Gold and Black���s Men���s Hoops Lineup
The
Starters
A.J. Hammons 20
C ��� 7-0 ��� Fr.
A centerpiece for Purdue
on offense all season, the
rookie remains so, becoming particularly involved
lately in the pick-and-roll
game in addition to being
a post-up threat. Lately,
he���s been particularly menacing as a defensive presence in the paint, blocking 14
shots the past three games. Hammons is
getting better and better. If he continues
on this trajectory, he might be All-Big Ten
already.
Terone Johnson 0
G ��� 6-2 ��� Jr.
Not only is Johnson
Purdue���s leading scorer
and its No. 1 option as a
perimeter defender, but
he���s brought to the floor
a bit of a mean streak as
Purdue���s shown distinct
toughness during its winning streak.
When there���s a teammate to stand up for,
No. 0 is usually first man on the scene.
He was very good at Nebraska in scoring 18 points, then very efficient against
West Virginia, making 5-of-9 shots as he
chipped in 11.
Ronnie Johnson 3
G ��� 5-10 ��� Fr.
It didn���t show all that
much vs. West Virginia as
the point guard struggled
with early season-like
turnovers, but the freshman���s been getting better
and better. Prior to the
win over the Mountaineers, he���d been
playing pretty well. A facilitator by nature,
he sometimes gets tunnel vision when
attacking the basket and misses open
teammates, but he���s given Purdue scoring
punch from the point.
D.J. Byrd 21
F ��� 6-4 ��� Sr.
Remember how things
suddenly turned around
with Byrd���s shooting at
Christmas last year? It
has happened again.
His 4-of-6 three-pointshooting game against
the Mountaineers pushed his percentage
to 49 percent since Purdue played its first
Big Ten game. His threes in the second half
at Nebraska were the difference; his shooting against West Virginia led to Purdue
rolling over its visitor. He���s done some fine
passing of late, also.
Rapheal Davis 35
G/F ��� 6-5 ��� Fr.
Another freshman playing
a key role for Purdue as
it���s reversed its fortunes
some, Davis has been
the central figure of the
small-lineup strategy
that���s really helped the
Boilermakers lately. He���s getting better on
defense and finds ways to score, shooting
the ball pretty well from deep. And he���s a
sneaky good rebounder for being a 6-foot5 guard. He���s averaged nearly six per game
during the three-game win streak.
The
Reserves
Anthony Johnson 1
G ��� 6-3 ��� So.
Some of the best news
from the West Virginia
game came in the sophomore guard���s play, after
he���d struggled for the
better part of the season.
With Ronnie Johnson in early foul trouble,
Anthony Johnson manned the point and
chipped in 12 points with no turnovers in
20 minutes. This after playing a seasonlow 13 minutes in Lincoln.
Travis Carroll 50
C ��� 6-9 ��� Jr.
Now that Purdue���s gotten
into Big Ten games and has
faced opponents with bigger bodies, Carroll���s surrendered some of the backup
minutes at center, playing
just three minutes against Nebraska and
sitting out the whole first half vs. West
Virginia. He made the most of his secondhalf time, though, with three boards and
three assists in just nine minutes. It���s nice
for Purdue to have somebody who chases
every rebound.
Jacob Lawson 34
F ��� 6-8 ��� So.
With Purdue playing small
much of the time now,
Lawson���s gone from solid
starter to role player, his
minutes diminishing some
as he���s not been terribly
productive, particularly in the rebounding column. In the past five games, he���s
grabbed two boards total.
Sandi Marcius 55
C ��� 6-9 ��� Jr.
Relegated to the end of the
bench much of the season,
the big man���s been called
upon more now that the
opponents have gotten
bigger and more physical.
He���s responded by being productive and
providing some distinct energy, a contrast
to the more methodical Hammons. In
the minutes he���s gotten lately, it seems
like he���s fared better defensively than he
might have earlier this season.
Donnie Hale 15
F ��� 6-8 ��� R-Fr.
Hale���s just needed to be
more productive in order
to distinguish himself and
earn minutes as Purdue���s
transitioned to smaller
groupings. He���s done so the
past two games. Between the Nebraska
and West Virginia games, he collected nine
rebounds in just 24 total minutes. He really struggles on putbacks, but one would
think experience will help in that regard,
because he���s not going to get stronger
overnight.
The
Deep
Bench
Jay Simpson* 32
F ��� 6-8 ��� Fr.
Dru Anthrop 14
G ��� 6-0 ��� Sr.
Neal Beshears 30
F ��� 6-6 ��� So.
Stephen Toyra 11
G ��� 6-3 ��� Fr.
* Simpson is sitting out the rest of the
season while recovering from a foot problem that plagued him through the first 10
games of the season. He���ll pursue a medical redshirt.
��� Brian Neubert
GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 18��� ������ 9
