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GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 23 • 9 BY BRIAN NEUBERT AND STACY CLARDIE T his season hasn't gone as planned for Purdue's senior class, a four-man class with different back- grounds, very different circumstanc- es and varying degrees of impact as Boilermakers. But in some form or another, all four of the Boilermakers' outgoing upperclassmen have made an im- pression, whether it's been during the span of four years in the case of Travis Carroll and Terone Johnson or just one as with fifth-year transfers Errick Peck and Sterling Carter. TERONE JOHNSON They say sometimes that a play- er can be defined by how he handles the hard times. For Terone Johnson, the hard times have been many lately as Pur- due's disappointed in each of his two seasons as an upperclassman. A former All-Big Ten pick and a player who'll go down as one of more productive all-around guards the Boilermaker program has seen in recent years found himself benched late in his senior year, taken out of the starting lineup prior to Purdue's loss at Nebraska. It wasn't an out-of-character move by Painter to pull a stalwart se- nior from the starting five as his team has struggled, but one that was not easy for Johnson to process never- theless. After all, this is a player who was a valued contributor on two NCAA teams early in his career; an all- conference level player as a junior; and Purdue's foremost veteran pres- ence as a senior. From a productivity standpoint, he's proven. "As a senior, especially some- one who's started for the program at some point every year, it can af- fect you," he said. "But I've just tried to come out and keep my head high and do everything I can to be posi- tive and make positive plays." Leadership has come into ques- tion for Purdue this season, as it's struggled just to keep to .500 during the regular season. Even amidst such struggles, Johnson says he's been mindful of the example a leader should set. "I can't be the guy on the bench who's a downer because I'm not starting and saying, 'Forget this.' I've tried to encourage everybody. I don't want to be that guy." It's not what players say, though, in such situations so much as what they do. Johnson responded. After being benched at Nebraska, Johnson bounced back with a 22-point outburst and outstanding defensive showing in the Boilermak - ers' near-upset of Big Ten champion Michigan. It was one of the finest games of his career. There have been oth- er big ones, for a player who'll leave Purdue having scored 1,300 or points, with around 500 and 300 assists. He'll leave Purdue's storied program in its top 25 in scoring, top 20 in as- sists and top dozen or so in three-pointers made, hav- ing played in more games than just about anyone else in school history. There was this year's 20-point game at West Virginia, to this day the Boilermakers' best road win of the season. There was last year's 22-point outing against Northwestern, in which Johnson made 4-of-5 threes. Or his 25-point, nine-rebound, four assist game in a home win over Illi - nois, which came to West Lafayette for its Big Ten opener with a 13-1 record. He scored a career-best 32 against Michigan last season. His sophomore year, there was Johnson's 9-of-12, 22-point game in an upset at Michigan, the win that essentially secured Purdue's place in the NCAA Tournament. Or his 9-of-13 shooting, 21 points and five assists in the Boilermakers' win over Saint Mary's in the first round of said tournament. His freshman year, Purdue might have gotten upset by Indiana in Bloomington without the rookie's three three-pointers and nine points off the bench. But in most of those games, the Boilermaker won. As productive as Johnson has been at Purdue, that will be his great- est regret after his college career meets its end. TRAVIS CARROLL Travis Carroll's black-and-white Tom Campbell Terone Johnson's best days have come against Michigan. m e n ' s b a s k e t b a l l f e a t u r e : s e n i o r s t o r i e s OuT wITH THE OLd ... ANd NEw Purdue saying good-bye to two fourth-year seniors, two single-season transfers