Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/110157
f r o m e d i t o r b r i a n n e u b e r t the curious case of a.j. hammons A.J. Hammons is really, really, really talented. Like, really. His future in this sport is beyond bright, provided he really, really, really wants it to be. Like, really. His present, however, drives you nuts. The ��ber-talented young center looks like Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year one week, then disappears the next. He���s had a very good freshman season, all things considered, but has been capable of so much more. He is the poster boy for a Purdue team that���s just getting trucked right now by every opponent it faces who���s worth a damn. No, Hammons is not the problem, far from it. The Boilermakers��� struggles right now are too great to be attributable to any one person or thing. But fair or not, it���s the 7-footer who���s simply in the best position to do something about it. He���s Purdue���s greatest asset in a season gone sideways and a reflection of his team as a whole: So talented, but so maddeningly inconsistent and casual. As he has his whole team, Matt Painter seems to be literally begging Hammons for effort, knowing deep down his team is at the mercy of the enigmatic big man���s ups and downs. Hammons knows he has to play harder. He���ll be the first to admit it. Then, weeks like this past one happen. Purdue gets destroyed at Illinois and Indiana by a total of 48 points. The biggest and one of the most gifted players on the floor is a non-factor in both games. Hammons��� 30-point game against IU the first time around wasn���t as impressive as it might look on paper. Yes, he dunked a bunch and scored a cosmetic box-score win over All-American Cody Zeller. But his team lost by a hundred, give or take a few dozen, and hardly any of those points mattered all that much. He had a chance to matter much more in Bloomington, the second time around, and managed six points on 3-of-10 shooting. The biggest player in the game never really played big. ���That���s something he has to do on a daily basis, every single game,��� guard Terone Johnson said after Purdue got trounced at Indiana. ���He just has to come to play hard from the beginning, without anybody needing to tell him. But that���s all across the board on our team, though, at least one person every game, that���s happening with.��� IU���s defense had something to do with Hammons blending in at Bloomington, as did his teammates, who couldn���t seem to feed the post without the ball ending up in Hoosier hands. A big man can only control so much on offense. Three rebounds, though ��� Hammons is awesomely talented. You don���t find many human beings that big, and among that small population, there are precious few who can do some of the things on the basketball floor he can. But until Hammons learns that urgency must match ability ��� or until Painter draws it out of him ��� he will only be good, never great. That���s the line for Hammons that will ultimately mark the difference between firstteam All-Big Ten and thirdteam; between Player-of-theYear and also-ran; between lottery pick and D-League. It���s a barrier he simply must break down, both for his team and himself and his family. Can he? We���ll see. It must be kept in mind that he is only a freshman. That he���s an immensely talented one doesn���t change that fact. He just has to grow up. So does his team around him. But the man in the middle is the one who matters most. j Neubert can be contacted at BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 22��� ������ 4