Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/432140
M att Painter benched Kendall Stephens, one of the players his team's success, or lack thereof, this season will al- most certainly be directly linked to. When the coach ex- plained why he pulled the sophomore out of his starting lineup, he did so in glow- ing terms, an odd juxtaposition between for what would ordinarily look like a punitive measure. Matt, why did you bench Kend- all Stephens? "What we're trying to get him to understand is accountability. When you're running plays for him and he's open, he's got to take those shots in rhythm, but when he's not, he's got to make a good decision," Painter said. "He can't take bad shots. He's probably the best good shot-maker I've ever been around and I've been around Glenn Robin- son, Cuonzo Martin, Jimmy Oliver, a lot of guys in college who could really shoot the basketball. "It is scary when you break up his good shots vs. his bad shots. He literally shoots in the 60s on his good shots, when he's in rhythm and he's got his feet un- der him, the ball goes in probably 65 percent of the time. You see that when you break down the tape. Once he can learn to do that on a consistent basis, I really feel like he can be an all-conference-caliber player at Purdue. I'd love for him to do that now and (against Arkansas State) he obviously did that. I don't think he took any bad shots. That's so important for our team that we can go to him and trust him through the course of the game, because that's a pretty valu - able piece, especially when you have some big boys down there and you're going to be able to get the ball down there when you don't have a shot." (Sidenote: Thank you to Painter for writing 30 percent of this col- umn for me with that filibuster.) Had we told you in September that Stephens and center A.J. Ham- mons — inarguably the Boilermak- ers' two most important returning players — would be demoted to reserve status less than a dozen games into the year, one would en- vision this season going about as well as a fiery blimp crash. But Purdue's fine, steadied again after an eyesore of a loss to North Florida, which joined the likes of such juggernauts as NJIT, Incarnate Word, Eastern Washing- ton and St. Peter's in winning in a Big Ten arena this season. The Boilermakers are fine, but they need their two most impor- tant veterans to be more than fine, their benchings not punishments as much as validations of what's expected of them, and conversely, reinforcement of what they're be- lieved to be capa- ble of. In a round- about sort of way, these players were benched as a com- pliment. "I lost my start- ing position just from taking bad shots," Stephens said. Ten games into the season, this is an important time for Purdue. Two crucial players are in situa- tions where young people can go one of two ways. Younger players — and Purdue has many of them — can't help but watch to see how they respond. So far, so good. There's no telling what's being said behind closed doors or felt in- ternally, but after his removal from the first five, Hammons seemed happier for backup/de facto little brother Isaac Haas that he was starting more than he seemed de- jected personally. Stephens came out self-aware, understanding of his situation, seems like, and its meaning. He took six good shots in the first half vs. Arkansas State and made every one of them. Purdue is back on solid ground. More difficult games, though, loom, starting with Vanderbilt this weekend. It needs its two key cogs right, their benchings, Purdue hopes, be- ing a means to that end. j Neubert can be contacted at BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com F R O M E D I T O R B R I A N N E U B E R T Pushing Buttons GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 14 • 4