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68 IllustrateD volume 25, issue 1 f foul whistle just moments into the game. On the ensuing offensive possession, Weatherford drove on that same player for an and-one and the op- posing guard's second foul, sending him to the bench. Then, very likely, he celebrated, maybe not exces- sively, but just enough to twist the knife, to send that message that he just won, that his style worked, that he impacted the game in ways that transcend a box score. This is what the 6-2, 215-pound guard is: A disrup- tive force, a player of mind games with opponents and a constant tone-setter with effort and hustle. He's a player teammates and fans are likely to love and oppo- nents (and most Big Ten student sections) are almost certain to despise. "I'm sure it drives other teams crazy, and that's what makes him so good defensively," Fox said. "He'll push that line but never go over it. He's not a dirty ball-play- er by any means, but he knows how to bother another player and take away what they want to do." Weatherford's an agitator, sometimes because of the simplest of things: Effort. "It's one thing you can't teach and something you'll always have," Weatherford said. "Athletic ability even- tually will wear away. You can't keep working at that. But if you have toughness and play from your heart, that's something that will never go away and that's something I really pride myself on." He's always been considered a proverbial "effort guy" and known for his defense, but this summer, his Purdue scholarship came as he showed himself to be more. Purdue had known of Weatherford long before this summer, but its recruiting pitch had mostly centered on the opportunity to join the Boilermakers as an in- vited walk-on in the event he was offered, and accept- ed, a football scholarship from Darrell Hazell. At the time of his basketball commitment, the linebacker/de- fensive back prospect held at least one mid-major foot- ball offer with continued Big Ten interest from Purdue and Indiana. When he committed to the Boilermakers, it was not a decision of which school to play basketball for — Weatherford grew up with Purdue on his mind — but rather whether to commit to a college basketball ca- reer or hold out for one in football. Purdue watched him closely this summer, not because he was one of its front-burner prospects prior to July, but because it was courtside at all his games anyway. Committed shooter Ryan Cline and A-list 2016 tar- get Kyle Guy were two of Weatherford's teammates and the primary draw for Purdue coaches. It all changed, though, on July 12 in Indianapolis, a Sun- day afternoon in North Central High School's main gym. There, Indiana Elite rallied from 17 down to beat Eric Gordon Central Stars — a team that had won nearly 20 straight games — in the championship game of the adidas Invitational, one of the summer's most promi- nent tournaments. With Guy and one-time Purdue point guard target Hyron Edwards playing in Chicago instead that week- end, Indiana Elite's roster was very different than it otherwise would have been, the biggest change being its reliance on Weatherford to run its point guard po- sition. He does play point guard for his school, but in the summers, his role has been very different. On this day, the ball was in Weatherford's hands. It afforded him an opportunity to show college coaches what he can do as an offensive player. Down the stretch of that game, Indiana Elite sim- ply called ball screens for Weatherford to play off and scored on more than a dozen consecutive possessions. If it wasn't Weatherford slashing to the rim for layups or fouls, it was him kicking out to open shooters or finding teammates at the rim for easy baskets. Every play, or decision, he made, it seemed, was the right one as he finished with 18 points and numerous assists. In that game, he played on offense with the sort of poise and level-headedness that totally belied the sort of mad-dog, heel persona that's defined him at the oth- er end of the floor.