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q & A : d a r r e l l h a z e l l Driven Hazell relishes challenges, eager to overcome at Purdue BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com G rowing up, Darrell Hazell would assemble friends in his New Jersey neighborhood and play street football. He had a keen eye for spotting talent. Back in the day, he picked the guys who had the least amount of it. Even then, he was driven by a challenge, and he thrived in those seemingly underdog circumstances. He's hoping to capitalize on that ability again at Purdue. From the moment he was hired as the Boilermakers' new head coach in December, Hazell has spoken of his desire to help Purdue rise from middle-of-the-pack program in the Big Ten to championship contender. GBIprint.com GoldandBlack.com Tom Campbell Darrell Hazell isn't sure where he gets his intense drive to respond to challenges. But it's been there since he was young, even surfacing while picking teams for street football games. He'll need to lean on the savvy, the knowledge, the high ethics and an ability to get the most out of the talent he has to reach those goals. But Hazell isn't intimidated by the journey — he's relishing the chance to take it. Hazell offered insight into his coaching philosophies, his definitions of success and more about his new program in an interview with Gold and Black. Gold and Black: Rebuilding Purdue into a championship-caliber program won't be easy. What is it about you that you get geared up for challenges? Hazell: "I think I've always been like that. I can remember playing street football and probably taking the guys that were the least talented and trying to win with those guys. That was always the fun of it all. Because if you had the most-stacked team — I'd like to get this team stacked at some point in time after some recruiting, not saying we're not talented, I think we are very talented — but being able to take those guys who are good, hard-working guys and can listen and do all the little things right is what really drives me to be successful." Gold and Black: Did you have success in street ball? Hazell: "Those little guys in the Gold and Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 6 • 9