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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 5 11 By staying at Purdue for his senior season, A.J. Hammons turns the Boilermakers into a Big Ten contender in 2015-16. He took a break from offseason workouts April 21 to talk about his decision, three days after his an- nouncement at the spring game at Ross-Ade Stadium. Q. How difficult a decision was it to return? A. "I love Purdue and everything and I've had a great three years here, but it was hard pushing back my dream one more year. It was something where I had to sit down and just make sure to think criti- cally about it." Q. Where do you feel your draft stock was had you left? A. "It all depends, because there's workouts and I still could have boosted my stock. I wasn't go- ing to lower it, I know that. I could have boosted it. There was late first-round (interest) and I was going to try to boost that into the top 15 personally, get in there and put some work in." Q. The second half of your season was a lot bet- ter than your first half. It would seem important to show the NBA that you can play a whole season at a high level. A. "That kind of hurt me this year, I think, me not playing as well in (non-con- ference) as in conference. I need to pick it up the whole year, come out at the begin- ning of the year and do great, come into conference play and do great, then push it into the tournament." Q. How much did your com- fort at Purdue matter to you? A. "That factored into the deci- sion, too. I don't want to go to the D-League. I'd rather be a practice player or something like that. I know I can work my way into a spot. I don't want to have to go to the D-League or overseas and wait on my spot. "It'll be better (staying). I'd rather just stay here in- stead of going to the next level and being just another face. I'd rather stay here, try to get a ring and get my de- gree too." Q. When you got to Pur- due, did you think you might be in college all four years? A. "I didn't look at myself as a four-year guy. I hit a cou- ple bumps in the road and that went into it. You have to live with your decisions. It's not a bad thing that I'm a four-year guy, be- cause I'll get my degree, possibly get to win some rings and my first two years weren't that good and that went into it too. "I have no problem being a four- year guy, but I didn't plan on it, not at all." — Hammons, as told to various media Boiler Index Jersey number to honor president Mitch Daniels, indicating his ranking in a recent list of the World's Greatest Leaders by Fortune magazine. Years Katie Douglas has played in the WNBA, second most of active players in the league. She was inducted in Purdue's Hall of Fame in April. Hits by former Purdue catcher Kevin Plawecki in his Major League debut for the New York Mets April 21. Plawecki is the first former Boilermaker position player in the Bigs since Jermaine Allensworth in 1999. Points by the offense in the jersey scrimmage April 11, significantly up from the 48 scored (using the same points system) a year earlier. Perhaps a sign that the offense is improved? By The Numbers 41 15 2 111 Photos by Purdue (Daniels); Mets (Plawecki); Tom Campbell (Douglas, Mikesky, Hammons)