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GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 23 • 11 It's been quite a transformation for Carter over his college career. The first time he tore his ACL, it was "like the end of the world," mother Debra Carter said. "I had to reassure him that something good was going to come out of this. So we've just got to keep moving forward," she said. And Sterling Carter kept plug- ging. He changed his game from be- ing a scorer at Seattle to becoming a defensive spark and an emerging leader for the Boilermakers after his shot didn't fall consistently. Carter made only 31 percent of his 91 three-pointers — five against Indi- ana when he had a season-high 19 points. But he still moved into the starting lineup on Feb. 2 and stayed there for six consecutive games be- fore his injury. And that wasn't be- cause of his shooting. "I would always look back and say, 'I wish I would have made more shots.' But I was, honestly, I was proud of the way I dealt with it," he said. "I stayed in the gym. I didn't get down on myself. I just kept coming. I tried to do other things to help our team. I didn't make a lot of shots, but I did things on defense, I did things off the court in the locker room, to help our team become a better unit as one. "It's been a positive. It helped me grow up a little bit more. It showed me that having the captain badge is not just, 'Oh, you've got a C on your chest.' It's something you have to continue to work at. It's not just given. You have to earn it, and I feel like that's what I did. I felt like my teammates bought into the things I had to say, so that made me feel a lot better as well." ERRICK PECK Errick Peck didn't expect his only season in West Lafayette to be like this. After starting for two seasons at Cornell, Peck figured he'd be able to land significant playing time for the Boilermakers as a fifth-year senior on a team so desperately needing experience, especially at power for- ward. Instead, he struggled to find a role, starting the first eight games, then being benched for a freshman for 16, then starting two in a row, then being benched again. That's made it quite an emo- tional season for Peck, he said. "Not necessarily being sure ex- actly what my role has been on the team or exactly what I'm supposed to do has been tough. This late in the season for me to say that, it kind of hurts as well," he said. "Everything happens for a reason. … I learned a lot of critical lessons through just being here. Have I had the season I envisioned from a stats standpoint? Not even close. But at the same time, you take away lessons and hopefully they'll help you be a bet - ter person in life and down the road, you look back and be like, 'I'm glad that happened.' " Peck's minutes have fluctu- ated — he's played as few as seven and as many as 32 — despite being one of the team's most reliable re- bounders. Hammons leads Purdue in av- erage rebounds with 7.4 per game, but that's in 24.3 minutes per game. In about six fewer minutes per game on average, Peck's No. 2 with a 4.5 average. Peck said he thought rebound- ing well would be the best way for him to get on the floor, though he considers himself a player who can score, too. That didn't necessarily show in his only season at Purdue, hitting double-digits only four times, the only time in Big Ten play on Sunday against Iowa. But he still made some big plays to help the Boilermakers. His offensive rebound late in the third overtime helped Purdue seal a win against Minnesota, a game in which he had a career-high 11 rebounds. His tip-back off Basil Smotherman's free throw that led to Smotherman's put- back before halftime against Indiana produced a big mo- mentum play and spurred a blowout. It was in those moments and plenty of others that Peck proved to himself that he be- longed in the Big Ten, even if few thought so coming out of Cathedral High School in In- dianapolis. "It's one of those things where you may not get the playing time or get put in the position you want to get put in, but at the end of the day, I can look back and be like, 'I know I was as good if not better than these guys who are all over Rivals and highly recruited,' " Peck said. "Internally, I felt like I proved something. Exter- nally, just to prove to other people, it's been difficult but I have to think about it like that doesn't matter. At the end of the day, it's about me and how I perceive myself and how I perceive my season and my game. Hopefully I'll go play overseas and do a little better statistically. If that doesn't happen, I can look back in life and be like, 'Hey, I learned from this experience.'" j Lon Horwedel Sterling Carter transformed his game at Purdue before and injury cut his season short. Lon Horwedel Errick Peck hasn't had the season he envisioned, yet he's not let it keep him from realizing lessons learned.