GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 26 • 3
Gold and Black Illustrated at 25
As we celebrate our 25th year of pub-
lishing Gold and Black Illustrated, we look
back at memorable covers while reflecting
what was going on at the time.
JaJuan Johnson literally wouldn't let the
Boilermakers lose. On March 21, 2009, Johnson blocked two
shots in the final 63 seconds to secure a dramatic 76-74 win
over No. 4-seed Washington to allow the Boilermakers to ad-
vance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2000.
Purdue, a No. 5 seed, had built a 14-point lead early in the
second half, only to see the Huskies rally in front of a partisan
crowd in Portland, just a couple hours from the Washington
campus. Johnson played like the All-American he would be-
come with 22 points, five boards and four blocks, but it also
took a supreme effort by Keaton Grant off the bench (10
points, 12 rebounds) to get the job done for Coach Matt Painter's team.
The Boilermakers also did the things they had to do to win a close game in the NCAA Tournament. They
connected on 19-of-23 free throws and 7-of-16 shots from deep and battled the Husky's big front line even
on the boards (40 each). Purdue didn't score a field goal in the game's final 5:49 and navigated the game's
landscape with no timeouts left down the stretch and with three key players saddled with four fouls.
Just two days earlier, the Boilermakers were able to fend off Northern Iowa in a game that had some
similarities to the win over UW, but not quite the drama in the end.
Playing in the West Region, after beating Washington, the Boilermakers decided to remain on
the West Coast, making the trek to Phoenix for the regional finals. Just five days later, Purdue was
upended by No. 1 seed
Connecticut, 72-60, put
-
ting an end to a 27-10
season.
— Alan Karpick
"A pain like that demands to be
felt. But through it all I couldn't
ask for better teammates or better se-
niors. Neal and Jon led us all year."
Purdue junior Rapheal Davis (@RaphealDavis35) after the
Boilermakers' loss to Cincinnati on Thursday
T W E E T O F T H E W E E K
Gold and Black Illustrated is a publication of Boilers, Inc.
2605 Yeager Road, West Lafayette, IN 47906
765-237-5002 or 1-800-876-GOPU (4678)
Twitter.com/GoldandBlackcom
Fax: 765-497-2110
President/Publisher Alan Karpick
765-237-5078
Twitter.com/AlanKarpick
AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com
Editor Brian Neubert
BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com
Publications Coordinator Kyle Charters
KCharters@GoldandBlack.com
Associate Editor/Football Stacy Clardie
SClardie@GoldandBlack.com
Photography Tom Campbell
Graphic Designer Gary Hoffman
Advertising Sales Alan Karpick
Contributors Travis Baugh
Subscriptions/Production Travis Baugh, Jessica Bernard,
Nick Hoffman, Reid Karpick,
Tyler Ochs, Evan Solgere
GnbManager@aol.com
