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ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 15 f in the team's camaraderie, sophomore Kendall Stephens said. "I would think it's the same as if you have a friend that you know has your back or a guy you think is a little shady, if you would get in a fight, would he stand up and back you up or would he let you take the fall?" Stephens said. "I think that when you have the locker room we have, you have guys who you want to go to war with. You know they're going to have your back and fight for you. That's the different vibe we have, knowing there's no doubt that everyone wants their teammates to suc- ceed and doesn't really care about the recognition they get individually." As Davis would say, though, many of these things were suggested last year. Purdue has to prove it. It has to live it. It's trying, Davis said. "Be an energy-giver not an energy-taker," Davis said. "It's about winning the day. That's the big thing for us this year. Coach Painter's talked about that all of my years here, but with this group, it clicks. I don't know if it clicked before with everybody." Before SEAL Leadership left West Lafayette, it gave Boilermaker players an assignment: To craft their own motto to carry through the season. Players went with "NO BS." It has a double meaning. The first meaning is obvious, particularly in the con- text of all that seemed to ail Purdue in 2013-14. The second is an acronym: "Never Operate Below Spe- cial." Purdue will very likely need a special effort to improve its place in the college basketball world. Coming off last place, the Boilermakers are general- ly considered from the outside to be bound for the Big Ten's darkest depths again. Purdue's players and coaches have talked all offsea- son of improved chemistry, attitude, basketball IQ, un- selfishness, etc. These are all very important things, clearly, but only a starting point. If Purdue does have its intangible house in order, as it collectively seems to believe it does, that would then THE HILL GROUP REHABILITATION INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO The Hill Group is installing all HVAC systems in this new 27-story, 1,200,000 square foot hospital. hillgrp.com We're Illinois' largest mechanical contractor … and proud to have 38 outstanding Purdue alumni on our HVAC/Plumbing team. Warren Hill, ME '63 Jim Hill, MET '95, MBA '03 Jim Billard, LA '90 Brian Teyema, ME '87 Scott Dierking, IM '77 Russ Nelson, BCM '00 David Pikey, PH '97 Bill Silfies, MBA '03 Nick Muscolino, MET '06 Matthew Crawford, MET '05 Bob Hill, BCM '06 Anthony Camasta, MET '04 Beth Beigelbeck, SM '97 Deborah Toth, MET '07 Daniel Block, ME '08 Daniel Gasser, BS '04 Jason Jones, MET '08 Nick Johnson, BCM '09 Bryan O'Neill, BCM '09 Steven Sitkowski, BCM '10 Isaac Townsend, ME '10 Don Wunderlich, ME '13 Taylor Spaulding, ME '12 Grant Fillipitch, MET '12 Jessica James, BS '13 Robert C. Krier, MET '13 Joseph Ketcik, CE '13 Joseph Schraffenberger , ME '13 Michael Rish, ME '13 Brandon Goldstein, ME '14 Michael Alber, ME '14 Ally Gray, BS '14 Karina Bjorklund, ME '17 Larry Lannen, ME '16 Kevin Morrisroe, ME '15 Bill Shuck, MET '14 James Svehla, BCM '15 Chaz Usher, BCM '17 G&B_HillGrp_finalRev2 8/3/14 11:50 PM Page 1 Tom Campbell Bryson Scott will get an opportunity to run the team from the point guard position in his sophomore season.