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GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 27 • 16 BY GOLD AND BLACK STAFF A .J. Hammons has until the NBA's April 27 deadline to decide whether or not he'll de- clare for the draft and seems content to use as much time as he needs. The Boilermaker sopho- more center, though, does not have any idea what it might take to get him to forsake his final two seasons at Purdue. "I'm confident I can prove myself. It's just a matter of whether they're willing to take me and let me get in there and play," Hammons said when asked about the prospect of having to increase his stock should he declare. "As long as I'm on a team, I don't mind just playing a little bit and sitting on the bench and doing workouts, things like that, but I do just want to play (some). If I'm going to leave, I want to play." Hammons has been almost universally projected as a sec- ond-round draft pick should he declare, though the draft field is not yet set in stone as other un- derclassmen have yet to make their intentions known. Addi- tionally, declaring for the draft would give Hammons opportu- nities to increase — or hurt — his stock during workouts and interviews. Coach Matt Painter and his staff are gathering information and soliciting feedback from NBA person- nel on how the league views Ham- mons right now. "It's a delicate situation, because so many people have an opinion, and that's why I al- ways say, 'Let's get with the decision- makers and the people who've been doing this for years who actu- ally make the decisions on draft night,' " Painter said. "They have incomplete data so a lot of what they're telling you is guesswork too, but it only takes one person to draft you. "If there's a guarantee, I think you have to look at it, but if it's not a guarantee and it's up in the air, the last thing he wants to do is go undrafted and have to play in the (NBA Devel- opmental League) all next year. That's not what I want for him, because he's not going to de- velop in the D-League the way he would at Purdue. If he can go and feels it's a guarantee and he can make a team, start (his career) in the NBA and finish in the NBA, I'm all for that, fighting for yourself. But playing in the D-League, I don't think he gets better or has the quality of life like he would here at Purdue." Painter said NBA people have told they have been im- pressed with the progress Ham- mons has made, but want to see Hammons Still Looking Tom Campbell Boilermaker center A.J. Hammons has until April 27 to decide whether he'll enter the NBA Draft. vertime m e n ' s ba s k e t ba l l : n e w s a n d n ot e s underwoodagency.com Our Knowledge is Your Best Insurance ISU Insurance Services Underwood Agency Lafayette Office 3990 State Road 38 East, Suite 5A Lafayette, Indiana 47905 (765) 742-7320 800-852-5447 Columbus Office Jay Neeb 8011 S 100 W Columbus, IN 47201 (812) 342-8201 Established 1865 ® Craig W. Graham, CIC, CCCSRM Connie Webber, Commercial Patrick MacDonald, Personal Phil Arth, Accounting Cynthia Bir Angela Fleming