit out what would be his senior year.

Barlow was kicked off the Purdue squad after numerous incidents and only played in one NCAA tournament for Purdue, being suspended for one, and not a part of the team for the other.

Barlow was most famous for the choke sign he gave to Verdell Jones III and his on the court demeanor that changed more than Kentucky's yearly rotation.

Barlow did have a few highlights at Purdue. At times he showed promise. In his last season with Purdue he had a stretch of six double digit games in the Big Ten season.  This was definitely topped off by his dunk over Jared Sullinger that the mothership seemed to completely ignore.

I'm not going to deny this -- Kelsey was one of my favorites, but in the end, he was bad for the team. I always thought he had a lot of promise and his inability to mature over his time at Purdue was extremely disappointing (new pete had a more successful career at Purdue).

Barlow brought a lot of laughs and a lot of anger from the Purdue community, but we did learn a lot from Mr. Barlow.

• Athletic ability doesn't mean success
• Work ethic is required to be successful as a Boilermaker
• Matt Painter requires excellence from his players
• Don't lose your wallet at Where Else?

All in all, I wish Kelsey the best in the future and I hope he is highly successful for the Flames, but overall I'm glad that this team no longer has the distractions of such a great talent that was that uncommitted to the team.

Monday Gumbo

You Can't Lose What You Never Had

I know, I know, Purdue was all-but-guaranteed to get the services of a transfer from Wright State...can't remember his name right now...but, as we all know too well, guarantees from recruits, whether they're 17 or 22 years old, are about as solid as mashed potatoes.  The guys that want to come to Purdue end up at Purdue, plain and simple. Those that are wishy-washy don't want to come and there's not much else that can be said/done about that.

Many around the message boards and Twitter are piling on Matty right now, saying he's not a closer.  In their defense, there seems to be a pattern forming here- when Painter faces off against slimeballs coaches for big time talent, he doesn't win very often. But the guys who enjoy the limelight, keep taking additional visits and try to wait as long as they can might not be good fits with Painter anyway.  I'll speak from my own perspective for a moment...since that's all I can really do-

If I had a very talented guy/girl say he was interested in working for my company, but he needed to go to a few more interviews before signing on with me, I'd probably be visibly agitated.  That might be why Painter hasn't been able to close out on some of these guys.  OR, maybe, perhaps, the playing field isn't level.  We all know life isn't fair...and watching recruiting battles reminds us of this, and other principles- not everybody operates by the same rules, the good guy doesn't always win (in fact, he doesn't usually win) and you can't ever quit when things get difficult.

One thing Purdue fans can be sure of is Matty is an excellent judge of talent.  Recently, coaches like Teflon John Calipari, Tom Izzo and Tom Crean have all followed in his wake after an offer was given to a kid. I don't know if Purdue will land a five-star guy anytime soon...but those that are coming in the next two years are pretty damned good at playing basketball.

Specifically, the class of '13 is looking better and better.  My hope is that their individual rankings don't get inflated...and the three guys (who actually want to come to Purdue, by the way) continue to work hard with the chip squarely on their collective shoulder.  Bryson Scott started to show a lot during his HS season, Kendall Stephens has done so time and again in the last few months, and just this weekend, Basil Smotherman played at an elite level at an AAU tourney.  While Smotherman was the sixth man on his HS team last season, during the AAU season, that's not the case...and when called upon, he's been answering the bell.

As of now, it doesn't look like there will be any additions to the recruiting class for next year...upper classman, or any other class for that matter...but there are a few guys that have expressed interest in Purdue, so while the doors are closing, nothing's completely shut...yet.

The last thing I'll leave you with is what I've always said- while reading up on recruiting is a good thing to do as a fan, try not to get too enthralled with recruits until they're officially Boilermakers.  There are too many variables that are out of control of Purdue's coaches.  Plus, I like the guys that have chosen to play for my alma mater.  And one of those, Ronnie Johnson will be playing a huge amount of minutes nearly right away.

Definitely coming to Purdue.

Tortoise and the Hare

While slow and steady will win you a ton of contests, the Lotus power plant at Indy doesn't look like it's going to win anything this season...or maybe any other...but they've got the slow part down pat.

While most of those running laps around the famous oval are in the upper-two-teens, the Lotus machines seem to be unable to squeeze anything more than a 208, thus far.  Granted, these teams, and this power plant doesn't have the miles of testing that the other two do, but that doesn't really matter at this point. These cars look like they don't belong...and since there have been so many defections already from Lotus power, I'd bet that there won't be many running this engine by the end of the season.

A couple of 221+ laps have been turned so far...but one was heavily-aided by a tow.  I'm still hoping for a pole of 222 or 223...but the more I watch these cars, the more I think that they just don't have it in them, especially with the boost set up as it currently is.

Teams like Andretti, Penske and Ganassi simply aren't finding top speeds, at least yet...but the rumor is none of them are trimmed out yet, and are just getting the cars shaken down...these three have the best engineers and the deepest pockets, and they know what they're doing. So hopefully, we'll see some shockingly-fast laps by Saturday, if not before.  If you want to follow what's happening at the track during the day, click here.

Until the three big money teams start focusing on qualifying, enjoy seeing new guys like Clauson and Newgarden making names for themselves.

In Case You're Wondering, but Are Too Lazy to Check

John Hart has transfered to IUPUI...and Barlow is rumored to have interest in Iowa State.  BUT, the enigmatic Barlow might end up anywhere for his final year of NCAA eligibility (after sitting out a season).

As of right now, Purdue has 11 of 13 scholarships occupied for '12-'13...and Anthrop (at the very least) will get another year under scholarship unless something dramatic and unforeseen occurs.

Champs!

Purdue's Baseball Boilers clinched a part of the B1G title this weekend...but couldn't get the one additional needed win for the outright title at home this weekend. They'll have three chances to get the sole title versus the six games under-.500 Iowa Hawkeyes on the road...and will also play ISU this week for the last game ever at Lambert Field.

They're currently 39-10...a 40+ win season should help them with their case to get into the post-season.

As The Barlow Turns

As we prepare to turn the page on the Kelsey Barlow Era at Purdue, we thought it would be worth looking back at the life and times in Old Gold and Black of a career that might be considered one of the more volatile at Purdue.

Kelsey came out of B-dowd's high school, so we watched him before he even arrived in God's Country.  In the wake of watching players like Keaton Grant and Chris Kramer, it was hard to believe Barlow fit the mold that Painter had created for his system and the guards that would play in it.  As a high school Senior, he didn't move a lot without the ball on the offensive side...and didn't play too much defense.  That was a hard pill to swallow -- we wondered if Barlow's attitude and selflessness would develop and in turn, his defense would come closer to resembling Purdue-style defense. As it turned out, we were right about his work ethic...but his athleticism coupled with a bit of nastiness was such a good combination, it could gloss over some of the other parts of his game that weren't up to par.

His impact was immediate as a freshman. He was the primary sixth man for that Sweet 16 team in '09-'10 and made the all-freshman team in the Big Ten. Kelsey's presence was noticed right away, obviously, but it was the breadth of his impact that had us all excited.

Barlow could score, create his own shot, rebound and dish the ball. He had a mean streak and we loved that about him, especially since we knew (or thought we knew) that Coach Painter and the upperclassmen would keep him in line, in terms of acting out a bit too much overall.

Kelsey's season-high in points during that season came in a road victory over Illinois, where he also had his first career start. The sky seemed to be the limit for a guy who, we kept reminding ourselves, was just a freshman.

In early February of that season, the Boilers traveled to their rival in Bloomington, where they hadn't won in about four years. Kelsey also started that game (over Lewis Jackson) and in 18 minutes scored 5 points to go with 4 boards, 3 assists and a steal.

But he'll be forever remembered for his infamous choke signal as the clock wound down and the Hoosiers were unable to take down the Boilers.

IU fans hated Barlow...that might have been one of his most redeeming qualities.

Never mind that the choke accusation didn't really make sense. Maybe the Hoosiers or their fans were talking a lot (imagine that), but the gesture created a firestorm of criticism (not from us, but from the fans of the program who elevated the always-respectful Bob Knight to godlike status) and Kelsey apologized. We kind of loved that he disliked IU enough to do this and again figured that he would be kept under control for the most part and that if this was the extent of his acting out, we would be fine with it.

Later that month, Rob Hummel injured his knee for the first time and a pall was cast over a season that saw the Boilers ranked in the single digits and having a shot at the #1 ranking in the nation. They climbed as high as #3 before falling back to Earth with a listless finish in the wake of Rob's injury, and hobbled into the NCAA tournament as a #4 seed (about two weeks after being ranked #3 in the nation and mere days after being bludgeoned in the Big Ten Tourney by a bad Minnesota team).

The Boilers regrouped, though, and gutted out wins over Siena and Texas A&M, setting up a showdown in the Sweet 16 with everyone's favorite enemy, Duke. In that game, Kelsey Barlow made a play on a Kyle Singler breakaway that had bdowd and I punching each other in the arm. Singler attempted a layup and Barlow came from seemingly nowhere, using his underrated closing speed, and pinned Singler's layup against the backboard. The Boilers would not triumph on that night, but Kelsey's drive and determination -- along with us getting to chat with his dad at halftime -- continued to make us think bright times were ahead for this talented young man. That game in Houston in March of 2010 would sadly be Kelsey's last NCAA tournament game.

Kelsey continued to be Purdue's sixth man throughout his sophomore season of '10-'11, showing on-and-off flashes of brilliance and keeping us excited for the potential he had if he could only develop some consistency. Clearly, there were also on-and-off issues with Kelsey's attitude and focus, as some games he would play very little as Coach Painter attempted to screw his head on straight.

He was rarely a high scorer and was not a viable outside shooting threat, but again, Kelsey did things that not many others could do. He ran the point effectively, he was hard to guard, he played the kind of exasperating defense Purdue teams are known for, and he had that mean streak. Barlow would enter a game with that mean-mug on and you just knew something was going to happen -- or he was going to try to MAKE it happen. One came, for example, as Purdue hosted Michigan State on the day GameDay was in town last January. Another, famously, came just recently as KB "posterized" Jared Sullinger. Kelsey would decide to wake the team and the crowd up and he would often succeed in doing so.

Other times, the selfish-looking (and remember, appearances don't mean it's fact) Barlow would return and have his minutes reduced. One moment that stands out for us here at BS is the JJ game winner against Penn State at home. We all remember the shot and how clutch JJ had become. I remember looking at the outstanding photograph of the game-winner by Dave Wegiel and noting first how up-and-ready Rob Hummel was....and then b-dowd pointed out another face on the bench; Barlow looking positively pissed off at life. Does that mean anything? Or was it just a moment captured by a photographer that is out of context and means nothing? We'll never really know.

The second consecutive NCAA tournament without Rob Hummel approached and the Boilers, while not 100% of the team we had hoped they'd be in 2011, looked pretty good, retaining a top ten ranking into the Big Ten Tournament. A whipping by MSU in Indy changed that as the Boilers rolled over in their first BTT game for the second straight year. Kelsey had but one point in that MSU game and generally did not look good, which was perhaps a harbinger of things to come.

Just a few days before the start of the NCAA tourney, Kelsey Barlow was mysteriously suspended for the duration of the season for conduct detrimental to the team. Rumors abounded, but the only thing sure-fire was that Kelsey had screwed up enough to be disallowed by the Purdue coaching staff from participating in the tournament.

Could Kelsey have helped stem the rising tide of the VCU cinderella story? Once again, we'll never know. I would have liked to see him try, though.

We assumed Kelsey was now done with the Purdue basketball program, as we couldn't see Coach Painter allowing him to continue to be a headache and, let's be honest, to be unreliable. Whatever he did to get suspended from the team in March 2011 signaled that Kelsey Barlow wasn't putting the team first at the most critical time of the season. That seemed like a cardinal sin for this program.

And yet there he was, back on the squad for the '11-'12 season, with the nebulous explanation that he was "on thin ice." What did that mean?  Zero tolerance? Unfortunately, we recently found out.

Both Kelsey and his father have spoken about the incident and it all appears to be something no more complicated than a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time who wasn't able to keep his cool. This team is tight and we like that, as we saw Ryne Smith step into a near-altercation during a game to back up Kelsey and in this came, it appears that DJ Byrd effectively took the fall for Barlow, with Rob Hummel acting as on-the-spot attorney.

So now Barlow is officially off the team and will presumably be lacing them up at another program in the future. That's too bad, really, as he comes from a good family and has simply made some bad judgment calls. However, fair or not, the decisions we make in certain key points in our lives are how we are judged.

How might things have been different throughout Kelsey Barlow's time at Purdue had he just made the right decisions at some of these key times? It doesn't really matter now, but the refrain is nonetheless the same again: we'll never know.

Embarrassed in East Lansing: 83-58

The telecast began with Hummel getting off of Purdue's bus and complaining about what had transpired over the previous 18 hours for our Boilers.  They had been held on the runway at Purdue's airport due to icing, poor visibility and lousy weather for three hours.  After that wait, they decided to drive up early this morning to East Lansing. Hummel said it was like nothing he had been through at Purdue...and his game in East Lansing was nothing like what we've come to expect.

He played sloppy, couldn't hit a shot and his body language told me after the first few minutes that it wasn't going to change.  Painter decided to only play him 22 minutes as the deep hole got deeper and deeper for the Boilers. He finished with two points on 0-11 shooting while grabbing a very respectable six boards...but Rob wasn't the only Purdue player as stuck as their chartered plane the previous afternoon.

Smith went 1-6, Byrd was 2-11, AJ was 1-7 and TJohn was 2-5.  The two point guards, Jackson and Barlow were the only two who seemed like they wanted to be there- LewJack hurt his back (it looked like badly), but still came back to try to squeeze more out of his beaten dominative frame...he finished with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal; Barlow had 6 and 4.

In the first 15 minutes, both teams shot like dog crap...and Purdue's effort kept them in it.  On one possession alone, Purdue had four offensive rebounds...but as MSU started hitting shots, Purdue's defense got worse and worse.  Once again, this Purdue team seems to think that it's offensively good enough to not play hard defense and to run a half-assed motion offense...and the end result showed just how good of a team Matty's squad is when they don't play with heart.  I'll take that back, the final score should have and could have been worse, but MSU's all-white final five players including walk-ons and cheerleaders helped Purdue climb into the upper-50s.  Had MSU kept their foot on the gas and Purdue's starters stayed in the game, it probably would have been 90-something to 40-something.

Gene Keady's best quote was, "It's not who you play, but when you play 'em."  And MSU coming off of two-straight losses is not a team you want to play if you're Purdue...hell, they're not a team anyone wants to play.  But Purdue looked and acted fatigued and heartless.  That could be because their heart and soul simply isn't there right now.  We've watched Hummel squeak into the low teens during the B1G season time and again by digging deep and finishing as strong as possible...but this afternoon was different- he didn't seem angry about the effort or the score, he just wanted the game over.  While I watched, I felt the same way.

I'm the first to admit how happy I am that #4 is on this team and is able to play basketball at all.  What he's gone through in the past few seasons isn't deserved and isn't fair...but it is what it is.  His pal, Dreymond Green came into MSU with a similar skillset and similar size...but a physique that looked like it belonged on a Weight Watchers commercial.  His laziness in high school and early college yielded him healthy knees though...and he's been able to finish his career playing his best basketball due to being in the best shape of his life...Good for him.

The story for one of the best Purdue underclassmen EVER is not the same, sadly.  Sure, there's a lot of basketball yet to be played this year; but what have we seen that tells us it's getting better? I for one have a hard time seeing it.  J said that he has a hard time seeing a scenario in which Purdue doesn't make the NCAA tournament...I'm the exact opposite.  The schedule is brutal from here out. Sure, this team will shine a few times at Mackey before this season is over, but they simply must do it versus the top teams in the conference to make an impact on the tourney committee.

Painter didn't have budget to get Fife to become a Boilermaker
(same might to be the case for Dawson & Harris*)

Hey Paint Crew- make a note: Branden Dawson is a jerk...he showed it again today in East Lansing by talking trash to Painter on more than one occasion.  Maybe that's why he didn't end up at Purdue- because he's not a good fit and he just doesn't like Painter...or maybe the fact that Matty never seems to get near the shady underbelly of NCAA basketball recruiting has something to do with it.  Whatever the case may be, I'd like Dawson to never win at Mackey Arena...and I think that's a real possibility.  But effort like what we saw today from Matty's squad will not make that a reality.

Versus Xavier, Alabama and now MSU, Purdue seemed to be nowhere near as talented as their foe.  And  on top of that, in each of those games, the old trademark defense and motion offense both failed miserably due to inconsistent, if not shoddy, effort.  Purdue allowed MSU to make 3/4 of their shots (before the scrubs came into the game) in the second half...teams NEVER win games when that happens.  Regardless of travel issues, talented blue chip opponents and tough road venues, what we saw today out of Purdue is inexcusable.

The good news is our Boilers play in three days back at Mackey.  The bad news is the opponent just beat MSU and will probably be a top-15 team.  Painter's teams typically don't lose back-to-back games...but they've unpleasantly surprised me over and over again this season; who's to say that it won't happen again?

One thing we do know: There are at least 12 games left in the season (11 on the schedule, 1 in the B1G tourney) and I think Purdue needs to find a way to win half of them.  Coincidentally, six of those games are at Mackey.  Seems to me at this point, that Purdue must protect the home court to make the dance.


*My perspective on Izzo changed quite a bit in 2010 when he was suspended for a game for a secondary suspension.  He didn't seem angry about the violation, but that the NCAA had the gall to hold him accountable for breaking a rule.  That coupled with rumors over Branden Dawson's recruitment in the summer of '10 make me like the guy less than I used to...but that's natural since Painter simply doesn't win recruiting battles agains the uber-successfull Izzo.

Boilers Make it Tougher on Themselves by Losing to Wisconsin at Mackey

To win at home is a must in college basketball.  Purdue needs ever victory it can get, especially this season, as March gets closer and closer. Coming in, the Forces of Good had won 26-straight at Mackey...and I expected the place to be fired up and ready.  BUT, I also expected Wisconsin to be playing like they had to win.  My expectations became reality, but that's where it stopped.  Once again, Matty's club found creative ways to lose this one.

Coming into the game, Wisconsin had pretty much only died by the three, at least during the B1G schedule...but Painter and everyone else knew that wouldn't stop them from shooting it.  So they came out with guns blazing...and Purdue responded by not defending the three; makes a ton of sense.  At the same time, our Boilers couldn't buy a basket- they were driving, getting good looks and missing lay-ups and shots from 12 feet and in time and again.  At the 12:43 mark, Wisconsin had staked its claim that Mackey would be their home court as they effectively quieted the crowd by jumping out to an 18 point lead.

Against PSU, that's all it took- a sizable lead, and the spirit of the Boilers seemingly was broken.  Tonight that wasn't the case, but the end result was still a loss.  The Paint Crew was thunderous as the defense turned up the pressure and forced Wisconsin into bad shots or no shot at all, and at just under the 9 minute mark, it looked like the game might turn- Purdue had cut the lead to 12 and Byrd was fouled on a three pointer; the always animated, if not whiny Bo Ryan took umbrage with the call and was teched up- the result would be Byrd would get 5 free throws.  In typical 2012 Purdue fashion, Byrd, Purdue's second-leading free throw shooter by percentage, hit 2 of 5.  And that disgusting free throw shooting monster wouldn't die there.

At the end of the day, Purdue had left 10 points on the floor in the form of missed FTs.  On top of that, they missed five or six lay-ups...and to me, that's the game...plain and simple.  We can over-analyze this team until we're depressed or numb, but the fundamentals just are nowhere to be found with any consistency on this squad- and that's with everybody- from Senior leaders to newbies...and that's maddening.

There were some good things tonight- Terone Johnson hit 6-of-8 of his free attempts, and it helped him score a team high 16 points...along with 5 rebound, 4 assists and just one TO, that's a pretty damned good game.  He didn't shoot great from the floor...but unlike many of his teammates he seemed willing to take the big shot; and that said a lot to me.  Granted, a couple of the shots were way out of the rhythm of the offense and resulted in easy buckets off of long rebounds, but I'm glad he's looking to score.

Barlow had a solid game, both offensively and defensively.  He was frustrating the Wisconsin guards, after making the decision to play defense (like the rest of his team), took pretty good shots, hit his free throws and passed the ball well.  He finished with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Hummel had an OK game and ended with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal...but never seemed to assert himself.

Travis Carroll had 8 boards, while leading the team in that category...Smith was rushed at times, but had a couple of shots that looked like they might help bring the Boilers back into the game...and Byrd had an effective game at times, but didn't get a lot of open looks. I'm not quite sure what happened to Jackson, but after scoring the initial points for Purdue in the opening minutes, he didn't score again and only played 20 minutes.

Wisconsin played like a team with their backs against the wall...and unlike Purdue, they don't seem prone to giving away 20 point leads; which is good for them, and was bad for Purdue on the night.  Purdue made runs, would get it down to three or five points, but then Wisconsin would go on a run and make it as tough as possible on the Boilers.

A ton of people predicted Wisconsin to be in the top-3 of the conference, and I just assumed that with Taylor returning and Bo Ryan's painful to watch, yet effective system, the Badgers would be up among the elite.  But, watching them in person, it makes sense that they have three early losses.  Purdue allowed them to shoot over 80% from three in the first half; that's good, if you're into that sort of thing...but as a team they seem to accept the three way too often as they don't have a Jon Leuer-type of guy to go to on the team...but that didn't stop Berggren from looking exactly like him from the upper ring in Mackey.

Sidenote: I'm pretty sure Berggren is really just another guy from that white goon guy cloning machine that Wisconsin has been using for the last 15 years.  The problem with clones, as the movie Multiplicity reminds us, is they get less and less like the original as time goes on...and Berggren is no Brian Butch.

But, as unimpressed as I was with the Wisconsin team as individual players, Ryan did what he usually does and had them playing well-enough to win...this time knocking Purdue down another rung by beating them 67-62.

Defending homecourt was of the utmost importance for this team that needs as many quality wins as it can get...but like they've done all season, they seem unwilling to take advantage of situations that present themselves and just love the struggle.  Matty's squad only played one of the teams in the conference with 14 or more wins on the season...in the final 12 games, they'll play 7 games against the conference elite.  At 13-5, you can decide for yourself what the forecast for the post-season looks like, but I'd say it's pretty bleak. This Purdue team still has no offensive identity and sadly, doesn't know what it wants to be on defense either.

After a weekend off, Purdue welcomes Iowa to to Mackey next Tuesday at 8:00.

A Step Forward- Second Look at Illinois Game

Our pal Ed enabled me to take my wife to the Illinois game yesterday and I'm glad I was there to see Purdue's best defensive game of the year...but I don't think the formula for beating the Illini will work versus the better teams in the league.

I was ecstatic to see Illinois forced into bad shots inside 5 seconds on the shot clock time and again.  Those possessions were clearly exhausting and frustrating to Weber's squad.  But, mental lapses and not fighting through picks allowed Paul and Richardson to hit open jumpers from 18-22 feet time and again.

For me, the key to the defensive effort was an unlikely and welcomed source- Travis Carroll. 21 minutes, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 7 points isn't something to write home about. BUT, he was playing one of the big ten's more formidable centers in Leonard and played him nearly to a draw.  More importantly, he, Lawson and some of the Purdue guards had Leonard completely mentally out of the game early in the second half.

Is any coach in America warned by officials more than Weber?

My favorite moment of the entire game was watching Leonard get his third foul after hip checking Ryne Smith.  Illinois' 7 footer whined, made hand motions and headed toward the bench...his coach, also clearly irritated, didn't welcome him to the bench to keep him out of foul trouble, but just stared at Leonard with his arms crossed and told him to get back in the game.

Purdue won this game because of mental and physical toughness...something we haven't seen a ton of this season.  And while I don't think it's a good formula in the long run for both Hummel and Jackson to score single digit points, I absolutely think it's good for this team to not wait around for those to to do it all.

Limiting both of their minutes, at least for the next two months will probably be the best thing for this team come March.  But this game, especially from a shooting standpoint isn't and won't be the norm for Hummel- he missed some pretty easy shots that he needs to hit and Purdue needs him to hit.

Bullets
-John Hart is playing limited, but very efficient and effective minutes...and he seems extremely confident with the ball in his hands.

-Barlow showed us yesterday what he's physically capable of when his mind is in the right place.  He had been sizing up Illinois' guards for much of the first half, getting very close to picking off a pass at the top of the key time and again.  His defensive efficiently was matched by offensive tenacity as he seemed unstoppable for about 7 minutes.  Let's keep in mind that this offensive explosion was against some of the most-talented guards in the B1G.

-Smith's three pointer midway through the second half was from about 27 feet and looked perfect.  He had forced a few early in the game in which he didn't get his feet set...but that was the exception, not the rule.  His shot-making ability isn't shocking or noteworthy, because everyone knows he can shoot.  But his rebounding, defense and knack for annoying opponents is immeasurable.

-DJ Byrd's importance to the team shouldn't be minimized. He plays smart, makes big shots and can play about anywhere on defense.

-Terone Johnson's balanced game was a microcosm for the team- 21 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals were really a continuation of what we've seen the past few games.  BUT, his free throw shooting is deplorable. If he could figure out that part of the game (like the rest of his teammates), he'd be pretty tough to stop.  TJohn's strength against slighter guards is obvious, but he seems to know he's a liability from the line so he doesn't finish the drives.

-AJ's teardrop might be harder to stop than TJohn's because of his length.

Yay BTN!
If you tuned into the BTN Finale show seeking to get some Purdue highlights, sorry, didn't happen.

After showing Purdue in the lead-in, and again on two commercial teasers, BTN's Finale producers thought it'd be best just to read the score.  Excellent work, as usual.

Next Up
Purdue plays two-straight road games...first, versus Penn State on Thursday at 8:00. The BTN might broadcast the game if something else doesn't come up.

Nearly Half-Way Look and Notes

Matty's boys stand at 8-2 after ten games.  They have a loss to a team that had been beaten up by Purdue two-straight times, but is also pretty good in Alabama.  They stole defeat from the mouth of victory as Hummel writhed in pain at Xavier and they've beaten two solid opponents in Iona and Temple.  We haven't been too surprised at what we've seen thus far.

We knew that this team would have some growing pains as guys tried to figure out their new roles on this team- Hummel as a primary scorer who has to look for his shot, Jackson as not only a ball-handler, but a secondary scorer, AJ and Lawson learning how to play the college game and TJohn being counted on more as a scorer.  There' no doubt that this team has shown at times that it's still a work in progress...here are a few things that are noteworthy about this year's squad thus far:

-The defense seems to still struggle when it needs a stop.  I still have faith in this part of the game as Purdue teams seem to gel in Early February under Painter.

-The injury problems that Purdue had coming into the season are still having effects on the team.  Hart still hasn't played, TJohn is showing flashes of brilliance, but still lacks consistency, LewJack is still not practicing everyday due to tendonitis and other ailments and Hummel doesn't rebound like he did before his two knee injuries.  I'm not so sure that I even want Hummel sticking his nose into every loose ball situation...for the sake of longevity, I'd like to see Rob keep doing what he's doing.  I'm still convinced TJohn will earn a starting job by January as he gets stronger.  Byrd isn't playing as much because of a bit of a nagging injury and he's now behind #4.  Not sure if he wants to, but I wouldn't mind seeing him play a bit more forward behind Lawson instead of wing.

credit: GBI's Tom Campbell

-Barlow is important. When Kelsey is playing smart, he's nearly un-guardable. When he's in the mood to pull up from 21 feet, it's pretty detrimental.  Defensively, he's a monster when he wants to be.  I'm still convinced that the way Barlow goes this season, so go the Boilers.

-Bigs playing small.  I think many Boiler fans were hoping to see Marcius and Carroll be able to take a big step forward this season and become a collective force underneath the basket.  Instead, their lack of production and Lawson's physical play have pushed Lawson into the forefront.  As a result, Purdue's most-effective line-up right now has no one taller than 6'8" in it.  That could be very problematic in the B1G.

Painter said this week that one of the biggest problems this team has is that the practices aren't very competitive right now due to attrition.  Hummel, Hart, Jackson, TJohn and Byrd have all been held out of multiple practices this season, and many of these guys are held out regularly.  I think we see the effects of this very often as Purdue seems to struggle in pulling away from teams, even lesser teams, time and time again.

This team has shown how good it can be at times (for 25 minutes v. Xavier, for 20 minutes v. Alabama and v. NIU) and has shown how flat-out lousy it can be (for the final 10 minutes v. Xavier & 'Bama, v. High Point and in the first half v. Western Carolina).  I think we'll see this all season, but I still think this Purdue team will have around 22 wins.

I know a ton of people are bothered by performances like High Point and Western Carolina, and there are reasons to be concerned, no doubt.  But, college basketball is a bit of a mother- the 22nd team in the land almost was beaten by a sub-.500 St. Bonneventure at home this week, the 15th-ranked team in the nation lost to a .500 Long Beach State team in November...upsets happen and near-misses happen even more.  If the Forces of Good keep winning, regardless of the margin, I'll be a pretty happy guy.

Purdue's CCR is currently 33rd thanks to a silly high-50s RPI ranking.

Case Against the BTN for Purdue faithful

People who don't root for Purdue often wonder if Purdue fans have a complex about media coverage...and the more I observe, the more I believe we have a reason to have this chip on our shoulder. Purdue has three home, non-exhibition games this season not televised live by the BTN.  When asked why this happens, the network assures paying customers like me that they still have full coverage (read as paid internet broadcasts with awful production and broadcast teams).

One of the bones that they threw to Purdue fans was the promise of the games being on tape delay the next day just so you could get your fix if you couldn't make it to Mackey.  Of course, when they re-aired the Coppin State game, they cut in so Urban Meyer could be coronated named as head coach...then didn't show the game again.

Then of course, what happened this week for the most recent game was historically-bad.  BTN's defense was that it hadn't happened before and the cost-saving measure of not sending a broadcast team to the venue allowed them to hire Gus Johnson and Keith Jackson.

Seriously.

I think everyone who watches sports understands that technical difficulties happen.  But, instead of putting running stats on the screen and having a play-by-play, we got to see Bo Schembechler's Icon's program again. Perhaps they could have shown a Purdue-based program as salve for the wound? Nah.  They're just Purdue fans, ammiright, BTN.

If the BTN wants to save money, I'm sure they could find local TV guys to do the "less-important" pre-con games IN PERSON and they'll be able to avoid this type of thing.  Instead, they seem to say- "yeah, it happened, we're going to go ahead and keep doing things this way and hope for the best...we'll make sure it doesn't happen to the programs we value."

Hey BTN- Gus Johnson is a half-rung above Dick Vitale in my opinion (I mean that in the bad way)...and wasn't Keith Jackson fired a few years ago by a big network? You guys stink and you simply haven't fulfilled your promise to cover every home B1G basketball games...but great job on the Icon re-runs and extra-long press conference coverage!!

You can let the BTN know you care by clicking here.

The NBA Still Stinks

When I saw that the Lakers were preparing to trade for Chris Paul and Dwight Howard last week, I thought- this league is awesome- 5 super teams and a bunch of also-rans.

Then the league blocked the trade of Chris Paul and I was conflicted.

The Lakers gave up a lot to get Paul...so it wasn't like he was being stolen (as it's happened often in the crappy league), so why not?

But then I remembered, the flipping league OWNS the team that Paul currently plays for.  No wonder Stern doesn't want to allow their money maker to leave town.

In a recent conversation to a friend, I said the NBA represents all that's wrong with pro sports, in my opinion.  From a game that doesn't even resemble basketball being played, to locking-out at the worst-possible time, to rigged games, to making the worst-possible people as the face of the league, the NBA has turned me off at every turn.  Now we can add an intense conflict of interest and inconsistent trade rule enforcement to the laundry list of stink that defines this crap league.

Keep up the bad work, Stern and Co.

Positive PR: Boilers Win Nail Biter v. Iona 91-90

Not at the game

In the Caribbean the warm breezes and beautiful views force you to take a deep breath and just take it easy...usually, you visit the islands to get away from your fast-paced life back home and rest.  That wasn't the case on this business trip for Matty and Co.

In previous season's under Painter, hard-nosed, low-scoring, grind-it-out victories have been the norm for The Forces of Good.  But for the second time this season, this Purdue team has scored over 90 points...and this time, the allowed 90.

Iona is a squad that won 25 games last season.  They have a player named Glover who is on the Naismith watch list who averaged nearly 20 pts/game and over 10 rebounds. On top of that, they have a guard named Lamont "MoMo" Jones who started his college career in Arizona after being a 4-star recruit out of high school. Jones started for the 'Cats last season averaging 9/2 and was granted an NCAA hardship exception after transferring to be closer to his Grandma.  After these two, the Gaels were comprised of a bunch of fast, athletic players who look to run at every chance, and today was no exception.

If Purdue missed a three, Iona used the long rebound as an opportunity to start a fast break. If the Boilers made an errant pass, they'd pay with a fast break attempt...thankfully, Purdue didn't have a ton (7) of turnovers, and at the same time, forced 12.

Rob Hummel had a generally-quiet game...he'd go long streaks without getting the chance to get involved on offense, but he finished with a team-high 24 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and a block.  He looked frustrated a bit in this game at times too, but nowhere near how he looked v. High Point.  Plus, with his squad down by 2 points and just seconds left, Hummel hit a sizable three to give Purdue a one-point lead that they held until the end of the contest.

Ryne Smith started the game where he left off in the last game hitting big three after three in the first half.  He finished with 15 points (5-6 from three), and maybe just as importantly, filled the sheet with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals...one down the stretch that helped Purdue win.  But, like his fellow Senior and 90% free throw shooter, he didn't hit a charity shot- he went 0-2 while Hummel only shot one free throw (0-1).

LewJack matched up well with the athletic Gaels using his quickness time and time again to drive past Iona's different defensive looks. He finished with 17 points, 3 rebound, 3 assists and 2 steals, while only turning the ball over once.  He got into foul trouble about mid-way through the second half...or his numbers would have looked a bit better.  Where LewJack looked very plebeian in the last game, this afternoon, he looked more like what we expected- he was clearly one of the quickest players on the court, with and without the ball, and Iona had a very difficult time matching up with him. Plus, unlike most of the Boilers, he shot his freethrows well, finishing 4-5.

Barlow played with flashes of brilliance one second and made maddening decisions a few seconds later...or in other words, was himself.  When he's in the right frame of mind, he's tough on both ends- making good passes and fighting through defense with contact.  But, he took some ill-advised deep shots that Iona took advantage of (above).  He did have arguably, one of the most-important shots of the game-  After a first half in which Purdue struggled to stay close, Barlow nailed a half-court jumper that looked smooth and effortless as if it was 15 feet...it tied the contest at 50.  He finished with 14 points, 7 rebounds,  4 assists and 2 steals.

Hummel, Carroll and Lawson had the tough task of guarding Glover and they held him in check most of the game.  Carroll didn't make a ton of noise offensively, but was pretty solid doing the dirty work- In 24 minutes he had 2 points, 6 rebounds and two steals.  Lawson seemed to gain Painter's trust during the game since his quickness and leaping ability helped him match up.  He finished with 3 points and 5 rebounds...but didn't get official credit for a steal at the end of the game that he quickly turned into two points.  He also seemed to look more sure of himself and his role as the game wore on.

Byrd returned from the last game when he didn't play one minute to play six generally-quiet minutes. But, one of the most-tenuous moments of the game was when Iona's Ridley threw a high elbow into Byrd with just a few minutes left in the first half...Byrd jumped up and got into Ridley's face before walking away...EsPN moron analyst, Doug Gottlieb said it was a play that should have been allowed as it's part of the game for a player to clear space after a rebound...the problem is the guy was trying to clear space above his own shoulders which NO ONE is coached to do because it doesn't protect the ball.  Ridley looked like he might take the game over until Lawson began bodying him up and playing physical with him.

Marcius only played two minutes as he didn't seem to match up well with the quick frontcourt of Iona. AJ and TJohn had solid days- In 16 minutes, AJ had 8 points, 3 rebounds an assist and steal.  TJohn, played 20 minutes, had 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.

If you didn't get to see this one and are worried because Purdue played another tight game versus a non-AQ conference foe, don't think that there's a trend happening here.  Make no mistake, this was a different game all-together.  High Point played a packed-in zone that Purdue didn't seem willing to test as the good guys hung around the three point line.  This game, Iona played a full-court press, man-to-man, match-up zone and standard 2-3...and Purdue did a great job, at least on the offensive side of the court handling the different looks and staying under control.

The old halfcourt defense that we became accustomed to in the past few years is no where to be found simply because JJ isn't in the lane to clean up the mess...and Kramer's been gone for a few years.  Lawson showed a bit of why he shouldn't be redshirting this season, especially on the defensive end of the floor and might take more and more minutes, depending on the situation. At the same time, TJohn, Hummel and LewJack are still working their way up to full lung capacity; and it'll happen in the next few weeks...but today showed some good things in that Purdue can run if they need to, and once again finished out a game they could have lost.  The only really bothersome part of today was how Purdue missed a ton of free throws down the stretch, leaving 9 points on the floor and only shooting 55%.  Plus, they're not drawing enough fouls on the drive, in my opinion.

I think playing, and winning, close games like this, especially this early in the season is a big positive- This game kind of reminded me of the Richmond game last season and that didn't end well, but at least today did.

Next up, Purdue will play Temple tomorrow at 1:00, again on EsPNU.

DVR look at Southern Indiana Game: Boilers Win 65-49

First off, I like the idea of using students to run the production on exhibition games...seems like a way that BTN can broadcast games they really don't want to give attention/money to.  And this game showed better graphics work and camera work than the game v. Northern.  Plus the play-by-play guy was pretty solid.  All that said, the girl who was doing color seemed to not understand her job or the game.  If you know her, or you are her, use this to get better...there's plenty of room for improvement- hopefully you get the opportunity to do so.

Alright, onto the important stuff.

USI played Illinois to a 9 point loss- that's a pretty solid effort.  And this team only had two losses all of last season and was one of the better D-II teams...They had a quick point guard who LewJack struggled with at times defensively and a couple other players that were skilled, but a bit undersized.  In other words, they were a better exhibition opponent than Northern...but the talent gap is still sizable, and the Boilers cruised to a 65-49 victory.

Hummel looked comfortable on the offensive end- especially when motion offense was running through him.  He looked comfortable putting the ball on the floor and pulling up.  But, he forced a few shots out of the rhythm of the offense.  Hummel is a tough match-up at the highest level, and even tougher for an opponent from D-II.

At the 7:25 mark in the first half, the game was tied 16-16...and the game stayed close until around the 4:00 mark when TJohn hit a three then Barlow scored a few buckets that all came from in rhythm of fast breaks or secondary breaks. In fact, Barlow pretty much took charge of the game in a three minute period to end the half that showed how much more-talented of a player he was than whoever USI tried to put on him.

-Terone Johnson looked tired at times in the first half, airballing a three, moving slowly without the ball and making lackadaisical decisions with the ball...But looked quite a bit better late in the second half.

-I liked what I saw out of AJ as he played with a ton of energy and at a high speed.  The same thing can be said for DJ Byrd who continues to play in a manner that reminds me a bit of Chris Kramer at times.

-LewJack showed flashes of his quickness and ball handling ability as the game came to him, that he didn't show much of v. Northern.

-Purdue did a great job of not accepting lazy three pointers and looking for shots inside 15 feet.  While doing this, they drew some fouls and got to the free throw line with regularity.  But there were a ton of missed layups- notably, Jackson, Hummel, Barlow and AJ all left points on the floor by not finishing.

-Donnie Hale led all rebounders with 8.  Smith had 6, TJohn had 5, Hummel had 4. Carroll & Marcius need to be more active on the glass; they had a total of 3 rebs.

-Hummel brought the ball up a few times which helped create space in the middle; I think we'll see that look from time-to-time. Barlow and TJohn also brought up the ball when Jackson wasn't running the point.

-In 18 minutes, Barlow had 12 points- a few threes and a couple dunks off of steals. TJohn played 20 minutes and scored 10 points. AJ and Hummel both finished with 8pts.

-Marcius showed great athleticism, energy and footwork in spurts; running the court well, moving well without the ball and creating space while calling for the ball.

-Lawson seems to be the obvious candidate for a redshirt as his ability to play the game doesn't match up with his athleticism quite yet...but physically he looks like a player who is ready.

-Purdue was very careless with the ball at times...something they'll need to tighten up in the next week as the competition gets much better.

-Donnie Hale was active on the defensive end blocking and altering shots especially as guards were funneled to the lane.  His length, timing and ability to get off the floor quickly is reminiscent of JJ as an underclassman.

-The defense looked much more like a typical Purdue defense than did the Northern game...Jackson, Barlow and TJohn all provided full-court, on-ball pressure and Purdue did a great job closing down passing lanes, specifically up top.

Next up, the Forces of Good will officially open the renovated Mackey Arena by hosting Northern Illinois on Friday at 7:00...it'll be viewed by hundreds on EsPN3.

Playing The What-If Game

One of the easiest things to fall into when looking at any sport is the "what if" game. What if Butler's heave goes in at the buzzer last year? What if David Tyree doesn't catch the ball against his helmet against the Patriots? What if Kyle Orton doesn't fumble against Wisconsin in '04? What if IU never fired a good coach and hired a cheater?

It's only natural to think about Rob being healthy now and then. It's okay, too. It's a little selfish, but it's not a terrible thing to dream. And early in the season, I said that as much as I wanted to look forward and see what this team could do as constituted, I did admit that no matter what happens, we'll always be able to say, I wonder what would have happened with Rob. Basically, anything short of a national title and it'll be possible to wonder that.

However, I've begun to honestly change my thoughts on this. I still see clowns like Goodman tweeting after the OSU win "Just imagine if they had Hummel." Why, Jeff? So they could have beated OSU by 20? I don't get it. This team is playing as well as anyone in the country right now....yet people like you are still saying "what if they had Hummel?" How much more could they be winning right now? How much more dominant could they look? Seriously.

Let's consider things for a moment. What might be different right now, had Rob not torn his ACL for a second time in October?

Would JJ and E'Twaun be the players they are right now?

I'm not suggesting Rob being healthy would make them worse, so let's understand that right now. But let's also understand that there is zero doubt that these two simply looked at the situation and immediately understood what they had to do. Down 1/3 of the trio, they needed to cover that gap, be it in points, leadership, minutes, whatever. 

Would JJ be a player of the year candidate? Probably not, simply because he would be ceding some of his points and rebounds. Would Smooge have had that monstrosity of a game vs OSU? Probably not, for the same reasons. Again, Rob wouldn't have stunted their growth, per se, but he would have changed the distribution of responsibilities.

Would Ryne Smith be who he is right now?

Sure, Ryne comes and goes, but would he have had that hot start to the Big Ten season, including four straight double digit scoring games plus three games with five or more treys made? I don't know, but I kind of doubt it. Purdue needed a third scoring option in those games and Ryne didn't have Rob to defer to, so up the shots went...and down they fell. Kind of makes the tandem of he and Rob firing away next year sound delicious, doesn't it?

Would Kelsey Barlow be playing as much?

With Rob in the lineup, where does Kelsey fit? I guess he's spelling LewJack still, but that's about it. Does he develop as a player as he has if Rob is there? Again, do not misunderstand -- I'd love to have a healthy Hummel. But there are side effects of his absence that are going to ultimately be good for the development of guys like Kelsey.

Does Terone Johnson redshirt?

Going down the depth chart, how much would Terone have played? Would it have been more prudent just to redshirt him? And if the answer is yes, while that's nice in terms of having him around longer, he loses all of what he has gained this year. As many people say, by this time of year, freshmen are no longer freshman. We've seen TJ go through the growing pains of learning the college game, adjusting to the speed, feeling his way through conference play, etc. And now we're seeing him hit big-time shots. Think about how valuable that experience might turn out to be in the tournament this year and for years to come.

Is the resolve this team has shown there?

There is absolutely no doubt, this team was marked for great things this year with Rob. Everyone was saying so, with top five preseason rankings a certainty. Then it all changed and Purdue's season reportedly went with Rob's knee. Now, I'm not saying the team would have been less focused, but I think it's reasonable to think they might have....expected...to be great. With Rob's injury and the resulting media remarks about Purdue, I think our boys got pissed. They'll never fully admit it, but they hear what gets said. They know they were absolutely left for dead. One of my favorite recent digs from another site was that we "manufactured the chip on Purdue's shoulder." This is one of those remarks that simply underscores ignorance. We didn't manufacture anything. We simply report what we see.

So would this team be this focused? I honestly don't know. I have faith in Matty and the boys and I think they do a great job of keeping things in perspective and staying the course and keeping their eyes on the prize. In the past it was making the tourney. Then it was winning the conference. Now it's a lot more than that. And whatever you thought might happen back in mid-October, you couldn't have asked for things to be in better shape than they are at this moment.

The train is coming, folks. Choo-choo.

Handsome Hour!! 2/9/11

The most handsome fellows in the blogosphere get together for a chat...

They talk LewJack...

They talk Kelsey Barlow...

And look ahead at what's coming...

Stick around for the cliff hanger ending!!

Tune in now!

Listen to internet radio with Boiled Sports on Blog Talk Radio

(please stick with us as we try to circumvent the roadblocks placed in front of us by Blog Talk Radio's policy changes!! Thanks.)

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)

Jacked

I saw a thread on the KHC board about the comparison of Barlow to LewJack...and it got me thinking about this season versus last season.

Lewis Jackson played a lot of minutes early last year...He started almost every game in '08/'09. But, things were very different for Jackson. Every healthy body played significant minutes...Hummel was hurt for a chunk of the season, Kramer was out for a few games, the bench was not nearly as deep. In fact, during a few games last season, Matty only utilized 7 players. This season, 11 players are averaging double-digit minutes...and five more have played in a couple of games. My point is, it's a different season and a different team...but make no mistake, replacing #23's worth in the line-up has been difficult, but a duo of players are doing a pretty good job of it.
Barlow has gotten better each game...and had the luxury of not being forced to play too many minutes too quickly. Wohlford came into this season in great shape and his hard work in the off season has "forced" (according to Painter) the coaches to put him in the game more-and-more as the season progresses.

I'm not sure if anybody here knows LewJack, or any of the other players...or if any players visit the site. But, one thing seems pretty obvious- everyone involved in this situation seems to understand its a team effort. Lewis Jackson's pace and ability to guard the opposition's pointguard on the ball isn't matched by anyone on the active roster. You can't make someone that quick. At the same time, LewJack will never be 6'5" and have a nearly-7 foot wingspan. Both of these guys have tools. And the third part of the equation, Wohlford, seems to play a bit harder than Barlow...and his situational awareness is that of a Senior. It'd be great if Painter had all parts at his disposal, but he hasn't, nor will he for at least two and one-half more months.

I've noticed Jackson trying to help guys on the court get into the correct position from the bench a few times...I've also noticed him looking like someone stole his lunch money a few times. This injury has clearly been hard on him. But, it's created opportunities for two guys that might not have seen significant, if any minutes this season...And Painter's been able to adjust the system according to the strengths of Wolford/Barlow. I'm excited to see both players progress as the BT schedule draws closer and closer. I'm also looking forward to a time when both Barlow and Jackson are available.

A Look at Kelsey Barlow

Indianapolis Cathedral's Kelsey Barlow in action.

From the video, he seems to be a point forward of sorts with great vision and court awareness. He's also deceptively-quick. I've seen him play in person twice, and thought he looked a bit lazy at times, but very athletic. I still think he will back up Hummel next season at small forward, and possibly Smooge at shooting guard, at times.

He's got long arms and can do a lot of things well...I'm hoping Painter and Co. can motivate him they way they've pushed Smooge to become a very good defender...and like Moore, Barlow will probably have the look of moving in slow motion at times...as he blows by a defender. He's a bit of a tweener, but his length might make him an all-conference-type of player by the time he leaves West Lafayette.

Thank you to Rivals GBI for the video...