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IllustrateD volume 24, issue 4
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coming off screens a little tighter and shooting it
more. He's kind of having more fun out there. You
can see it in the way he gets up and down the floor,
comes off screens and things like that."
Stephens has been through his up and downs
during his freshman season, battling physical is-
sues, having to fight against unfavorable matchups
on defense — a portion of his game that's very much
a work in progress — and seeking to find that bal-
ance in taking the right shots.
But when all is said and done, his freshman sea-
son will almost certainly go down as an unqualified
success and springboard toward what's to come.
For one thing: Through 26 games, Stephens has
made 55 three-pointers. E'Twaun Moore's Purdue
freshman record is 66, set in 2007-08 in far more
minutes than Stephens will end up playing.
It's been much more than Stephens expected.
While he says the topic of redshirting never seri-
ously came up prior to this season, the lingering ef-
fects from surgery had to be a concern.
"To be honest, I didn't think I'd be playing this
much," Stephens said. "I came in just trying to sur-
vive, really. After about the first week or couple weeks
of practice, Coach (Matt Painter) called me into his
office and said, 'We're not waiting 'til next year. We
think you're ready this year and that's the mindset
you need to have.' I listened to that and I hold myself
accountable. I expect to do well and hold my own."
Painter wasn't referring to redshirting; he was
referring to needing Stephens to not just play, but
produce, immediately.
He's done so, at times showing immense promise
and reason to believe the future is very, very bright
for the Boilermaker legacy.
Those flashes are a product in large part of confi-
dence.
"It comes from success and failure," Stephens
said. "When you go through tough situations, you're
learning how to deal with it and preparing yourself
for when you're in that same situation again. And
of course success is going to make you feel more
confident, seeing good things happen for you."
j
Trent Johnson, Agent
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