GBI Magazine

Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 25, Digital 2

Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.

Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/405025

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 51 of 130

52 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 f guard should help spark the offense. So could another transfer, Seton Hall guard Aaron Cosby (12.6 ppg). And that's already with the No. 8 scorer in the Big Ten, Rayvonte Rice, on the roster. Rice was really good for the Illini in his first season after transferring from Drake last year, averaging 15.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. "I love our experience with 11 out of 15 players hav- ing been in our program for at least a year, so we've got some continuity there and some maturity," Groce said. "We're much further along at this point and this juncture than we would normally be because of that experience." IOWA 20-13 OVERALL, 9-9 BIG TEN T he Hawkeyes snapped their eight-year NCAA Tournament drought last season — they hadn't been since 2006 — but now will need to find some scoring punch. Iowa had the league's top scoring offense last sea- son, averaging 81.5 points per game, but who will be the sparkplug with top scorer Roy Devyn Marble (17.0 ppg) gone? There are several options. Perhaps it could turn to some big men who have po- tential. There could be a formidable presence inside with 7-foot-1 Adam Woodbury (5.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and 6-10 se- nior Gabriel Olaseni, an athletic big guy. But more likely, Iowa will need versatile forwards 6-9 Aaron White (12.8 ppg, 6.7 rep) and 6-9 Jarrod Uthoff (7.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg) to carry the load to make a repeat trip to the tourney. "I feel really good about the options we have," Coach Fran McCaffery said. "I thought one of the strengths of our team last year was our depth. I feel the same about this year's team. That's why I think right now we're op- timistic." PURDUE 15-17 OVERALL, 5-13 BIG TEN T he Boilermakers are in an NCAA Tournament drought, and to snap it, they'll likely need A.J. Hammons to play like he's capable while getting young players to rise to the occasion. But Purdue does have an intriguing mix with size, young talent and potentially emerging sophomores. "I really like our team," Painter said. "We have a nice mix of guys. Now, we have to get a higher level of experience, of playing together. I think people always talk about experience or inexperience, but the ability to have guys stick together and play together and grow from that is really beneficial in high major college bas- ketball." Hammons, the 7-footer, is a game-changer on de- Indiana Now in his third season, Yogi Ferrell has proven to be one of the Big Ten's best point guards, both in getting his team- mates involved and also being able to be a scorer from the position.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of GBI Magazine - Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 25, Digital 2