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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 22 • 4 BLOOMINGTON — Ra- pheal Davis and Jon Octeus sat side-by-side in a make- shift press conference room after Purdue's win at Indiana, adrenaline still practically oozing from their eyeballs following a particularly ex- hilarant victory. They were asked ques- tions — or had questions shouted at them — and the two upperclassmen, before long, began finishing each other's sentences, responding as a tandem in a sort of call-and-response cadence. Was this win enough to get you in the NCAA Tournament? "No, I don't …" Davis said. "No, no, no," Octeus interjected, shaking his head. "… I think we have four games and we need to win them all," Davis finished. "We have to finish strong," Octeus piped up. "Yeah," Davis said. "We have to fin - ish strong going into the tournament. Don't stop winning. Keep it going." Purdue's rolling, winner now of seven of its last eight, and there's no sign of this unforeseen surge fizzling. This is why preseason predictions are a fool's en- deavor. Heck, though, it's not like all those scorched-earth early forecasts for this last- place team from a year ago were even blatantly wrong. Around Christmas, projec- tions of Purdue finishing ahead of only embarrassingly bad Rutgers in the Big Ten looked sound. So how did this sideways sea- son take such a hard right north from seemingly out of nowhere? Well, part of it was evident in that press conference, where Davis and Oc- teus and suddenly peaking big man A.J. Hammons crammed in behind that portable table. You saw camaraderie between Davis and Octeus, and Hammons for that matter, when Davis looked back on when the center was just a "little fat boy," years ago, as opposed to the authoritative and newly consistent "grown man" he's been on the court the past six weeks. You see connectedness in this group. You see a bond Purdue's ships- passing-in-the-night rosters lately haven't come close to showing. Davis' and Octeus' shared wavelength in that postgame presser illustrated it. I happened to be present by sheer happenstance months ago when the two upperclassmen first met. They were nothing more than strangers at that time and looked like nothing more on that evening. I remember wondering not how this was going to work, but whether it would work. When the stork dropped Octeus in Purdue's lap two weeks into preseason practice, it was the first test of the chem - istry the Boilermakers needed. And now enjoy. Today, Davis and Octeus are two of the driving forces behind this marked turnaround, one that has Purdue barreling toward a return to the NCAA Tournament. When you peel back the onion of this season to reach its core, it comes down to personalities. Davis' intensity and businesslike approach have been Purdue's founda - tion. The enthusiasm and uncharac- teristic maturity of its freshmen have created a more substantive base. Ham- mons' emergence into not only a high- level player, but also a charismatic personality and presence has lifted the Boilermakers' ceiling to new heights. And Octeus' old-soul professional- ism and disinct polish have been the rug that's brought the whole room to- gether, if you ask me. Credit these guys. They've shown personal pride. A few of these play- ers have known nothing but losing at Purdue and it's not affected them for the worse. Losers to this point as Boil- ermakers, Davis and Hammons made themselves into All-Big Ten players and, more importantly, winners. Credit Matt Painter, too. He never forgot how to coach. He just needed a team he could coach. Credit the players most of all for providing him one. Purdue has it figured out, in every sense of the term right now. Now, if it can just make a freaking jump shot … 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 On The Same Page ... all the services ... all the food ... all the comfort ... all the fun YourWindow_GoldandBlack_August10_electronic.indd 1 8/20/2010 2:26:24 PM