Black/Gold Game Eve

In about 13 hours, Purdue will square off against Purdue for the final official team get-together of the Spring.  In spite of rain in the forecast, I'm still pretty stoked to take LBD to God's country along with his cousin for a day of fun and frivolity. The Spring games usually mean little, but they're always a morsel of tasty football goodness to tide me over until late-August. This year will be no different...but there are some things I'm looking forward to.

TerBush v. Marve: Round 1
Well really, this whole Spring has been the first round of the battle between these two.  TerBush didn't really offer much of a fight when Marve first got on campus a few years ago...and last year, Marve wasn't much competition due to his knee.  Of course, Coach Hope says both are practicing well...I'll be the judge of that tomorrow.  My findings will surely produce a clear starter for the fall*

Who is this year's Ralph Bolden
When Bolden was fully recovered from his first busted ACL a few years ago, he shined during the Spring game...and I told J that he'd be a difference maker that season.  Turns out, he rushed for nearly 1,000 yards that season (most of them coming against Toledo).  He looked like the kid in the highlight video from HS...and not just because he was playing Purdue's crappy defense at that point (sorry, truth hurts sometimes).

So my question is who is the guy that will show me he's ready for primetime.  Perhaps it'll be Shane Mikesky, Armstead Williams...Doug Gentry or Jalani Phillips?? Regardless, I'm looking forward to seeing new faces...and numbers for that matter, doing big things.

Beware of Fool's Gold
Back in the late 90s, Burgler and then Edgerton always looked like they might push a guy named Brees come the next fall.  Turned out, there's no way in hell they could do such a thing...but they were kickass Black/Gold game players.

More recently, Sean Matti had a monster Spring game at RB...So I guess there's always a chance we're just seeing a guy have one good afternoon...nothing more.  But seeing someone go off is always fun (until you remember it's against Purdue).

Motivated Seniors
There are a couple guys on the roster who have had great Springs so far...and are honestly due for some big things...Here's to seeing that continue.

I look for Tommy Thomas, Antwon Higgs, Max Charlot and Eric Mebane to make a bit of noise tomorrow...and perhaps it can continue in the fall.  There are others, but these are a few of the guys that I've always thought had it in them; just we haven't gotten to see enough of it...yet.

Everyone's a Winner...or at least a Captain
The team voted 6 captains into "office" this week- Caleb TerBush, Akeem Shavers, Crosby Wright, Kawaan Short, Ricardo Allen and Raheem Mostert. Six is a lot of captains...But wait, there's more!!!

The coaches named the following honorary captains: Rich Schmeig, Tommy Thomas, Josh Johnson, Robert Maci, Cody Webster and Chris Quinn.

No word yet if every player will receive participation trophies for the season...I will check on that though.

In all seriousness, doesn't it cheapen the role and specialness of the captains if an entire second group of captains are named without the vote?  I do understand that Tommy Thomas has been a great leader for the team for multiple years...but I doubt any of that changes with a title or lack there of.

Tomorrow
Kickoff and the subsequent nearly-full speed return will be at 1:00 pm tomorrow.


*My findings mean nothing.

Do The Boilers Have A Leadership Problem?

Step forward, young men...

Coming into this season, we were excited about the prospect of this Senior class leading the Boilers for '11 & '12. Ryne Smith's ability to get under the opponent's skin, Lewis Jackson's hard-nosed bulldog mentality and Rob Hummel's mental toughness and ability to do so many things well seem like a great foundation for a basketball team. However, poor conditioning, inconsistent effort and nagging injuries have put Painter's squad in a position that's unfamiliar to Boilers (at least during the past few seasons). Things are very uncertain as the home stretch of the season begins to come into view...and this team's identity is hazy at best.

Speaking with my esteemed co-editor this weekend, I noticed that he was more irritated than usual (not enough fiber, perhaps) about Purdue basketball. We discussed the lack of effort at certain times this season, how the team looks listless at times, etc. It got me to thinking the above headlined question -- does Purdue basketball have a leadership problem?

It's a question that would have seemed unthinkable in recent seasons. Purdue has soft-spoken but definite leaders in recent years. JJ and E'Twaun weren't in-your-face guys, but they were true leaders-by-example. When the game was on the line, those guys wanted the ball and more often than not, they came through. There was also a fire in their bellies, as evidenced by a number of times when Moore would be seething even after a game for something that happened on the floor. One of b-dowd's favorite Moore videos was a clip posted to YouTube after the Boilers' won a tourney game and all the way up the tunnel, E'Twaun was quietly dag-nabbiting how a guy had swiped him. Easy to admire.

As this season dawned, we openly expressed our concerns about the fact that too much might be expected (or needed) from Rob Hummel. The guy was coming back from two ACL injuries, hadn't played a game in 20 months and was now the most seasoned veteran on a team with lots of young guys. He was going to be looked to by his coach, his teammates, the media...even opposition...as a guy who represents Purdue and the Big Ten and, in the words of some, what's right about college basketball.

The season then got rolling and I know that I, for one, was pleasantly surprised at how well Rob slipped back into character. He shot well, rebounded aggressively, led the team in scoring average and generally seemed like the leader and captain he was needed to be. Rob was like a coach on the floor and there is no doubt that Coach Painter relied on him as such. This was never more clear than in a home game where Anthony Johnson appeared to miss an assignment and then, when barked at by Rob on the court, mouthed off right back to #4. Hummel and Painter appeared positively furious with AJ and he sat for some time, the incident even appearing to impact his playing time in the next game or two.

However, also early on there were concerning signs. Rob wasn't hitting his free throws at his previous 90% rate. He was getting frustrated on the floor, especially as missed shots (by him and others) mounted and the Boilers blew large leads in devastating losses to Xavier and Butler. And his conditioning has seemed outright poor, at times causing him to appear winded and further unable to take his ideal shots.

None of this is to criticize Rob. It's more of a concern. We're beyond thrilled to have him back on the court and representing Purdue, but that doesn't change the fact that something does not seem right with this team. Games get away from them, whether it's blowing huge leads to lose games, or never getting into rhythm and almost appearing to give up (see MSU). As b-dowd pointed out to me, once their shooting was clearly cold and MSU began to put some distance between themselves and our Boilers, it looked like Purdue wanted to be just about anywhere besides East Lansing.

Those sorts of things are hard to define, with regard to how you correct them. Poor shooting, from the field and the line, are endemic problems and ones that sound simple enough (practice more!) but it's not always that simple, mainly because these guys are young men and there's also the "in your head" element. Such as, you know, when your coach mixes it up with the opposing student section.

Matt Painter is a coach who anyone who reads BS knows is well-loved here. For as much as we often wring our hands when Coach Hope is faced with football program decisions, we've often found ourselves on the opposite end of the spectrum during the winter, completely trusting "Matty" as he makes decisions affecting the basketball program. Is it time to cease the blanket trust and begin asking questions? I'm not sure. But I do know that the focus after a 25 point shellacking from an MSU team that is good but isn't that good shouldn't be on how idiotic students of a rival school insulted the honor of one of your players. Sure, it was classless, but....so what?

Lewis Jackson is a floor leader and gives his body up willingly for the betterment of the team, but he's never had to be a vocal leader. Rob Hummel continues to soldier on, though his frustration is becoming apparent and his body language has certainly taken a turn for the worse. Ryne Smith is a talented shooter who appears prone to bouts of under-confidence. And Coach Painter is now bickering with students during road games (who, make no mistake, will never forget that they got under Painter's skin).

The road does not get easier from here onward. Is there time for the Boilers to toughen up (both mentally and physically) before it's too late?

Kramer, Grant and Hummel Named Captains

Matt(y) Painter made his announcement of the tri-captains for the 2008-2009 basketball season yesterday while also announcing that John Hart will redshirt this season.

Your tri-captains for this season will be Robbie Hummel, Keaton Grant and Chris Kramer.

I think it's pretty cool that Robbie will be a co-captain and this fact is just a continuation of Hummel's abilities and accolades growing so much faster than any of us thought they would. And when you think about it, these guys definitely embody what it means to be a captain.

Tonight's game can't get here fast enough.

Boiler Up!

Chris Kramer reacts with his happy face about being named co-captain

Keaton Grant pensively thinks about being a co-captain on this prodigious Boilermakers team