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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 5 58 T H E D E E P B E N C H P.J. Thompson 3 G • 5-10 • So. This might be sim- ply a placeholder in this case, but with point guard being the team's one big question, on paper, the ris- ing sophomore is the last man stand- ing with Jon Octeus and Bryson Scott having moved on. Thompson finished the season playing his best basketball and showed some reason to believe he can be much more than just a program guy in coming seasons, but he will want to make some physical improvements this offseason and shoot the ball better when the season rolls around. His mind, "heart," toughness and quick hands on defense jibe well with the job description at his position, but Purdue is going all-out to find an experienced point guard transfer to come in and either start or platoon with Thompson. Dakota Mathias 31 G • 6-4 • So. After an injury- and illness-riddled beginning to his college career, the rookie guard came a long way through the course of the season, starting roughly half the year due to his play and not just slippage from others. He was Purdue's best passer and exceeded expectations as a defensive player, whether anyone will ever admit or not that expectations were low in that regard. The next piece of the puzzle is for Mathias' calling card to come around. He shot less than 33 percent overall and only 32 percent from three-point range. He's too good a shooter to not operate at higher clips than those and here's guessing he will from here on out. He was Purdue's far-and-away lead- er this season in rim-outs, so it's not like he was throwing cement blocks at the basket all year. A.J. Hammons 20 C • 7-0 • Sr. Purdue kept its core intact with the center's decision to finish out his college eligibility in West Lafayette rather than turning pro, a scenario no one saw coming, him included, when he first enrolled. It was much wel- comed news. Hammons should be one of the top big men in college basketball next season, and when we say such things now, we're no longer just projecting. He's shown it. Now, for Purdue's sake and his own beyond college, he must do so for a full season. It wasn't until around midseason that the light came on for Hammons as a junior and he grasped consistency and played at a sustained high level. If Purdue gets a full season of that Hammons, he'll be a Player-of- the-Year candidate in the Big Ten and maybe a fringe All-America consideration. Rapheal Davis 35 F • 6-5 • Sr. You probably couldn't draw up a better profile for a senior leader than exactly what Davis is. He's Purdue's catalyst, both emotionally and with his effort. He's motivated in every sense of the term. He runs the Boilermaker locker room, backed by the respect he's earned from his teammates and coaches. He's old and wise. And he has that knack for making big plays at big times, as evidenced by some of the clutch shots he made as a junior. The Big Ten's Defensive Player-of-the-Year enjoyed an out- standing junior season, both indi- vidually and in the team success he made possible in so many ways. His senior year could be even better. Vince Edwards 12 F • 6-7 • So. Maybe the best bet to be Purdue's next star, the forward was so productive and so efficient as a freshman and the best is almost certain to come as the Boilermakers likely scheme to involve him more offensively and put his versatility to good use. Edwards didn't shoot the ball as well in conference play as he did earlier in the season and his rebounding dipped some, but experience and added strength may help him produce even more as a sophomore. At his best, Edwards is a potent and efficient inside-outside scorer and excellent passer for his position, having just set a school record for assists in a season (90) by a non-guard. He has to improve defensively, but he stands to be one of most interesting offensive players in the conference in coming years. Ryan Cline 14 G • 6-5 • Fr. The fresh- man is regarded as one of the finest shooters in his class nationally, a long-range specialist who'll try to develop into much more at Purdue. But in the short term, his shooting will add another weapon to an arsenal that the Boilermakers thought was loaded last season only to see it fire more blanks than expected. Cline could turn out to be the most gifted shooter on the roster, but the reality is Purdue might not need to rush him to the floor. Mathias and Kendall Stephens, and Edwards and Thompson for that matter, should shoot bet- ter next season, so the need for another option might not be urgent and thus Purdue might be in position to bring its young players, Cline included, along slowly. Isaac Haas 44 C • 7-2 • So. The sopho- more stood to see his minutes increase significantly and his role to expand considerably had Hammons left, but no one wanted him to return more than his fellow center, who's grown too close to his fellow big man and too eager to win to worry about such things. Haas' future at Purdue is very bright, but the massive pivot can make it even more so by improving his conditioning, upping his foul-shooting percentages and learning to not let qualms over offici- ating affect him. But those are little things. The big thing remains the fact that there might not be a more influential, powerful, physical presence in the Big Ten, if not NCAA basketball. Basil Smotherman 5 F • 6-6 • Jr. Now an upperclass- men, the time is now for the for- ward to do something to distin- guish him- self. The Boilermakers' best athlete has had his moments in his first two seasons at Purdue, but is not yet to the point where you know he's going to have those moments every time he sees the floor. He has the physical tools to be an impact defender, but hasn't been yet. He has shown he can impact games when he's playing with ener- gy and rebounding. It's noth- ing new to point out that it would behoove him to make those things constant empha- ses. The time has to be now for him. Edwards is going to log a ton of minutes at the 4, but there remains a key role on this team for Smotherman should he seize it. Kendall Stephens 21 G • 6-6 • Jr. Hoping to prove last season to be an inju- ry-marred aberration, Stephens is in a similar situation to his classmate, Smotherman. After not having the sort of season he hoped to, or most expected him to, he'll badly want to rebound. The first step is for Stephens to get his mangled finger/hand right, then get his confidence back. It was a humbling season for him, putting his resolve to the test. He's shown he can be a very good college player and crucial piece for Purdue, and that's the form he hopes to get back to. Stephens made 38 percent of his threes this season despite some physical issues. Not bad for a season widely considered a wash for him. Thing is, he's capable of so much more. Jacquil Taylor 23 F • 6-10 • R-Fr.* The young big man is a total and complete unknown because of his health. Taylor played in six games before a shin issue compelled Purdue to pull him off the court to seek a medical hard- ship waiver. He's barely prac- ticed since and is expected to be limited, if not idle, until mid-summer. When healthy, Taylor gives Purdue a long, athletic presence in its front- court, something it doesn't otherwise have, as well as a high-effort sort of player, but the single most important factor for Taylor right now is the "when healthy" part. Until he's healthy, that pro- cess is all that matters. * Though it's probably a formality, the NCAA has yet to rule on Taylor's eligibility waiver. Grant Weatherford 22 G • 6-2 • Fr. Purdue recruited the high school guard for his defense, toughness, competi- tiveness and will, all characteristics the roster seemed short on before the Boilermakers sort of rediscovered themselves in those areas last season. But teams can never have enough of them and that's what Weatherford means for Purdue now. He's more of a combo guard who can play or guard either backcourt spot, but he's shown he can play some point guard, so there might be minutes there for him, but it's difficult to project until the roster's final- ized. He is better equipped to impact Purdue defensively early in his career than he is talented offensively. G O L D A N D B L A C K ' S M E N ' S H O O P S L I N E U P T H E S T A R T E R S T H E R E S E R V E S — Brian Neubert Jon McKeeman 2 G • 6-1 • Sr. Stephen Toyra 11 G • 6-3 • Sr.