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16 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATE VOLUME 26, ISSUE 3 season, but that defeat came with no assurances of such issues remaining issues. Despite the setback, Purdue is off to a strong start. All this less than two years after the Boilermakers finished last place in the Big Ten and looked ahead to a season in which it appeared as if they were going to have to be carried by a previ- ously maddeningly inconsistent Ham- mons; find a point guard, any point guard; and rely heavily on a freshman class that was well regarded but hardly expected to be transformational. Since that time, it's been just that: A transformation, in almost every sense. And it happened almost overnight, just about 15 months between Purdue fin- ishing in last place in the Big Ten and this current team convening on cam- pus in June of this past summer. Below, Gold and Black Illustrated takes a closer look at how it all came about. HAMMONS' CAREER ARC MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE How did Purdue wind up with the uncommon collection of outstanding big men that's buoyed this current team and given it an advantage over everyone on the schedule to this point? Well, Hammons stayed. When the 7-footer arrived on cam- pus in 2012, it was widely believed his stay wouldn't be a full one, and Purdue recruited accordingly, fully expecting to lose Hammons to the professional ranks after his sophomore or junior year. Neither happened. The big man's inconsistencies have been well documented. They're just part of his story. That doesn't mean the story can't end well. If this season is any indication, Hammons is playing his best basketball at the end of his NOV. 12, 2014 Purdue signs Ryan Cline, along with Grant Weatherford, as part of its 2015 recruiting class. Cline is considered one of the top jump-shooters in his class na- tionally and joins the Boilermaker program right on top of a few other talented shooters in Kendall Stephens and Mathias. Purdue didn't necessarily need Cline, but his signing was the result of Painter's call to recruit a shooter in every class, whenever possi- ble, a mandate the program has adhered to in four consecutive signing classes. OCT. 9, 2014 With preseason practice already underway, Purdue lands guard Jon Octeus, the Colorado State transfer who was left without a school after being surprisingly denied admission to his grad school program at UCLA. In his one year as a Boilermaker, Oc- teus fills a gaping need at point guard, plays a leading role in helping Purdue back to promi- nence and provides the blueprint it used in recruiting another fifth- year transfer point guard a few months later, Johnny Hill. APRIL 16, 2014 A.J. Hammons announces he will return to Purdue for his ju- nior season after considering a move to the professional level. With Haas signed to come in as a freshman, this gives the Boiler- makers a pair of 7-foot centers. Also on this day, Purdue signed P.J. Thompson (above), deciding to take the Indianapolis native not only because of an urgent need at point guard but because of the substance it felt he'd bring, a desired commodity for a pro- gram that believed its culture had slipped.