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p u r d u e m e n ' s b a s k e t b a l l p r e v i e w 'A LOT TO PROVE' Purdue hopes experience, newcomers translate to needed improvement BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com The gauntlet was laid down very, very early for this latest Purdue men's basketball team. It was back in the summer, at the start of offseason workouts, when Boilermaker coaches made it known in no uncertain terms to those returning from last season's team — four players transferred with remaining eligibility — that nothing would be promised them this season, not with six newcomers coming in. "They told us, 'If you don't play your butt off and play hard, we have people now who'll take your minutes,'" remembered Rapheal Davis, now a sophomore. "And, 'If someone takes your minutes, you may never see your minutes again.' "With this team this year, you have to go out and bust your butt every day, because if you don't, somebody else will and the coaches are going to see that and play that guy. With this team last year, some guys felt entitled. They brought in a bunch of new guys (in the offseason) and No. 0 1 2 3 5 11 12 20 21 23 24 30 32 35 50 Tom Campbell Senior guard Terone Johnson is eager to return to winning, something he has been very used to during his basketball career. that took it away real quick." What the message to returnees boiled down to was this: We don't have to play you anymore. It's hoped to be a stark contrast from last season, when the Boilermakers lacked options so urgently that Matt Painter barely had the lux- PURDUE MEN'S BASKETBALL ROSTEr Name Class Position Height Weight Terone Johnson Sr. G 6-2 198 Sterling Carter Sr. (5) G 6-0 193 Jon McKeeman So. G 6-1 180 Ronnie Johnson So. G 6-0 178 Basil Smotherman Fr. G/F 6-5 222 Stephen Toyra So. G 6-3 177 Bryson Scott Fr. G 6-1 201 A.J. Hammons So. C 7-0 251 Kendall Stephens Fr. G 6-6 193 Jay Simpson R-Fr. F/C 6-10 250 Anfernee Brown G Fr. 6-1 190 Neal Beshears F Jr. 6-6 198 Errick Peck Sr. (5) F 6-6 223 Rapheal Davis So. G 6-5 211 Travis Carroll Sr. C/F 6-9 247 f Hometown/Last school Indianapolis/North Central Seattle/Seattle U. Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll Indianapolis/North Central Indianapolis/Lawrence North Lafayette, Ind./Faith Christian Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop Gary, Ind./Oak Hill (Va.) Academy St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East Champaign, Ill./LaLumiere School East Chicago, Ind./Central Winchester, Ind./Maine Central Institute Indianapolis/Cornell Fort Wayne, Ind./LaLumiere School Danville, Ind./Danville ury to pull freshmen out of games when needed. Above all else coming out of last season, Purdue needed competition. It seems to have it. "I think with the new guys coming in, what they've been able to do is raise (everyone's) practice level," associate head coach Jack Owens said. "Whether it's intensity, talent, or just knowing how to play the game, they all have brought something different. That definitely helps in every area and it definitely helps from a competitive standpoint, because guys know if they don't bring it then they might not play." The shallowness of last season's rotation was just one of the countless contributing factors that added up to equal Purdue's first losing season since 2006, a 16-18 campaign coaches and players alike would just as soon wipe from their memories. That lack of depth, for one thing, the Boilermakers hope, is no longer, following an eventful off-season that saw half the roster turn over. For the better, Purdue's convinced. On top of those key players returning from last season, equipped with the benefits of experience, Purdue adds three freshmen — Bryson Scott, Basil Smotherman and Kendall Stephens — who have by every account lived up to their considerable billing since arriving in West Lafayette, in addition to a pair of grown men in fifth-year transfers Errick Peck and Sterling Carter, each of them joining the BoilermakIllustrateD volume 24, issue 2 5