Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/445277
GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 16 • 10 Hammons had 11 points and four boards against the Badgers but afterward lamented how he didn't play good enough defense, how he didn't get enough rebounds and help his team get stops. He didn't have a block in the game — only the second time that's happened all season — but he also wasn't anchored in the post like normal. Hammons and Haas were charged to guard the 4 man for most of the game, instead of matching up against Kaminsky, who likes to pull the ball out to the perimeter and drive against bigger players. Still, Hammons battled. And he battled against No. 11 Maryland, even though his shot wasn't falling and he ran into foul trouble. Why has Hammons kept a con - sistent motor of late? It's simple, he says. "I don't want to lose. That's the only thing I can tell you," he said last week. But he knows production is paramount, too, not just effort. "To a consistent level, I don't think it's still there," he said, speak- ing specifically about how he's pro- duced during conference games. "I know if I can get 10 rebounds, 10 or more points a game, I'll put our team in a better position to win. So I know I've got to bring it every night. There's no excuse. "Any way possible, I've just got to bring it. Either run the floor. Even if I have some games, I can't get a good average or good enough rebounds, I can still run the floor, I can still help my team get open. There are certain things (I can do) as long as the team wins (it's OK), but I still feel like I need to do a certain standard." Coach Matt Painter always has insisted Hammons has the poten - tial to be a consistent double-dou- ble player. But, as always, Painter is equally concerned with the intangibles, and, for the most part, he's been pleased with Hammons re- surgence during league play in those areas. "I think he's rebound- ing better and his motor has been better," Painter said last week. "(He's) doing a better job of getting in a stance and running the court. When he gets involved and has that energy, he plays better. Late in games (against Minnesota and Michigan), when we needed rebounds, he was dominant." Hammons also is work- ing to do better following the defensive scouting report, an area that has plagued Purdue lately and has caused Painter to dramatically shorten the rotation. Against Michigan, Painter played five players at least 30 min- utes, the first time that'd happened since 2008. Hammons had a sea- son-high 31 minutes then, largely because Painter trusted his experi- enced post to do what he was sup- posed to do on the defensive end. Hammons needs to continue and also can increase his offensive game by limiting turnovers — he leads the team with 39 too often unable to firmly grasp the ball in the post thus letting passes slip away — and by making shots at a higher clip. Through the Maryland game, Hammons was shooting 50 percent during league games, a bump from his non-conference percentage of 45. "My confidence level, it's OK," Hammons said of his offensive game. "I need to put more confi- dence in my jumper, but I kind of went away from it because we've got big, physical games, so I might want to stay on the inside a little more. But when I get back to that jumper, that's what I have to put my confidence in. And free throw shooting. Sometimes I'm doing my form, I'm doing everything cor- rectly, but sometimes it's just like right at the end, there's a slip or I just mess up because I'm not focusing. "I need to pick that back up." j Tom Campbell Though Hammons is working on a center rotation with Isaac Haas, it's still critical for the junior to stay out of foul trouble and be available to play significant minutes, if needed. Against Michigan, he got a season- high 31.