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VOLUME 26, ISSUE 4 27 A fter Vince Edwards darted to the offensive glass to tip the offensive rebound that sealed Purdue's overtime win over ninth-ranked Michigan State, the ball found its way into the arms of Spartan center Matt Costello. A.J. Hammons reached in and snatched it from Costel- lo, who offered little resistance as the Boilermaker cen- ter made the 6-foot-9, 245-pounder look distinctly small in simply taking the ball — and in a broader sense, the game — from him. It was notable symbolism for Hammons. A year earlier, in the midst of his breakout junior sea- son, Purdue went to Michigan State and got "punked out," as assistant coach Brandon Brantley put it. The Spartans were more physical, tougher and more aggressive than Purdue, Hammons very much included. Costello fought his bigger, more talented counterpart and neutralized him almost completely. Hammons would have appreciated some help from the officials, but the re- ality was Costello's physicality and fearlessness won the night. So Hammons' demolition of Costello and the Spartans this time around — he finished with 19 points, 13 re- bounds and eight blocks — was symbolically rich and atonement of sorts for Hammons and his team alike. Then, there's Vanderbilt. Last year, Purdue traveled to Nashville for an import- ant game against a talented Commodore front line. In front of a crowd speckled with NBA scouts, Hammons was physically present but little more, finishing with five points and five rebounds in a one-sided Boilermaker loss. This year, that same team, with most of the same front line, visited West Lafayette, to play in front of another crowd full of pro-basketball kingmakers. As they did in advance of the Michigan State game, Purdue's coaches worked Hammons over in advance of the game with his past failures against this particular opponent. "He doesn't like that," Brantley said. Again, the result was entirely different. Hammons laid waste to the Commodore frontcourt, to the tune of 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocks, while Vandy's first-rounder-in-waiting, Damien Jones, did essentially nothing. In the second half of that game, which Purdue trailed by three at half, Hammons was 6-of-9 for 15 points. A couple weeks earlier, Purdue was locked in a closely contested game with New Mexico. It turned to Hammons, who scored two points on 1-of-4 shooting in eight first half minutes, only to go 6-of-6 in the second half to end with 16 points in 19 minutes, along with 11 boards and six blocks. One game earlier, at Pittsburgh, Hammons scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. He had seven points at halftime, before carrying the Boilermakers to what stands today as their best road win of the season. If performances like this don't reflect a true "go-to guy," then what does? And up until recently, Hammons wasn't always one to embrace all that goes into being that sort of player, per- sonality and presence. "I know a couple times this year in a couple different games, he's gotten it going and said to me, 'Yo, P.J., get the ball over to me and I'm going to score,'" point guard P.J. Thompson said. "I get him the ball, he does his hook shot or whatever it is and he scores. Last year, even he wasn't doing that. He wasn't demanding the ball. Now when he gets it going, he's demanding it." To say the least, it's been a process. Hammons has been a lot of things in his days as a Boil- ermaker. Until last season, consistent was not one of them, nor was him being particularly drawn to — or equipped to handle — the sort of role he's playing for Purdue in his UNFINISHED PRODUCT Hammons has come a long, long way at Purdue BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com