Purdue Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

   There’s no reason to mince words or dance around the topic. Purdue retains its top six players from last year’s 27-win team that bowed out to Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16. It’s in the top 10 of every knowledgeable preseason national poll.

That combination of excellence and experience and expectations makes the Boilermakers a legitimate candidate for the Final Four. And, hey, the 2010 Final Four just so happens to be taking place at Indianapolis, which is an hour down Interstate 65 from West Lafayette, Ind.

But before everyone decides Purdue will do the Michigan State thing and use the local Final Four as an unbeatable bit of motivation, one needs to remember this about the Boilers: The first two paragraphs of this story—except for the part about the Final Four being in Indianapolis—are the exact same paragraphs used to introduce the 2008-09 Boilers.

That team started strong and finished strong, but the middle was a mess. Forward Robbie Hummel, the Big Ten’s preseason Player of the Year, toughed out a fractured vertabrae in his back. Guards Keaton Grant and Chris Kramer, the heart of the team, endured multiple injuries that kept them from equaling their previous feats. Purdue split its last 10 Big Ten league games and entered the postseason at a crossroads.

“We had two totally different years,” said fifth-year coach Matt Painter. “There were a lot of expectations. But we still finished second in the league, still won the (Big Ten) tournament.”

Purdue’s strong finish, when Hummel looked better than he had in months, suggests those were the true Boilers. If that’s the case, then this year’s team should be special. Hummel (12.5 ppg, 7.0 rpg), first-team all-Big Ten center JaJuan Johnson (13.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.1 bpg) and second-team all-Big Ten guard E’Twaun Moore (13.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg) are the leading talents, but Grant, Kramer and sophomore point guard Lewis Jackson aren’t far behind. Then there’s a four-man freshman class—as well as sophomore guard Ryne Smith—ready to make this team deeper than last year’s model.

NOTES, QUOTES

  —Though C JaJuan Johnson was the only Boilermaker to earn first-team all-Big Ten recognition last year, F Robbie Hummel and G E’Twaun Moore are Purdue’s representatives on the John Wooden Award’s national preseason Top 50 list. Perhaps Hummel earned the nod over Johnson because he made the USA Basketball World University Games team. Hummel averaged 7.3 points and 5.6 rebounds for the bronze-medal squad, while Johnson was part of the team’s final cut.

• PG Lewis Jackson is suspended for Purdue’s two exhibition games and its regular-season opener against Cal State Northridge after a less than perfect offseason. Jackson pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia and consumption of alcohol by a minor—charges stemming from a traffic stop. Then, according to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, the NCAA docked Jackson a game for playing in a non-sanctioned event.

   —Purdue led the Big Ten and ranked 14th nationally in field-goal percentage defense last season. The Boilermakers’ 39.1 percent showing could improve this year as they didn’t lose any of their better defenders. Plus, newcomers like freshman swingman Kelsey Barlow give the Boilers more strong defensive options off the bench.

Last Year:   27-10 overall, 11-7 in the Big Ten; lost in third round of the NCAA Tournament.

   HEAD COACH: Matt Painter (career 108-55); 5th year at Purdue (83-50).

   QUOTE TO NOTE: “He might have taken a week off here or there. But, for the most part, he’s been playing ever since the season was over. We all thought, including myself, that he would take a month off or two months off. That hasn’t happened. So I really think it’s a non-issue at this point.”—Purdue coach Matt Painter telling the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette that junior forward Robbie Hummel’s back woes are behind him.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

   SCOUTING THE NEWCOMERS: The Boilermakers welcome a four-man class that figures to be the next wave of regulars once the current junior class calls it a career. Swingman D.J. Byrd earned four-star recognition from recruiting gurus, but Purdue’s deep backcourt might minimize his contribution this year. Six-foot-9, 260-pound center Sandi Marcius, a native of Croatia, should step in as JaJuan Johnson’s backup. Swingman Kelsey Barlow profiles initially as a defensive stopper—always a desirable trait in West Lafayette—while Patrick Bade (6-8, 235) can play either frontcourt spot.

   KEY EARLY-SEASON GAMES: Purdue has its share of high-level challenges during pre-conference play—including a home date with Wake Forest (Dec. 1) and a trip to Alabama (Dec. 12)—but the Boilers have done an excellent job of finding solid teams that should put together good RPIs. Defending MAC regular-season champ Buffalo (Dec. 5) falls in that category, as should each of the teams they play at the Paradise Jam (Nov. 20-23). Purdue starts with South Dakota State before facing either Boston College or St. Joseph’s. Tennessee or Northern Iowa likely awaits from the other side of the bracket.

   PROGRAM DIRECTION: The Boilers are a consensus preseason Top 10 team for the second year in a row. While they’re not likely to start there every year, Purdue’s recruiting and work ethic has put it in position to be a consistent preseason Top 25 pick for the foreseeable future.

   PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP: PG Lewis Jackson, SG E’Twaun Moore, G Chris Kramer, F Robbie Hummel, C JaJuan Johnson.

   ROSTER REPORT:

   —PG Lewis Jackson must sit out Purdue’s first three games after pleading guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia and consumption of alcohol by a minor.

• After injuries kept Purdue from having enough practice players at certain times last year, coach Matt Painter isn’t allowing that to happen this year. He brought in four walk-on guards from Indiana high schools—sophomore Bubba Day and freshmen Stevie Loveless, Dru Anthrop and Kyle Coleman—to give the Boilers a 17-man roster.