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30 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 f today's NCAA hoops landscape, that doesn't mean the game is all that much more freshmen-friendly than it's been. It's hard, really hard, to make the transition from high school (or prep school) to playing high-major col- lege basketball early on in one's career. This is the challenge lying in front of Purdue's five freshmen. What can they expect? How should they approach it? What can make them successful or, to the contrary, what could undo them? Gold and Black Illustrated asked those who have come before them. The gold standard for freshman success at Pur- due lies with its revered 2007 class — then-bud- ding stars Robbie Hummel, E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, as well as Scott Martin, who left after a season — a group that almost literal- ly carried the Boilermakers to a stunning 25-win season as rookies, then rewrote Purdue's record books in the years that followed. Hummel, a Wooden Award candidate as a fresh- man: "We weren't even good until like January. It took us a long time to figure it out. We really struggled, los- ing to Iowa State, losing to Wofford, going down 17-0 to Florida International with eight minutes to go in the first half. It took us a while to figure out how to play together, how to be successful." Once success came, though, it bred more. Hummel: "We won a couple close games, we played well (in a loss) at Michigan State and we figured out how to win, and then winning becomes contagious, same way losing can be contagious. We were able to take our wins and carry them over. That was my most fun year at Purdue, probably, be- cause we just all of a sudden started playing so well and it was so unexpect- ed." That class made it look easy. It was an illusion. Johnson: "It's very challenging. It's something that I don't know if you're ever going to be quite ready for, but if it happens, it's a great thing. I remem- ber I was nervous out there playing. I remember starting as a freshman; we started four freshmen, which is pretty big for being at a Big Ten school. It was a great experience, but it's something where you just have to listen to the older guys you have and just work hard every day and everything will take care of itself." That team, though, didn't have many older players, just as this current team returns only a few upperclassmen and just one senior, a former walk-on. In part because of it, the 2007-08 squad had to rely greatly on the inherent and uncommon matu- rity of its freshmen. As much as talk about first-year players centers around talent, skill, size, speed or whatever else, an athete's maturity level early in their career can be equally crucial to their success. Part of maturity is handling difficulties. Current junior Rapheal Davis: "It kind of deter- mines who you are. As Coach says, 'You are who you are when adversity sets in.' When the hard times hit, you can tell who's going to push through it and who's going to wilt." In 2008-09, then-freshman Lewis Jackson was Purdue's starting point guard on a team full of older, established players and strong personali- ties. He never wilted. Jackson: "I'd say the challenge is more mental. You've been banged up before, but you've never been through practices like this, not used to competing ev- ery day the way Coach (Matt) Painter is going to be asking them to. It's more mental than physical." The ability to overcome those mental hurdles, players say, comes with maturity. Part of maturity, too, is humility. Kramer, a starter from Day 1 at Purdue and every day there- after: "You have to humble yourself when you come (to Purdue). In high school, you're your team's best player, averaging 20 a game, but when you come here, it's about the team, about Purdue, and you want to win as many games as you can and play in the NCAA DAY 1 STARTERS During Matt Painter's tenure as Purdue's head coach, 10 true freshmen have earned starts in their first college game, a number likely to grow this season. Name Season Marcus Green 2005-06 Chris Lutz 2005-06 Nate Minnoy 2005-06 Chris Kramer 2006-07 Robbie Hummel 2007-08 E'Twaun Moore 2007-08 JaJuan Johnson 2007-08 Lewis Jackson 2008-09 Ronnie Johnson 2012-13 Kendall Stephens 2013-14