VOL. 29, ISSUE 36. FEB. 7. 2019 EXPRESS Weekly Word: Leadership and Legacy

EMERGING LEADERSHIP

As Purdue's grown into being a pretty good team right now, you're also seeing the seeds sewn for some pretty good teams to follow, what with the play of Trevion Williams and and Nojel East- ern and on down the line lately, players who'll be centerpieces of the next two Boilermaker teams after this one. But a couple other examples brought it to mind in the past 24 hours or so. But you're also seeing some knowns for those teams being established where there were unknowns First, Haarms. for this team. Look, no one is — or should be — required to Namely, leadership. play the media dog-and-pony show game if they don't want to, but it is an opportunity, not only to If you want to give and his staff reflect things as positively on yourself and your team credit for something, give them credit for this: This as possible when given the opportunity, but to lead. was a season Purdue entered into with significant unknowns, and I'd go so far as to say concerns, re- What people don't always realize when athletes garding leadership, with a small and understated or coaches speak to the media is that they're not just senior class moving now into the most prominent talking to the rank-and-file observer, but also to ev- roles of their careers, a ton of newcomers and the eryone they share a locker room with. reality that its most leadership-driven players were young. Here's a golden example of doing it the right way.

That said, leadership may have been required Eastern, a guard, was asked a question about from the sideline more than it has in years, after guard play, and answered. Then, Haarms raised an Painter has had a few teams prior to this one that es- index finger and chimed in about Carsen Edwards, sentially were able to coach themselves to a certain fresh off a 6-of-20 shooting game. extent. "I wanted to say this, as well," he said. "I was re- But Purdue is quickly transitioning from having ally proud of Carsen's maturity today. He struggled unknowns in the leadership column to the opposite in the first half, and some guys would let themselves extreme. get taken out of the game by that, but he was out there in the second half leading us. He was going at Nojel Eastern and Matt Haarms are going to be a them, one of the guys out there really showing us great leaders for Purdue, if you ask me. I'm not sure we had to go at these dudes. I'm really proud of him I can properly articulate why, aside from both hav- for that." ing the charisma, personalities and consciences for it, not to mention them being solid example-setters That's Haarms going out of his way to make from work ethic and effort perspectives best I can mention of his team's best player, praising in public, tell. understanding of the gravity Edwards carries on this

GoldandBlack.com 1 team, seemingly aware of the importance of a mes- agers do for the programs they help make run, and sage being sent that teammates have his back, so to very rarely is light shown on those contributions. speak, no matter what. Hours after a big win, during a stretch in which Press conferences are golden opportunities for Eastern has much to beat his own chest over, for such things, but nowadays, every hour of every day him to use his platform to shine some of that light, can be a press conference, because of social media. it really tells you what you should know about Nojel Eastern. Matt Painter didn't ban his players from Twitter for several years because he didn't trust them, but Ultimately, what is leadership? because he wanted to protect them from the barbs of either degenerates or smart people who turn into Leadership is thinking beyond oneself. degenerates during games, and in turn, protect them from themselves. No good can come Some have to. from online fisticuffs with unknown and irrelevant adversaries. But some want to, or just know to, like Haarms and Eastern did on Sunday, giving pretty strong rea- But there's opportunity in Twitter same as there son to believe that Purdue's going to be in capable is in press conferences, only without the intellectu- hands for the foreseeable future. ally stimulating questions. J5bhqllqdtt4ysmmx7sx USA Today Sports A few hours after Haarms used one platform to ENDURING LEADERSHIP publicly praise his team's most important player af- ter an uneven game, Eastern used another to praise On that note, it has come to mind lately how team manager Jacob Rossman for the time he's put leadership and selflessness begets leadership and in helping him improve his foul shooting, but big- selflessness. ger than that, how much he cares. And while some of that is something people ei- People have no idea, generally, how much man- ther have or they don't, there's been an excellent ex- Gold and Black LIVE featuring the staff of GoldandBlack.com Interactive live video-stream sports talk show — ask questions, chat with other fans! For schedule visit the college page on WLFI.com. 2 P.M. FRIDAYS At a computer or mobile device near you! Special guests, analysis and more

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GoldandBlack.com 2 ample laid in place at Purdue. making bad shooting teams good, but not enough to be the sole cause. Namely in the leadership of past captains Vin- cent Edwards, Dakota Mathias and P.J. Thompson. The Michigan State-Indiana game illuninated the real reason, as the Spartans missed all their free Consider how their careers played out. All were throws and Hoosiers made seemingly all their (im- excellent players and winners in their Boilermaker portant) threes: It's the luck of the draw. careers, but all played nice with others. Jump-shooting is like pitching in baseball, the Does 's career at Purdue play randomness that makes the game fun and all the cli- out as successfully if the Boilermakers' established chés — anyone can beat anyone on any ... — true. players don't accommodate him so smoothly? Hell, Vincent Edwards changed positions for him after a Especially in the college game, where things are terrific freshman season of his own. so much rougher around the edges, a good shooting team can be awful and an awful shooting team can Does Carsen Edwards' career at Purdue play out be good. as successfully had Mathias or Vincent Edwards not been understanding of him getting 120-some more If Penn State just shoots its pedestrian average shots than any other Boilermaker as a sophomore vs. Purdue, Purdue doesn't need overtime to beat the on a team full of seniors? I don't know if people ever worst team in the league and we all go to bed a little understood how good those guys were and what earlier. they might have been capable of had they ever been The Man, at Purdue or anywhere. If Purdue shoots its average vs. Minnesota, then it rolls over the Gophers, then we have so much less Purdue added starpower on the fly to a team with to talk about afterward, don't we? a great foundation in place, but that foundation be- ing comfortable in its foundation-ness was such an Funny business, these coaches and players are in, important part of those teams' success, and laid a preparing to play opponents armed only with infor- hell of a, well, foundation for years to come. mation culled from results of the past, when all that will matter will be results in the moments, results In the big picture of Purdue's surprising success that can fall any number of ways. this season, don't lose sight of that mattering. --Brian Neubert COINCIDENCE OR CAUSATION?

So it's sort of being a running joke for Purdue, yet no laughing matter, that it has this funny way of pinning 20 percentage points onto opponents' It’s All On GoldandBlack.com three-point percentages as if it's the tail on the don- key. The Best Purdue Sports Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State, whoever, the Information numbers go right out the window as the ball goes On The Web right through the net. • Real-time There is some sound reasoning involved. recruiting • Game stories, analysis and blogs Purdue does prioritize keeping the ball out of • Premium message the paint — it's almost poetic that the Boilermak- boards • Video, audio, live stream Free trials ers' coach puts such emphasis on the, uh, lane — events and more available! whether that's in helping against the dribble or • Exclusive access to premium double-teaming against post-ups. There is some an- information Part of the Rivals.com network ecdotal evidence of Purdue's systematic priorities Note: GoldandBlack.com is a separate subscription than your subscription to Gold & Black Illustrated/Gold and Black EXPRESS.

GoldandBlack.com 3 Why is Purdue's offense of whom has probably won games for Purdue with so good? hot-shooting performances. 3. Matt Painter and specifically Greg Gary have QUESTION: What have been the biggest reasons done an excellent job — an excellent job — coach- for Purdue not dropping off on offense after losing ing offense this year, building around Edwards, put- last year's seniors? ting him in lots of different positions to score and those around him in positions to score around him. Answer: That has been a very significant de- The level of execution Purdue's shown this season velopment, because, yeah, Purdue lost really good despite what really amounts to a rebuild of the roster players and a bunch of them, but also the chemis- has been surprising. try those guys built up over a long period of time, and the sheer influence of , which was Purdue's been a great screening team, and Eifert's really Purdue's starting point. It lost a ton of skill, experience and Haarms' intelligence, and both of a ton of experience, Haas' influence and Vincent Ed- their effort levels, have been a big part of that, but wards' game-changing versatility at a key position, effort comes in many forms, and no one works hard- PJ Thompson's level head and leadership and Dako- er for shots than Edwards, and Cline is doing much ta Mathias' everything on offense. the same.

Yet, Purdue is third nationally in offensive effi- 4. Roles. Carsen Edwards has the freedom to ciency on KenPom as of this morning and averaging do whatever he wants, basically, but you see oth- 75-and-a-half points per game in Big Ten play right ers sticking to their comfort zones. Grady Eifert has now. been tremendous this season in his role, offensively. It's not a big role, but it's an important one. But you Obviously, a lot goes into it, and having one of don't see him doing stuff he shouldn't, just like you 's most formidable offensive play- don't see Nojel Eastern doing stuff he shouldn't, or ers is certainly a good start. Stefanovic, or Haarms, and on down the line.

It's funny, because I think a few weeks ago, you Edwards will take bad shots, in the context of a could credibly have a conversation about whether bad shot for 99 percent of the playing population Carsen Edwards was having a "good" season. Now being an OK shot for him. And Cline is entitled to that Purdue's winning and he's making so many im- the occasional YOLO shot. Otherwise, those around portant plays to make it happen, I think that con- them are comfortable and content in their roles. versation is off the table, but I only bring that up to Very rarely does anyone outside the two top scorers point out that it's not been a straight line for him in take bad shots. this greater role, and Purdue's been good offensively in spite of it. 5. Trevion Williams. He has completed Purdue's offensive mix. Balance has been a difficult commod- A few things .... ity to find, and keep, but he's provided it this Big Ten season. He's the same level of revelation Matt 1. Edwards has obviously been a great scorer for Haarms was a year prior. Purdue, but also the same sort of impactful presence Haas was, the player who makes a defense make that 6. Turnovers/Offensive rebounding. This has first decision that Purdue can then play off. Grady been shocking, to me at least, that Purdue's been so Eifert's made a lot of trailing threes and Matt Haarms good about not turning the ball over, with such in- a lot of screen-slipping dunks simply off opponents volved and aggressive guards, so little returning ex- blitzing ball screens against Edwards, the sort of at- perience and mid-season a shift back toward enter- tention he commands. ing to the post, to a freshman no less. And it's been a pretty effective offensive rebounding team. 2. Purdue's emphasis on shooting in past recruit- ing classes is showing up, backfilling last season's Matt Painter is a possessions-minded coach, and team with not only Edwards and Cline, but players the more at-bats a team gets, the more efficient it's like Sasha Stefanovic and Aaron Wheeler, the latter going to be.

GoldandBlack.com 4 Ten's aggressiveness against him and neutralizing And if this team was better in transition in its him in the come-from-behind Purdue win. opportunities — that's a surprise on the other end of the spectrum — then they'd be even better offen- “It’s a huge energy booster," Eifert said prior to sively. the Minnesota game. "The rest of the team can pick up on it and the crowd loves it. It’s been sort of the Something to note, too: Purdue is getting better. M.O. at Purdue, playing defense and taking charges.” Midseason it started sharing the ball better than it had prior, and that process still seems ongoing. The It was not the first game heavily influenced by Minnesota game brought with it a few more instanc- Purdue's ability to draw offensive fouls, whether they es of tunnel vision on Edwards' part, but he's come be traditional secondary-defender charges or Boiler- a long way in trusting and involving those around maker defenders baiting opponents into smashing him, but it can still get even better. them outside the parameters of the rulebook, in an official's assessment anyway. So while Purdue has been great offensively, there is still upside it can realize if it can keep trending the When Purdue won at Ohio State a few weeks right way. ago, it did so in part because it relegated Buckeye big man Kaleb Wesson to benchwarmer status, be- -Brian Neubert cause of foul trouble. Eifert took a help-side charge on Wesson for one of his fouls, then later — while it might not have counted as a traditional charge — Drawing charges key beat Wesson to a loose ball on the floor, leading to the center falling on Eifert and being called for No. Before Jordan Murphy had even dropped his 4. head, Grady Eifert had set his feet. When Purdue beat No. 6 Michigan State in Mack- If it looked like the Boilermaker senior knew ey Arena, it led by a far-from-insurmountable mar- what Minnesota's wrecking ball of a big man was go- gin of seven with 2:55 to play when Haarms bodied ing to do before he did it early in Sunday's Purdue up Spartan big man Nick Ward and was happy to get win, it's because he did. He'd studied Murphy in ad- trucked, resulting in a positional charge and pivotal vance and diagnosed his intent before it could even turnover. be carried out. Eifert and Haarms both say that knowing op- Because of that anticipation, as well as the will- ponents' tendencies matter. Eifert clearly did when ingness, if not eagerness, to get snow-plowed in help he stepped into Murphy's path — shoulders square, defense, Eifert was right there as soon as Murphy arms tucked — against Minnesota, and Haarms may spun off Matt Haarms and right into him, knocking have as well when he absorbed that contact from Eifert to the floor and pinning the first of three of- Ward, who Purdue had frustrated with double-teams fensive fouls on the day on Murphy. throughout a game he finished just 4-of-10 from the floor, suggesting that perhaps an act of aggression It's been a strength of Eifert's this season, taking might be forthcoming in a high-stakes moment. charges, but also a long-standing staple of Purdue's program, one that this latest Boilermaker team has But, Haarms says, it's also about understanding kept in accordance with. the powers-that-be.

“I think it’s a big part of any program that has “You also want to know the ref, if he just doesn’t success," Matt Painter said, "just being in good guard- want to call it or if he does," said Haarms, who unof- ing position and being able to take it and embrace ficially leads Purdue with at least 11 offensive fouls that physical contact.” drawn. "Some refs don’t. Especially from a post play- er’s perspective, you have to be really smart about It is a skill, one Purdue happens to be pretty good it because sometimes you can get it in the post and at this season, never more evident than on Sunday, you can never get (the call) on the first hit. You just when Haarms took two charges on Murphy and Eif- have to know how it’s called, how a ref’s going to ert the other, using one of the top big men in the Big

GoldandBlack.com 5 call it. Some just don’t want to, but some are a lot go down, take that.’” more charge-happy. It's more about positioning and preparation than “It’s like a scouting report, and you learn through practicing. the game. The Ohio State game was a little more physical and (officials) are going to react to that, as That doesn't stop certain players from trying in well.” practice.

Eifert has drawn at least nine offensive fouls — Haarms says redshirt freshman Sasha Stefanovic matching Evan Boudreaux's rough total — most of is particularly present where there are charges to be them as the help defender. taken, and the guard — without Haarms' or Eifert's size to insulate him — has taken the occasional knee He says he will not flop. or kick because of it.

What he will do, however, is accentuate. Just the cost of doing business, he says.

"It’s more embellishing than flopping out there," “Becoming a good defender is something I really Eifert said. "You never want to flop.” want to do in my career," said Stefanovic, whose tak- en at least a half dozen charges this season. "This can Flopping can cut into a player's credibility with be a huge part of it.” officials and maybe turn the next 50/50 call 60/40 against the offended player. He came to Purdue with a thorough understand- ing of the school's history, built on such things as “It’s about being smart about it," Eifert said. "The toughness and effort and whatnot, elements that officials aren’t dumb. They’re not going to see you have defined many Boilermaker teams over many get hit by (someone smaller) and believe that you years and led to them taking so many charges. went flying.” “I think you have to play hard on defense here Well, sometimes that happens. and I think that’s something maybe you can’t teach," Stefanovic said, "but it comes naturally with play- Against Indiana, Haarms — who's 7-foot-3, but ing hard, and when you do that, things like (taking uncommonly mobile and fluid for his dimensions charges) happen. I’m happy to do whatever to help — slid to the baseline to cut off IU point guard Rob- the team win.” ert Phinisee's path to the basket. A player roughly 15 inches shorter extended his arm, bumping Haarms --Brian Neubert and knocking him off his feet. Cline enjoying one of finest Offensive foul. shooting seasons “More of it’s about anticipation, and then being able to sell the charge," Eifert said. "Sometimes you When Matt Painter signed Ryan Cline a few do get absolutely drilled and sometimes there is a lit- years ago, he suggested he might have just added an tle bit of acting, and I think everybody knows that. eventual "50-percent three-point shooter." But it’s mostly about anticipation.” Coming off a 6-of-7 game at Penn State, Cline's It's a skill, one that you can't practice. now shooting 51.6 percent, passing over Iowa's Isa- iah Moss (50 percent) for the Big Ten lead in that Or at least won't practice. category in conference play.

“If you try to practice taking charges, you’re go- And that number remains bogged down by an ing to put yourself in positions to get people hurt," 0-for-6 game against Maryland, a game played two Painter said. "You just talk about, ‘Hey man, in the months ago. game, if that guy gets it and does that, you have to Since conference play resumed Jan. 3, Cline is

GoldandBlack.com 6 30-of-53 from three-point territory, good for 57 per- earned, for his prolific scoring, Cline is presently en- cent over those eight games, of which Purdue has joying one of the great shooting seasons in Purdue won seven, transforming its season. history.

Make no mistake here: Cline's shot well all sea- "The one thing I do when I recruit good shooters son. He's shooting 44.3 percent overall, which if the who've shown the ability to consistently make shots, season ended today would rank fourth all-time in a even under pressure, is leave them alone," Painter season at Purdue, with Cuonzo Martin's record re- said, referencing Cline's uncommon delivery. "Just cord of 45.1 percent very much in reach considering make sure they're in rhythm, make sure they're set, current trending. make sure they get a lot of shots in, but he's always been a really good shooter and we just try to run But since Big Ten play resumed, it's gone to an- things for him and try to find him for open threes." other level, and it's been the product of Purdue's overall offense improving, Cline said. -- Brian Neubert "The offense is in a better flow, not rushing into Upon Further Review: shots," Cline said, "getting it to the second and third (options) and getting a great one. Minnesota

"I feel like the rhythm of the offense has helped A bit more on Purdue's win over Minnesota Sun- the rhythm of my shot." day.

This may end up being a historic three-point SCORECARD: PLAYING THE BIGS TOGETHER shooting season for Purdue. Purdue played from 10:34 of the second half to Cline will challenge Martin's single-season per- 8:53 with Matt Haarms at the 4 alongside Trevion centage record, but he and Carsen Edwards will each Williams at the 5, during which Purdue was +2 on claim their share of distinctions. the scoreboard to tie the game, then again briefly from 4:02-3:37 (Minnesota +2). Penn State's Shep Garner holds the Big Ten sin- gle-season record for three-point field goals, making 120 last season. Here’s a rundown of those possessions, with an With 10 regular season games and at least two assessment of whether it helped or not. postseason games guaranteed, Edwards stands to- day with 84 made threes, averaging an even four per Defense: Trevion Williams at the 5 gets tied up game. He's likely to not only claim the record, but to in ball screen defense, which Minnesota reverses the hide it from everyone else for a while. ball out of to its center Daniel Oturu, whose jumper is challenged by Haarms and misses, then Williams But Cline, with 70 made threes, is on pace for rebounds the miss. This is an instance where having a top-10 finish himself. He averages 3.3 threes per a 7-3 4 really mattered. game for the season. Verdict: Thumbs up! Edwards is a lock to break Troy Lewis' single-sea- son Purdue record of 100, set in '87-88, but Cline is Offense: Carsen Edwards takes a wild three, but on pace, too, also, setting a potential 1-2 finish in the Trevion Williams gets a hand on the offense same season. and tips it to Haarms, who collects it and gives off to Nojel Eastern to reset the offense. Haarms runs a high Purdue's had some pretty three-point-dependent ball screen for Eastern up top while Williams is post- teams, but hasn't seen anything like what its two up- ing up down low. Eastern pulls up off the dribble and perclassmen in the backcourt are doing in tandem kicks it out to Haarms for a three, which misses, but this season. Williams again tips the offensive rebound to Haarms, who’s following his own miss and Haarms scores. As much attention as Edwards has gotten, and

GoldandBlack.com 7 Verdict: Thumbs up! (Though it’s debatable how out the game. much size had to do with the result.) PURDUE’S DOUBLE TEAMS IN THE POST Defense: Minnesota tries the same high-low 4-to-5 action they scored on earlier, when Trevion Apparently, Minnesota didn’t notice on video Williams applied no pressure to the pass in and Dan- that Purdue doubles the post, always, against just iel Oturu scored easily over Grady Eifert. This time, about everyone, because the Gophers’ ineptitude Murphy has to throw that pass over 7-3 to Oturu on against it got the Boilermakers off to a great start. Williams, and this time, 7-3 is crashing to the rim in help defense, which sets Purdue up for a win here, Purdue got off to a great defensive start in large but Oturu misses his first shot but rebounds between part due to its post doubles, with Eifert’s help of Tre- the two big men and scores. vion Williams on Jordan Murphy contributing to a throwaway — Murphy threw it too hard over too Verdict: One thumb up, one thumb down. It was short a path to Eric Curry, who couldn’t handle it — great against the high-low action, but if you can’t that Purdue turned into a bucket at the other end. beat a freshman to a defensive rebound when he’s sandwiched between 7-3 and 280, then hard to call Next time down, Eric Curry posted up Grady this is a win. Eifert, but Williams came over and Murphy threw it right to Nojel Eastern, who was guarding the pass’ Offense: Carsen Edwards uses Trevion Wil- intended target, Amir Coffey. Eastern scored off it in liams’ ball screen and hits a pull-up jumper. transition.

Verdict: Thumbs down! Purdue scored, but it did 10:32, first. After a long offensive rebound goes so simply because Edwards made a play. Purdue had back to Minnesota, Eric Curry posts Matt Haarms. Haarms standing in the corner, where Minnesota Aaron Wheeler might have been late coming over, shouldn’t have even been guarding him, whereas Ei- but that worked out well, because he filled the pass- fert can make shots from there, and so can Wheeler, ing lane Curry was looking to throw into and de- so you essentially had a 7-3 potted plant out there flected the ball for another Minnesota turnover, its and played 4-on-5 on offense, with your 7-3 pres- third in a row in hard-double situations. ence on the glass and foremost screen-and-roll finish playing 20 feet from the rim. Give Minnesota credit, it did get better with it, giving it to Murphy further from the basket at 7:29 Defense: Minnesota pushes the ball up the of the first half to create better spacing. When Eif- floor too fast and throws it away. ert came to double, Murphy immediately threw it to Oturu, who dunked between Cline’s challenge in ro- Verdict: Incomplete! Minnesota never got into tation and Stefavonic’s dig for the ball from behind. halfcourt offense and no one factored into this play. That was actually really good defense, too, from Pur- If the urgency to beat two centers down the floor due, but good offense beating good defense. made Minnesota hurry and mess up, then you can spin a positive there, I guess. Next time, Daniel Oturu posts Trevion Wil- Haarms now comes out. liams up and Nojel Eastern comes over to double, because at the start of this play, he wound up switch- With four minutes left, Williams comes back in, ing from jamming the point guard to guarding pow- joining Haarms. er forward Michael Hurt, so he doubled off. Anyway, while Oturu is posting up, Gabe Kalsheur catches Defense: Minnesota ends up getting into the Carsen Edwards watching the ball and cuts to the lane — Amir Coffey between Nojel Eastern and Ryan basket for an easy layup. Edwards broke down a cou- Cline — and hitting Jordan Murphy for a foul. ple times during Minnesota’s run to take the lead before halftime. Verdict: Complete irrelevance! No impact what- soever. Next time, Minnesota dribbled out of the dou- ble and caught Purdue in a scramble, leading to Amir Williams then comes out, and Haarms finishes Coffey getting to the line.

GoldandBlack.com 8 When Minnesota badly needed a basketball Purdue did a great job baiting him into charges. after Purdue went up six, and right after the two- When he first put his head down to spin off Matt bigs lineup came off the floor, Minnesota posted Eric Haarms, you can see that Grady Eifert knows ex- Curry on Grady Eifert, again well away from the bas- actly what he's doing, because Eifert is establishing ket. Looked like Purdue ran a delayed double — or position as the help-side defender as soon as Mur- Williams was just late recognizing it — that blew up phy drops his head, which is obviously outstanding on it, because as soon as Williams came over, leaving preparation by Purdue. Murphy, Curry hit Murphy for a dunk. Cline rotated over to challenge, which was good defense by him, This is worth highlighting, Sasha Stefanovic’s but Murphy finished regardless. defense on Amir Coffey in space and mostly by him- self, that led to Coffey’s turnover that led to Carsen With just under seven minutes left, Minnesota Edwards’ bucket in transition, more offense off de- posted Oturu on Grady Eifert — Purdue was in a lot fense for Purdue, another case of Minnesota starting of 4-5 switches all game, whether intentional or cir- Purdue’s break for it by turning the ball over deep. cumstantial, I don’t know — and once Haarms came over, Oturu dribbled out and reversed the ball to the Coffey tried blowing past Stefanovic, clearly lik- opposite side to Dupree McBrayer, who’s bottled up ing his matchup, but Stefanovic got in front of him by Carsen Edwards on his drive, but takes a bad shot and turned him around, then poked at the ball and anyway and misses. Good D by Edwards, but also knocked it free for a second. Coffey then spun off the right play by Minnesota against the double. Stefanovic and tried to attack baseline again, but this time Haarms came over and pinned him to the base- SCREEN AND ROLL SHOTS BY THE BIGS line. Coffey threw it right to Edwards.

Unofficially, I have Purdue's big men being 7-of- Wouldn’t have been possible without Stefanovic 7 on shots generated in screen-and-roll, which is ob- thwarting the initial surge from the Big Ten’s viously a pretty decent success rate. third-leading scorer.

And in some cases, they finished even when the This might have been new for Purdue, because play was well defended, like Matt Haarms pull-up I don’t know if I’ve seen it before this season: On Pur- hook shot at 13:05, when Minnesota rotated to that due’s first and only three of the first half, Ryan Cline play exactly how you draw it up to stop his path to started out on the right wing, then ran the baseline the basket. to seemingly set a screen for Grady Eifert from the left wing across him. But Cline stopped as soon as (There was a play where Trevion Williams got he and Eifert met, Eifert flipped to set a back screen, tied up, but I’m not counting that as a shot, because Cline reversed and cut back to his starting point, I don’t think it was.) with Trevion Williams now in position to screen for him. Minnesota is completely lost, with Daniel Oh, and with two minutes left, Minnesota sold Oturu unable to get through Williams to challenge out to stop Haarms on the roll, and Nojel Eastern the shot and two Gophers standing helpless behind punched it in the face by hitting Grady Eifert behind him. Another reflection of solid play design and Pur- the action for the three that was so important. due working hard to execute those designs.

MISC. Purdue continues to break down in transition defense when Ryan Cline misses threes from the cor- Think Jordan Murphy was intent to stay out of ners. foul trouble? The business decision he made on Tre- vion Williams’ dunk two minutes into the game tells Reminder: When he’s on the floor, Cline is al- you what you need to know. He just bailed instead most always Purdue’s designated safety in transition of challenging the shot. That Purdue got him in foul defense. But when Cline is taken out of position to trouble with offensive fouls was really a pretty big be first man back by whatever just happened on of- deal, because he looked on that play intent to keep fense, the rules change, and its going to be Carsen out of trouble on D. Edwards’ responsibility to get back. When Cline missed a three from the corner in the first half, Ed-

GoldandBlack.com 9 wards got caught out of position in that role and ermakers ended the game by using the smallest Amir Coffey scored in transition to give Minneso- guy on the floor and the game’s pre-eminent ta the lead. scorer to score for the 7-3 backup center, as Cars- en Edwards tied up Daniel Oturu, freeing Haarms Not the first time this season that’s happened. around the rim to take Grady Eifert’s entry and score an and-one. This was obviously not Aaron Wheeler’s best day as a shooter, and he took some quick ones, Big picture: You have to give Minnesota but he did make a few really important and easily some credit offensively, because they figured out overlooked plays on the offensive glass just keep Purdue’s post doubles after a brutal start, they balls alive, and the one play in particular that was found some success with high-low stuff that really important when he saved the ball from go- Purdue then figured out, and they used Purdue’s ing out of bounds, right to Carsen Edwards, who emphasis on dribble containment to hit a couple dished to Matt Haarms for a basket when Purdue baseline cuts from the corner. was down 13. That play was the start of the run for the Boilermakers. With Daniel Oturu, he beat Trevion Williams down the floor and beat Matt Haarms over the For all the success Ryan Cline’s enjoyed as a top in the first half. shooter this season, he’s moving toward Dakota Mathias territory as a passer, too, and this game But for the most part this was a pretty decent was one of his top performances. defensive showing by Purdue when it kept Min- nesota out of the open floor and the Boilermakers It started right away, on Purdue’s second pos- covered their bases in transition defense. session, where he was the first of three different Boilermaker guards to hit Trevion Willliams in -Briam Neubert screen-and-roll for buckets. This is really nice offense by Purdue, which Cryer talks visit has the floor spaced with Carsen Edwards and Nojel Eastern stationed in the corners, and Grady Carsen Edwards' success at Purdue served as Eifert setting a screen up top for Cline, with Eif- the lure that caught the eye of fellow Houston ert ready then to move to the top of the arc for a area native LJ Cryer and compelled the top-100 three option for Cline as the ball-handler. He’d Class of 2020 point guard to officially visit West have had a wide-open triple had Cline not looked Lafayette this past weekend. inside instead, throwing through two defenders to Williams, who has Jordan Murphy sealed off, "Being from Houston, I know Purdue is far creating a massive window for Cline to enter the away from here, but seeing what he's doing up ball. there, he's doing big things," Cryer said. "I had to consider it, and I liked it during the visit. When Purdue needed to close the game out, it put the ball in Cline’s hands in pick-and-roll. "They talked about him, but they said, 'At the end of the day, you're (different from) Carsen, so With 2:50 left and the Boilermakers up five, just come in and do what you do.'" Cline used Haarms’ screen, took a hard dribble, drew Daniel Oturu off Haarms, then lobbed the Whether that happens at Purdue remains to ball over Oturu to Haarms for a bucket. Of note: be seen, and Cryer is most likely a long way off Minnesota just saw Cline go all the way to the from a decision, but by getting the high-scoring basket for an and-one, so Oturu may have had his Rivals.com four-star guard on campus, it's estab- guard up even more. lished itself as a consideration, perhaps with stay- ing power in what promises to be a highly com- Here’s unconventional for you: In the final petitive recruitment. minute of the game, and Purdue up six, the Boil-

GoldandBlack.com 10 "I got to see how great of an academic school it in the 2020 class, offering the three-star prospect is," Cryer said, "and the atmosphere, how the fans a scholarship on Feb. 5. are so into basketball, and Purdue's style of play." “They told me they want somebody who’s not L.J. Cryer just a passer and can run a little bit,” Prater said. 6'0" | 165 lbs | PG “They see that I can run and see that as one of my Katy, TX strengths. They think they can develop my passing CLASS OF 2020 game a little bit more.” UNDECIDED

The 2020 class figures to be one in which Purdue NATIONAL 15 looks for a point guard, and scoring punch. STATE 16 Evan Prater Cryer would check both boxes. 6'5" | 185 lbs | DUAL QB Cincinnati, OH He plays point guard for Morton Ranch High CLASS OF 2020 School in Katy, Texas, and averages around 30 points UNDECIDED per game.

"(Matt Painter) said he recruits the best fits for Although the scholarship offer from Purdue just the program, and I'd know that what I do best would came this week, the relationship with the Boiler- (have a place) right away," Cryer said, "and they said makers stretches back prior to Prater’s junior season they recruits a lot of kids from great families, so I when he attended a summer camp in West Lafayette. know I wouldn't be around bad kids. Their offensive efficiency is up at the top right now. “It was a great atmosphere,” Prater recalled of the camp. “I got to see how the coaches coached ev- "I know Coach Painter's committed himself to erybody, I got to see the facilities and it was beauti- the school, and I know he'd be my coach if I went ful. It’s top-notch facilities and a top-notch coaching there. He's very loyal to the program." staff. That’s just a great program over at Purdue.”

Cryer has also taken a junior-year official visit The relationship between Prater and the Purdue to LSU, which could loom large in his recruitment, staff has only continued to blossom in the months and is fielding significant recruiting interest from since he attended their summer camp, and the ju- the top programs in Texas. He'd been reported to be nior quarterback has developed a strong apprecia- planning an official visit to Mississippi State but said tion for the Boilermaker’s staff’s abilities. Tuesday night that's not likely to happen. “Jeff Brohm is a great guy and he’s come down Under the new NCAA official visit order, players to the high school,” Prater said. “Brian Brohm and can take five official visits as juniors, then five more Coach (Derrick) Jackson have come to my basketball as seniors. games.

"I just want to go somewhere I can play right “I know that Brian Brohm and Jeff Brohm are away and I'll have a coach who'll really push me and great quarterback coaches and they can do a tremen- try to get the best out of me," Cryer said. dous job developing a quarterback. That something that’s important to me, obviously, seeing as I want to -Brian Neubert go to the next level after college.” Purdue offers Prater has not been back to Purdue since last summer, but will try to make it to a late-winter Ju- Ohio Quarterback nior Day if his basketball schedule allows. There has been interest from college basketball programs Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm and his quarter- for the two-sport star, and Prater is still considering back coach, brother Brian Brohm, have targeted both sports in college. Cincinnati (Ohio) Wyoming passer Evan Prater

GoldandBlack.com 11 did Brohm react when Bell initially committed to “Basketball has been great so far. We’re 15-1 and Purdue in the fall? having a great season,” Prater said. “Basketball has always been a love for me. Going forward basketball "We jumped through the roof," he said. "It was is still an option. I don’t want to close any doors, huge. He was someone we were on for a long time. but it seems to be leaning a little bit more toward In our opinion, he is a special, special player. Be- football now after being blessed with all these op- ing in-state, he’s even more valuable. (He) wanted portunities to play at the next level.” to keep it silent, of course we were gonna obey his wishes. We had to keep it in. But we were extremely Purdue is now one of a dozen schools that have happy about it and it gave us a good feeling to know offered Prater for football. Others include Cincinnati he was on board." and Pittsburgh, while programs like Kentucky and Michigan State are showing strong interest. It was a huge moment for a Purdue program that has had a few of them already in Brohm's brief ten- “I am planning on getting out to Michigan State ure. sometime in February. They said they wanted to get me out there,” Prater said. “(Michigan State’s "He (visited) multiple times," said Brohm. "And interest) has picked up recently. They came about luckily for us, we had some great visits with him and five times in the span of a few weeks. They’ve come he was at some big games for us when we threw the watch basketball practice, come to a game and seen ball a lot for some yards and points. Every interac- me throw. Coach (Mark) Dantonio came down and tion we had with him was positive. And he’s a very I ran into him.” quiet young man, very confident. He doesn’t need a whole lot of hoopla. We try not to be too overbear- As a junior Prater lead Wyoming High to a per- ing. It was just a very good relationship that we felt fect 15-0 record and Division IV State Champion- great about the entire time, but you never take any- ship in his second year as a starter. He completed thing for granted." 59.1 percent of his passes for 2,181 yards and 28 touchdowns against just four interceptions. Prater Make no mistake about it: Bell was an absolute also added 1,788 yards and 32 scores on the ground must-get for Purdue, an in-state bellwether who is last season. expected to start from Day One and will work in tandem with last year's freshman sensation Rondale --Josh Helmholdt Moore to give the Boilermakers a formidable com- bination. Receiver is a marquee position in Brohm's wide-open offense that likes to throw ball. Now, Pur- Brohm thriled to have due has two top talents to catch passes. David Bell The 5-9, 175-pound Moore will work inside from the slot, while the 6-2, 180-pound Bell will line up Back on December 19, Purdue inked an impres- outside with senior quarterback Elijah Sindelar di- sive collection of talent. In fact, it was the program’s recting traffic. Opponents will have to pick their poi- best recruiting class in the Internet era, according to son while also dealing with veteran wideout Jared rivals.com. Sparks and rising tight end Brycen Hopkins.

Jeff Brohm met with the media that day to dis- "We are absolutely thrilled to add David Bell to cuss the signees, an impressive collection of talent. the program and our team," said Brohm. "We think But there was one player Brohm didn't talk about: without question he is a big-time talent, a differ- Receiver David Bell, from Warren Central High in ence-maker player that can come in and play right Indianapolis. It wasn't because Bell hadn't signed his away and showcase what he’s about. And we are ex- letter-of-intent. He had. But Bell wanted to keep it cited to find different ways to get him the ball and under wraps and make an announcement on Janu- utilize him. We think he is that much of an impact ary 5 at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Tex- player." as. Today, Brohm finally spoke on record about Bell, the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year and the No. Can he impact like Moore did last season? 1 recruit in the state according to rivals.com. How

GoldandBlack.com 12 about him once we got here. When we go recruit "Well, I try not to put too much pressure on our the top players, we go in to it like we are gonna get guys," said Brohm. "Rondale exceeded our expecta- them. We have a lot of great reasons and resources tions But, yes, we think he is in that mold." and ways to help them achieve their goals. And we aren’t shy about it when we talk to them individual- Bell paces a collection of receivers that is un- ly. Without question, we did that. matched in Purdue recruiting history. He is joined by Milton Wright "When someone is young and has lots of op- , along with TJ Sheffield tions, you can’t put too much pressure on them. You and Mershawn Rice just have to state your case and let them listen and . And don't forget about tight end Kyle Bilodeau digest it and continue to sell your program in a way , who also played in the All-American Bowl with that’s not overbearing, that is confident and force- Bell. ful … . And we can make you a priority and make sure we are gonna bend over backwards to help you "In general, we are very excited about this receiv- achieve your goals. It was just a constant thing with ing group that we brought in," said Brohm, whose myself, Coach (JaMarcus) Shephard and all of our class ranks No. 26 in the nation by rivals. "Four guys, coaches, recruiting department, letting him and his and we think all four can play and be very produc- family know that it can happen here." tive, big-time players for us. Now, with that, we are gonna be young at a lot of positions, and sometimes --Tom Dienhart it’s not gonna all happen like (it did for) Rondale Moore. But you work to try to get that done. But you have to be patient with it and not force the issue but Sindelar healthy and hungry realize this is a great crew. From elation to deflation. There really is no more "There are some skill positions in the recruiting apt way to describe the 2018 season for Elijah Sin- aspect that got a lot better in our opinion. Whether delar. it transfers the first year, that doesn’t always happen. But we think in general we have potential there. For This was his team, having beaten out David us, it’s about continuing to build the interior line on Blough for the starting job in a highly publicized both sides of the ball and that’s gonna be very, very training camp battle. But soon thereafter, everything important for us." went sideways on Sindelar.

What's also important is the cachet landing a First, he got pulled from the season-opener vs. player of Bell's magnitude brings to Purdue. Northwestern after tossing three first-half intercep- tions in a 31-27 loss. Then, he suffered what proved "It is very huge for the Purdue program, the to be a season-ending injury preparing to play Mis- name, the brand," said Brohm. "We want to build souri in the third week of the season. this team with the best in-state players we can. And go from there. To get players like David Bell and “I wasn’t surprised (I was pulled vs. Northwest- George Karlaftis ern),” said Sindelar. “Coach (Jeff) Brohm expects per- on board is a huge statement we need to contin- formance. If you aren’t performing well, he will pull ue to build upon. For those guys to say, 'hey, I can you. We know that going into every practice and go to Purdue and achieve all my goals and have my game. Interceptions happen and you get pulled.” family and friends watching, enjoying the process with me' is a huge plus for us." The injury, obviously, was a surprise.

Karlaftis is every bit as big of a recruit as Bell. “I was just warming up, working on some deep The local product of near-by West Lafayette High balls,” said Sindelar. “I pulled my oblique on the left School could have gone anywhere in America. And, side and ended up not being able to throw the ball.” he chose Purdue ... like Bell. Sindelar came off the bench the week before the "David is a special talent," said Brohm. "We knew Missouri game vs. Eastern Michigan, hitting 8-of-14 passes for 87 yards with a touchdown in a stunning

GoldandBlack.com 13 last-second 20-19 defeat. “I think it was maybe Week 6 (when I could have come back),” said Sindelar. “If David went down, I “I actually got the job back and was ready to start would have done everything to play. It would have against Missouri,” said Sindelar. “And then had an been up to the trainers.” injury that pulled me out of it. It was unfortunate. But if I am able to get the sixth year back, it will end When did he decide to shut it down in hopes of up working out just fine. preserving a year of eligibility?

For now, thoughts of getting a sixth season of el- “That didn’t happen until like Game 11,” he igibility are on the back burner. The 6-4, 225-pound said. “Going into the last game, we finally decided it Sindelar is focused on making 2019 special. To do wasn’t worth it. There was no use doing something that, he must be healthy. For the first time in the if we had the potential to get a whole year back. Brohm era, there is no question who will be the starting signal-caller. It's Sindelar. “We just send in the paper work (when it’s time to apply for the sixth year). I am not sure how long "I am ready to be a leader," said Sindelar, the it takes or what the process is. I am just doing what I team's opening-game starter each of the last two sea- am told, to be honest.” sons. Anyone who saw Sindelar during Music City Sindelar famously played the final three-and- Bowl practices will attest that he looked good and half games of 2017 with a torn ACL in his left knee, was throwing the ball with velocity and aplomb. leading the program to wins in its final two games to earn bowl eligibility. Then, Sindelar earned Of- “I felt strong and was coming out clean in bowl fensive MVP honors in the Foster Farms Bowl after practices,” said Sindelar, who hit 26-of-44 passes leading the Boilermakers to a win vs. Arizona. It was (59.1 percent) for 283 yards with two touchdowns Purdue’s first bowl since 2013 and first bowl win and three interceptions in 2018. “I had a lot of juice. since 2011, as Sindelar hit 56.8 percent of his pass- I was happy with it.” es (187-of-329) for 2,099 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions in a breakout 2017. Now, with 2019 dawning, this is unequivocal- ly Sindelar’s team. Blough has graduated. And the The Princeton, Ky., native underwent surgery af- backups—led by sophomore Nick Sipe and redshirt ter the season and endured a long rehab. He says his freshman Jack Plummer—lack experience. Sipe has repaired knee is fine--as is his oblique. played a mop-up role. Plummer never has played. Paul Piferi “Physically, my main focus is the muscle groups is a true freshman who already is on campus. around my knee along with quad, hamstring glute and calves to make sure I don’t have any tendinitis This winter, Sindelar is lifting weights with team- that will flare-up in the spring or during the season,” mates and helping lead Captain’s Practices, which he said. are informal workouts led and organized by players. He also is working one-on-one with rising star soph- Spring ball is slated to begin the week of February omore wideout Rondale Moore, whose first career 25, with the spring game on April 6. And Sindelar is TD catch was a 32-yarder from Sindelar vs. North- ready to go. western in a spectacular debut that saw Moore set a school single-game record for total yards with 313. “Yes, I will be full-go this spring,” said Sindelar, who has nine career starts. “Football-wise, my main “He and I work twice a week, catching, timing, focus will be on putting touch on balls, getting the things like that,” said Sindelar, who made eight ball over linebackers into the second level. I want to starts in 2017. “We will start doing seven-on-seven get the ball up and over and in the hole.” with the defense in a few weeks.”

Could he have played last season after getting The potential of the wideout unit has Sindelar hurt after Week Two? intrigued.

GoldandBlack.com 14 “It is exciting,” said Sindelar. “Rondale started Boilermaker, pacing the team with 883 yards rush- that. We played early last year. He is exciting to ing, averaging 5.6 yards per carry with eight TDs. play with. With what he was able to do, we were He also caught 27 passes for 180 yards and a score able to get more receivers to come in—especially and ran for over 150 yards twice (career-high 152 David Bell. vs. Eastern Michigan and 150 at Illinois). Knox left ” West Lafayette with 1,853 carer yards rushing on 355 carries (5.2 ypc) with 12 touchdowns and 68 Bell is the centerpiece of the best collection of receptions for 507 yards with three TDs. wideouts ever signed by Purdue. The Indianapolis native was named the Indiana Player of the Year GoldandBlack.com visited with Knox--who by Gatorade and rated the state’s No. 1 recruit by ran for 101 yards in Purdue's Foster Farms Bowl rivals.com. The 6-2, 180-pound Bell is joined by win vs. Arizona in 2017--one last time in this Exit Milton Wright Interview. (6-3, 190), TJ Sheffield (5-10, 165) and Mershawn Rice GoldandBlack.com: What are you doing (6-2, 184). And Purdue also welcomes back vet- now? erans like juniors Jared Sparks and Jackson Anthrop. D.J. Knox: I am in Nashville working out at “If they come in and work and study the play- Boost Performance. Antonio Blackmon and Cole book, I think they can play,” said Sindelar. “It is Herdman are down here, too. It is going well. I am exciting as a quarterback to throw to guys like that. hearing I may be a seventh-round pick or a priority I can really spread the field, we have guys on the free agent. outside or I can come back inside to Rondale.” GoldandBlack.com: What was the high The tight ends also teem with promise with se- point of your career? nior Brycen Hopkins leading the charge along with junior Darius Pittman, redshirt freshman Payne Knox: Our last season for me was one of the Durham and incoming freshmen Kyle Bilodeau best times of my time at Purdue. Coach gave me and Garrett Miller. the ropes and the opportunity to do my thing. It was exciting because I had a chance to be comfort- “Defenses will have to prepare for a lot of weap- able. ons,” said Sindelar. GoldandBlack.com: What was the key to --Tom Dienhart you ascending to the No. 1 running back job in 2018 ahead of Markell Jones? Old National Presents: Knox: I felt it was more I prepared the right Knox exit interview way, had my body right and bought into the sys- tem and did all I needed to do. I was being more of The last two years, Purdue has had an effective a smart player, a student of the game. I was able to tandem at running back, with Markell Jones carry- excel and move Into a starting spot and do what I ing the load in 2017. Last season, it was D.J. Knox wanted to do during the season and put the team who led the way after Jones had led the team in in a better position to win. rushing the previous three seasons. GoldandBlack.com: What was your most A 5-7, 210-pound Fairburn, Ga., native, Knox memorable run? was an underrated force who overcame a knee in- jury that cost him the 2016 season. He went on to Knox: Against Illinois in 2017 was probably close his tenure as a key cog in a strong Boilermak- my favorite run. I caught a pitch and I kind of cut er offense each of the last two seasons under Jeff it inside a little early. I could have stretched it a bit. Brohm. I ran in the hole, got met by a safety and lineback- er at the 3-yard mark and I kinda of torqued my Last year, Knox enjoyed his best season as a

GoldandBlack.com 15 an internship requirement. body and came out of the tackle and just saw green grass. And I ended up in the end zone (33-yard TD D.J. Knox working the register at CVS last fall. run to open the scoring). How many starting Big Ten running backs did that during the season? GoldandBlack.com: What was the low point of your career: GoldandBlack.com: What was it like deal- ing with your father's stroke and accident during Knox: The start of the season after I had hurt the 2017 season? my knee (2016). I had so many emotions going through my head. Seeing the team go to war with- Knox: It was difficult. He had a stroke while out me. I wasn’t able to play a game I had my en- driving his truck and wrecked. He was in ICU for tire life. It kind of hurt me a bit. I wasn’t at my about three months. I was tying to stay focused at happiest point then. school and still play football. I was working anoth- er internship at the time. I had a lot on my mind. GoldandBlack: Is the running back spot in There was no real way for me to help. I would call good hands with you and Markell Jones gone? and check in. It was kind of nerve-wracking. I went back for a few days during the season. Fortunately, Knox: We have some senior guys, Tario (Full- he is OK now. Doing fine. er) and Richie, (Worship), guys who have had production. Just two years ago, we had so many --Tom Dienhart guys who could do things. It was running back-by -committee with all of our talent. Now, with me and Markell gone, Tario and Richie will do a great Looking Ahead: Tight ends job. (Alexander) Horvath has been a hard worker. He will keep getting better. And we also have Al- The former staff didn’t do much well from a fred Armour. He is a young kid who loves football. recruiting standpoint, but It did leave Jeff Brohm He will get after it and do what he needs to be in some good options at tight end. And the tight end position to help. He just wants to win. Evan An- slot remains in as good of shape as any position on derson is a young guy who is learning the game. the roster. In fact, Purdue’s tight ends could rate He has so much raw talent. I am not worried at all among the best in the Big Ten. about the running back room. And Coach Barkley is bringing in good guys (King Doerue and Da'Joun WHAT WE KNOW Hewitt). Purdue loses a solid contributor in Cole Herd- GoldandBlack.com: What will you do if man, who leaves campus with 91 career catches football doesn't work out? for 1,010 yards with eight touchdowns, averaging 11.1 yards per reception. His senior season fizzled, Knox: I have had a couple job offers in Dallas, as he had a career-low 18 catches for 196 yards California, . I am not exactly sure. I am go- with no touchdowns. He was limited to 10 games ing to give this football thing a try. I will just reach because of issues with stingers. Herdman’s best sea- back to my Purdue family if I need to look around. son? It was in 2016, when as a sophomore he had I have put myself in good position. 35 grabs for 344 yards and three touchdowns.

GoldandBlack.com: What was it like work- The good news: Purdue has a promising tight ing at CVS last season? end in senior Brycen Hopkins back. The 6-5, 245-pound Hopkins continues to emerge and Knox: I worked during the season. It was could develop into an NFL prospect. His blood- tough, getting in the hours. Sometimes, I worked lines are outstanding, as Hopkins' father Brad was after games. We beat Nebraska, and I had to get up a long-time offensive tackle in the NFL. His num- the next day and work at 8 to open the store. It bers have improved each season. As a freshman, was kinda weird. It made me a better-rounded in- Hopkins had 10 catches for 183 yards and four dividual. I found a way to make it happen through TDs. As a sophomore, he made 25 receptions for time management. It was great experience. It was

GoldandBlack.com 16 349 yards and three touchdowns. Last season, Hopkins grabbed 34 passes for 583 yards and two Exit interview: scores. Add it up, and that’s 69 catches for 1,115 Jacob Thieneman yards (16.2 ypc) and nine TDs. He could be one of the Big Ten's best tight ends in 2019. Jacob Thieneman was a rock of stability for the program during the transition from the Dar- The staff has a good backup in Darius Pitt- rell Hazell to the Jeff Brohm era. man, who should see his role expand. The junior flashed promise his first two seasons on campus, Thieneman arrived in West Lafayette as a as he was the rare true freshman to play in 2017. walk-on and became a key cog at safety in some The 6-3, 250-pound Pittman has just two career plucky Purdue defenses. He was a leader, the catches for 23 yards, but he has been an asset as quarterback of the secondary. And he was pro- a blocker. ductive. The 6-1, 210-pound Noblesville, Ind., native leaves campus with 170 career tackles and Jess Trussell transferred after playing sparingly three interceptions with seven sacks and 12 TFLs the last three seasons. in 24 starts. Best of all: Thieneman leaves with a degree in engineering. GoldandBlack.com caught WHAT WE DON’T KNOW up with Thieneman for an Exit Interview.

The staff is eager to get a closer look at red- GoldandBlack.com: What are you up to shirt freshman Payne Durham this spring. The now? 6-5, 245-pound Durham drips with potential and could became a viable option. He still needs to get Thieneman: I am training at XPE Sports in stronger and tougher as a blocker, but Durham Ft. Lauderdale. It is going well. I like it down here. has the size and skill-set the staff likes at the posi- They have a really good training program, they tion. Know this: He played lacrosse prior to pick- cover our meals, have active recovery, they bring ing up football as a senior in high school. in stretch therapists, we get massages. They take good care of my body. I love it. I got down here This summer, Purdue will welcome two tight January 3 and I probably will come back March ends it’s excited about led by Kyle Bilodeau 1st or March 2nd. Purdue's Pro Day will be March , a 6-5, 238-pounder who played in the Under 5. Armor All-American Game. Perhaps he can carve out a role in 2019. And 6-5, 233-pound Garrett GoldandBlack.com: What was the high Miller point of your career? also comes aboard. The rub with newbies: Are they strong enough to ? Regardless, the fu- Thieneman: I don’t think there was a single ture looks bright at this position. high point. There were a lot of good moments. Going back to my redshirt sophomore year, that’s NAMES TO KNOW THIS SPRING when I got my first start against Indiana and I had an interception. I felt like I finally got my chance, 1. Brycen Hopkins, senior my opportunity, and I played well. Earning my scholarship (2017, redshirt junior season) was a 2. Darius Pittman, sophomore high point, too. Winning the bowl game when I had an interception to seal the game was a high 3. Payne Durham, redshirt freshman point. Beating Ohio State at home was big, too.

-Tom Dienhart GoldandBlack.com: What was the low point?

Thieneman: I have had a few injuries. Those are always low points. Coming off my redshirt freshman season, I wasn’t getting any looks on

GoldandBlack.com 17 special teams, I was coming off foot surgery. My body didn’t feet good. I wasn’t in a good position. Another low point was the spring of my redshirt Thieneman: He has changed the mind-set sophomore year. After I had finished 2016 with and culture as players. We are out here to win start vs. IU. Then we got a new staff and everyone games. He is focused on the right things. He has had a clean slate. They brought in new players and good coaches around him with technique and I was fighting for a position. I felt I had made it. strategy. It is a more winning mind-set. Getting Now I had to fight again for everything I thought players in the right positions. I am excited about I had earned. And that spring, I broke my hand. the next couple years of Purdue football. Then, I did well in spring drills, was named a start- er and broke a collarbone. That was a low point. GoldandBlack.com: How does the sec- We battled back. Then, I had the blood infection ondary look with you gone? late last season. I was hospitalized . That was really serious. That was a low point. But I battled back Thieneman: Well, my brother is next up, and made it to the bowl. Brennan. He stepped in last year and start- ed those last three games when I was out. He GoldandBlack.com: Was that a life-threat- played really well. I am looking for him to be a ening situation? big playmaker and starter next year. Is he better than me? We will see. I feel like I set the bar pret- Thieneman: I didn’t fear for my life, but ty high. We have depth, you know the names I knew it was serious and potentially life-threat- and have the roster. (Simeon) Smiley and Navon ening. The doctors still have no idea how I could (Mosley). At corner, Dedrick Mackey and Ken- have gotten it. Test, scans, no ideas. neth Major, they have the most experience.

GoldandBlack.com: Did you ever come GoldandBlack.com: If football doesn't close to quitting? work out, what's your Plan B?

Thieneman: I came close in my redshirt Thieneman: I am giving my all to football freshman season. Had I gotten hurt, I probably first. If it doesn’t work out, I’d like to go into would have quit. Thankfully, I didn’t get hurt. management consultant. I was a ME (mechan- ical engineer). GoldandBlack.com: Who was the best play- er you faced? GoldandBlack.com: What are you hear- ing from the NFL? Thieneman: We played against some good ones in the Big Ten. But one guy who is a freak Thieneman: I am hearing I could be picked of nature is Saquon Barkley (of Penn State). He is anywhere from fifth round to being a high-pri- an animal. He is a step above the rest. He blew me ority free agent. We will see. If I knock out my away. Pro Day like I plan to, hopefully I will get draft- ed. If not, I am a high-priority free agent. That GoldandBlack.com: What was the best hit is my floor. No teams have me below that. I will you delivered? get picked up by someone, drafted or not.

Thieneman: When I got ejected for targeting GoldandBlack.com: If you could take one vs. Michigan (in 2017). The tight end was com- teammate to a back-alley brawl with you, who ing across the middle, they threw it to him and would it be? I laid him out. And I got ejected for targeting. I hit him pretty hard. It was definitely targeting. It Thieneman: Good question. I would go happened so fast. with my boy Kirk Barron. He is big body, lotta strength and power, drive in the trenches. He GoldandBlack.com: How has Jeff Brohm could definitely throw some haymakers. He changed the program? would have my back.

GoldandBlack.com 18 Eagles in their playoff opener. Still, Brees had plen- GoldandBlack.com: If Triple XXX created a ty to celebrate. He became the NFL's all-time leader hamburger in your honor, what would be on it and in passing yards (74,437), completions (6,586) and what would it be called? completion percentage (67.3). He also eclipsed the 500 TD-pass mark (520) while setting a single-season Thieneman: I like a lot of toppings. Spicy standard for completion percentage (74.4). Brees, foods. It would be a double cheeseburger, sauteed who turned 40 in January, has a 155-108 career re- mushrooms and onions, fresh jalopenos on top with cord as a starter, says he wants to march on with the a toasted bun and chipotle mayo. Call it the "Walk Saints. On" or the "Underdog" burger. Gabe Holmes. The tight end played in eight --Tom Dienhart games with four starts for the Cardinals but had no stats. Purdue in the Pros: Dennis Kelly. The mammoth offensive tackle Season wrap started five games and played in 11 for the Titans in A look at how active Purdue alumni fared in the what was his seventh season and third with Tennes- NFL in 2018: see. Kelly spent his first four seasons with the Eagles.

Ricardo Allen. His fifth NFL season--all with Ryan Kerrigan. He capped his eighth season the Falcons--ended after just three games (all starts in the NFL by leading the Redskins with 13 sacks at free safety) because of a tendon tear. Allen, a team and has 84.5 career sacks in 128 games. One of the leader and heady player, had 17 stops and three PBUs NFL's premier defensive ends, Kerrigan added 43 with an interception in 2018. He has 229 career tack- tackles and three forced fumbles in 2018. He is just les with 13 passes broken up and seven picks. 6.5 sacks from passing Dexter Manley to become the franchise's all-time leader. Anthony Brown. He has spent all three sea- sons with the Cowboys, capping the 2018 campaign Raheem Mostert. In his fourth season, the with 44 tackles. He played in 15 games and made 10 speedy running back played in nine games for the starts at cornerback, notching eight passes defended 49ers, running 34 times for 261 yards (7.7 ypc) with with an interception in helping the Cowboys reach a TD. He also made six catches for 25 yards. Mo- the divisional round of the postseason. Brown has stert also has spent time with the Dolphins, Ravens, 29 career starts with 155 tackles, 27 PBUs, three sacks Browns and Bears, running for 297 yards on 41 car- and four picks. ries in his career with a TD.

Ja'Whaun Bentley. He was off to a good start Kevin Pamphile. A fifth-year pro, Pamphile as a rookie linebacker in 2018, playing in three played in just three games with two starts for the games with two starts. Bentley made 14 tackles with Titans at offensive tackle before suffering an undis- a pick before his season ended with a biceps injury closed injury. He spent his first four NFL seasons for a Patriots squad that advanced to the Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. for a third season in a row and ninth time under Bill Belichick. It's the 20th season in a row Purdue has Kawann Short. A six-year pro, Short is coming had a representative in the Super Bowl. off another solid season for the Panthers. He tallied 42 tackles with three sacks from his defensive tackle Drew Brees. An 18-year veteran who has en- spot in 2018. Short has 270 career stops and 32.5 joyed a Hall of Fame career, Brees led the Saints to sacks. a 13-3 mark in 2018 and second consecutive NFC South title, throwing for 3,992 yards with 32 touch- --Tom Dienhart downs and just five interception (his fewest since becoming a starter in 2002). He failed to eclipse the 4,000-yard passing yard mark for the first time since 2005 (his last year in San Diego). And New Orleans' season ended with a crushing loss to the Rams in the NFC title game after the Saints had dumped the

GoldandBlack.com 19 in the conference at 15.4 points per game, including her 16 points against the Spartans on Sunday. She's Women's hoops looking to second in the NCAA at the charity stripe, hitting 93 bounce back percent, and leads the nation in minutes played, log- ging 857:29 so far this season. She's already tied for The Purdue women enters the home stretch of 12th in program history with 137 career 3-pointers, the Big Ten season this week, set to host Illinois in and her 62 3-pointers this season are tied for the No. Mackey Arena on Thursday (Feb. 7) at 7 p.m. ET and 10 single-season mark at Purdue and two shy of the marking the first of three of the next four games on Boilermakers' sophomore season record, set by Oden their home floor. in 2017-18. McLaughlin is three assists shy of 100 for the season, which will make her the fifth player The Boilermakers aim to finish the regular season to deal 100 helpers in each of her first two seasons strong, sitting 15-9 overall and tied for sixth in the at Purdue. conference standings, but one game out of fourth and two out of third. Whilby returns: After missing a four-game stretch with the flu sophomore Lyndsey Whilby has The Boilermakers suffered their third straight bounced back strong, averaging 9.5 points per game loss Sunday, falling at No. 23 Michigan State 74-66. in her last two and providing the Boilermakers with Purdue tied the game at 66-66 with 57 seconds left, a much-needed spark off the bench. She had nine but a late bucket from the Spartans and ensuing free points last week against Nebraska and scored 10 throws accounted for the final margin. The Boiler- at Michigan State, including eight in Purdue's sec- maker fell despite 19 offensive rebounds, 15 second ond-half comeback against the Spartans. chance points and 21 trips to the line, where they cashed in 81 percent. Purdue scored 18 Big Time Scorers: Ae'Rianna Harris is sitting 21 fast break points, including 16 in the second half points shy of 1,000 career points, she and Oden aim against the Spartans, marking their highest total to become the 12th class in program history with since scoring 29 at Wisconsin. multiple 1,000-point scorers. Head coach Sharon Versyp started the trend in 1988 with teammates A week ago, Purdue saw a six-game home win Christa LaCroix and Lisa Jahner (the only Purdue streak snapped and lost consecutive games for the class with three 1,000-point scorers), and other dy- first time this season , falling to visiting Nebraska namic duos include Stephanie White and Ukari Figgs 84-64. The Huskers were red-hot from the field all in 1999, Katie Gearlds and Erin Lawless in 2007 and night, hitting 49.3 percent from the floor and drop- KK Houser and Courtney Moses in 2014. ping 11 3's as they dropped the Boilermakers to 15-8 overall and 6-4 in conference play. --Purduesports.com The Boilermakers couldn't buy a bucket early-on, hitting three of their first 19 shots from the floor and spotting the Huskers a 22-7 lead from which Pur- Next Issue: due would never recover. Purdue rallied on multiple occasions, cutting Nebraska's lead to three points Feb.14 in the second quarter, and pulling to within six in the third, but each time the Huskers countered with runs to pull back away. Junior Dominique Oden led the Boilermakers with 18 points, including 16 in the second half, hitting 6-of-12 from the floor and add- ing six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

Karissa McLaughlin scoring at high clip: The Boilermaker sophomore has been filling up the scor- ing column throughout Big Ten play and is on the verge of several all-time Purdue records. She's posted double figures in 12 straight games and ranks eighth

GoldandBlack.com 20 MEDIA MANIA: SPONSORED FOR THE LAST 28 YEARS BY THE UNDERWOOD AGENCY ach week the Maniacs are asked to pick the winners of five games. The prognosticators have Eto rank the games 1-5 and assigns a 5 to the game with the Maniac is most certainty and a 1 to the game the Maniac is least certain. Points will be tabulated throughout the Big Ten basketball season with each week having a maximum of 15 points. In case of a tie, the Maniac coming closest to predicting the total points in the featured Purdue game will be the winner. Clayton Duffy was our winner in Week 4 as we denote the weekly winner with a gold bar. Weekly Media Mania winners receive a dinner certificate for two to Bruno’s Swiss Inn, located in West Lafayette and the yearly winner will be presented with a basketball linked to the Golden Typewriter as the top Media Maniac. Iowa Nebraska Ohio State Michigan State Purdue WEEK 5 BASKETBALL GAMES at Indiana at Purdue at Indiana at Wisconsin at Maryland Kelly Kitchel, Purdue Radio Network (8/39) 2. Iowa 5. Purdue 4. Indiana 3. Wisconsin 1. Purdue (129) Orlando Itin, Guest fan (8/38) 3. Iowa 5. Purdue 2. Ohio State 1. Wisconsin 4. Purdue (155) Kyle Charters , The Hammer 101.7 FM (8/35) 1. Iowa 5. Purdue 2. Indiana 3. Wisconsin 4. Maryland (142) Chuck Clark, Underwood Agency (4/35) 3. Iowa 5. Purdue 1. Ohio State 4. MSU 2. Purdue (137) Clayton Duffy, The Hammer 101.7 FM (10/35) 1. Indiana 5. Purdue 2. Indiana 3. Wisconsin 4. Maryland (133) Matt Brann, Gold and Black alumnus (6/34) 3. Iowa 5. Purdue 2. Indiana 4. MSU 1. Purdue (137) Greg Rakestraw, 1070 The Fan (5/34) 3. Indiana 5. Purdue 4. Indiana 2. MSU 1. Maryland (142) Alan Karpick, Gold and Black (8/33) 1. Indiana 5. Purdue 2. Indiana 3. MSU 4. Maryland (133) Nate Barrett, Purdue Sports Network (8/32) 3. Iowa 5. Purdue 2. Ohio State 1. Wisconsin 4. Purdue (145) Jared Jesulaitis, The Hammer 101.7 FM (5/32) 4. Iowa 5. Purdue 3. Indiana 2. Wisconsin 1. Purdue (142) Brian Neubert, Gold and Black (8/32) 1. Indiana 5. Purdue 3. Indiana 4. Wisconsin 2. Maryland (140) Kevin Keckler, Gold and Black Alumnus (6/31) 4. Iowa 5. Purdue 2. Indiana 3. MSU 1. Maryland (134) Andrew Pogar, WLFI Channel 18 (8/31) 4. Iowa 5. Purdue 3. Indiana 2. MSU 1. Purdue (143) Tom Dienhart, Gold and Black (8/30) 3. Indiana 1. Purdue 2. Indiana 4. Wisconsin 5. Maryland (145) Jon Speaker, Guest fan (8/29) 2. Indiana 5. Purdue 3. Indiana 4. MSU 1. Purdue (151) Stuart Schweigert, The Hammer 101.7 FM (4/28) 4. Iowa 5. Purdue 3. Indiana 1. MSU 2. Purdue (144) Nathan Baird, Journal & Courier (7/27) 1. Indiana 5. Purdue 3. Indiana 4. MSU 2. Maryland (147) Griffin Herdegen, Gold and Black student staff (9/26) 3. Indiana 5. Purdue 4. Indiana 2. MSU 1. Purdue (179) Ashley Keller, Gold and Black student staff (2/25) 1. Indiana 5. Purdue 4. Ohio State 3. MSU 2. Purdue (115) Michael Wood, Gold and Black student Alumnus (6/23) 3. Iowa 5. Purdue 4. Indiana 1. Wisconsin 2. Maryland (141) Reid Karpick, Gold and Black student Alumnus (6/22) 2. Indiana 5. Purdue 4 Indiana 1 MSU 3 Maryland (140)

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