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56 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 4 f m e n ' s b a s k e t b a l l f e a t u r e : k e n d a l l s t e p h e n s BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com K endall Stephens is confident right now, more so than he's been at any point during this, his freshman season, at Purdue. The rookie has come of age deep into his first sea- son of college basketball and asserted himself more in games because of it. For better. And worse. In Purdue's loss at Ohio State Feb. 8, the freshman shot the Boilermakers into the game, making three three-pointers and a difficult and-one in finishing with a team-best 12 points. At the other end of the spectrum, he shot Purdue out of the game, taking a number of ill-conceived shots — including a quick, turnaround jumper so bold that it might have made Kobe Bryant cringe — that coincided with the Boilermakers "imploding" in the final 10 minutes and managing just 49 points for the game. It's been a balance for the young shooter between being assertive enough to take shots Purdue wants him taking and not being so aggressive that he takes ones the Boilermakers would very much prefer he not. Stephens is aware of it, conscious of the issue. After that loss in Columbus, he more or less heaped blame for Purdue's unraveling on himself, showing perspective and accountability not always found in a player so young. He did so without prompting. It has been a challenging balance for Stephens to strike, but in a sense, a good problem to have. After all, too much confidence is better than none at all. Right now, that confidence is peaking. "I came in confident, of course not as confident as I hopefully will end up," Stephens said. "But you come in and your eyes are kind of wide open as a freshman, but I came in with some confidence. I knew I was here for a reason and they believed in me and what I can do. "I feel a lot more confident now than when I played my first game. I'm just trying to make strides with every game and just trying to get better." He is. Stephens has played through the normal challeng- es that come with a player's first go-around at a high level of college basketball, whether they're physical or especially mental. Those inevitable struggles have been compounded by various injuries and the conditioning deficiencies that might have come with his long rehabilitation from the shoulder surgery that cost him half his se- nior year in high school, his whole spring and most of his summer. Stephens first took the practice floor at Purdue just Strength in weakneSS Fatigue can't stop freshman's confidence from peaking Tom Campbell As his body's worn down, Kendall Stephens' confidence has stayed strong. He was averaging two three-pointers per game through the first 26 outings this season.