Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/620595
GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 26, ISSUE 3 13 W ell, the plan here was to write this column about all that Purdue is capable of this season, and how there's no cap, no ceiling, on it. Then, Purdue — as soon as it peeked its head into college basket- ball's top 10 and stepped out into the national spotlight — inexplicably didn't show up for its Crossroads Clas- sic game against No. 17 Butler. In its first showcase/résumé sort of game of the season, the Boilermak- ers put forth an effort that alternated strangely between over-eagerness — its decision-making surprisingly went sideways — and listlessness. It was a massive letdown from a team that, during its 11-0 start, showed no signs of such things to come. It was another loss in a marquee event where Purdue is now an embar- rassing 0-5. The final margin said six points; the reality is it was worse. The Boilermakers were down as many as 16 after coming unglued in the second half before Butler let them back in the game by missing a bunch of free throws. It was ugly, a team that had been ab- solutely rolling blowing a tire. But, the larger point remains un- changed. This group is capable of big things, however you want to define big things. No one wants to hear this in the wake of a loss, but losing can make this team improve in ways winning might not have. That's not sugary coating and there's no suggestion here or any- where that any team ever wants to lose, especially in an important qual- ity-win opportunity for a team that is playing for seeding. But sometimes improvement comes from failure, requires it even. That's up to Purdue now, though. This is an old enough and presum- ably mature enough and seemingly close enough team to no longer need such lessons, but they're lessons nonetheless. And they have to be applied for Pur- due to have the sort of season it's ca- pable of. The pieces are all there. Butler game aside, its centers are outstanding. Nobody in the country can match the tandem of Isaac Haas and A.J. Hammons. Butler game aside, Purdue has the potential to change games with perim- eter shooting. Kendall Stephens and certainly Da- kota Mathias might not be shooting the percentages they'd like, but they each, along with Ryan Cline, have shown that ability to change games with their shooting. Butler game aside, Purdue may not be the best defensive team in college basketball, but it's been one of the more difficult to score against. Despite some obvious limitations, the Boilermakers rank among nation- al leaders in scoring defense and field- goal percentage defense. Butler game very much included, Purdue has a budding star in Caleb Swanigan to go along with an out- standing, deep corps of players around him. Over-reaction is a dangerous game in college basketball especially, and while the Butler game was a face-palm moment of sorts, the guess here is it changes very little. Purdue is a good team, maybe a great one. Time will tell. It would have been good even with- out Swanigan, but with him, its ceiling has been raised. The infusion of his supreme talent, sheer will and indomitable attitude has changed the game. Purdue's transformed in the past two years; what better face to put on this group than that of someone who re- markably transformed himself the way Swanigan has? This is a very good Purdue team, a very good team that played very badly for 38 minutes against another very good team. It might have been a post-finals week aberration. It might have just been the realities of college basketball, where expecting young people to be at the tops of their games every single time they play is just unrealistic. Sometimes, the bottom just drops out for whatever reason. When it hap- pens against quality competition, you normally lose. It happens. Purdue will now hope that because it happened, it may not happen again. Neubert can be contacted at BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com Down, But Maybe Only For a Moment From Editor Brian Neubert