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
52 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATE VOLUME 26, ISSUE 3 make a statement.' Well, I'm going to look at the lives and I'm going to look at the young kids who are attached to these coaches and respect that whole deal. There's nothing to be gained to be making any announcements earlier than that despite the noise that was out there." Q: How do you view what Hazell said after the last game, that after three years as the head coach 'We have to fix everything?' Burke: "What do you say after you lose the Bucket game? The questions, I kind of laughed in the back- ground at some of the questions. It's an emotional time. So at that point in time, you're going to say something that's trite. You're going to make a statement like that so that nobody can think you're looking through the world with rose-colored glasses. I think a more accurate assessment is something going into spring ball, once you've had time to reflect. Then I think you're going to get a more straight-forward response. But after you get beat by your rival 54-36, to come back and say that you're happy with anything is probably …" Q: No, that wasn't the point of the question. I didn't expect him to say that he's happy, but three years into his tenure, he's saying 'We have to fix anything.' Burke: "Again, I think it's in the heat of the mo- ment. I think there are things in the program he feels good about. But, at the end of the day, we're not pro- ducing on the field. He and I have talked a long time that statistics are important, but in the final analysis it's whether you win or lose. But you better pay attention to how those performance indicators are moving because they will influence whether or not you're going to have the level of success. I just think to make a year-end wrap up statement after you've lost the Bucket game, I'd probably discount how important that response was." Q: What do you need to see in 2016? Burke: "How about winning some games and getting the (W) flag up?" Q: Is there more to it than that? Burke: "Anything I say at this point in time to the people who are emotional will simply just create a firestorm, probably already has. … The makeup of our roster has a gap age-wise and you've got to age it up. I wished we could do it faster. We're optimistic people. We're always going to go into every season believing things are going to roll our way. That's the nature of this business. You don't go in talking about the sky is going to fall. You walk in saying, 'If this, this and this happen, we can be successful.' We showed you enough at different points in games that we could be success- ful. The problem is we couldn't sustain it. Good teams sustain it." Q: Do you have a benchmark for how many more wins you'd like to see in 2016? Burke: "How about 12?" Q: But surely you're not expecting 12. Burke: "You always want to talk about the outputs, which is the way you score the games. I'm more con- cerned trying to understand what they're doing to build the roster that will allow the outputs to be where they want them to be. You could have a year next year where all the balls roll your way. (Iowa coach) Kirk Ferentz was on the cusp of being fired last year. Fans were upset. Today, he's No. 4 in the College Football Playoff. I don't know. You could have a year where you're projected to be very high and you have three or four injuries. You've got to concentrate on the process of improvement and what you're trying to accomplish with that team. Results will take care of themselves. The greatest athletes in this world don't worry the final results. They worry about their preparation and execution in the event. We've got to do the same thing with these kids. You get kids fixat- ed on watching the scoreboard, they'll lose. That's just 1241 Cumberland Ave, Suite B West Lafayette, IN 47906 Phone: 765-497-0197 www.bankerinvestmentgroup.com A Fee-Based Investment Advisor located in the Purdue Research Park 25+ Years of Investment Management Experience Bill Banker, President Purdue University Alumnus '85 Purdue Baseball Alumnus '81-'85