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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 1 66 BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com P urdue's four-game exhibition circuit in Spain was overwhelmingly positive for the Boilermakers, who rolled to a 4-0 record and looked good doing it. However, it comes with a qualifier. The opposition was suspect. "A couple of the teams looked pretty decent, but it was hard for them to play against us, because we just had more size than them," said forward Caleb Swani- gan, who averaged 18-and-a-half points and just under 11 rebounds in the four games. "A couple of the teams, you could tell they were just put together recently and haven't practiced much together, when we've been practicing together for two weeks." Purdue ran the table by an average of 26.3 points per game, shaking off adjustments to overseas play and sketchy officiating quickly, then rolling from there. It did not return to the U.S. beating its chest over that feat, however. Coach Matt Painter said the level of competition in games against Euro Colegio Casvi, Albacete, Barcelo- na All-Stars and Euro Basketball Academy was "just OK" and added that this time of year, it's difficult to find opponents capable of stacking up. European teams haven't begun preparing for their seasons yet and don't have full rosters. They're mostly short on their Americans, for one thing. "They try their best to get high-quality teams," Paint- er said, "but it's just impossible that time of year." That being said, Purdue's best competition in Au- gust might have been Purdue. "It's gotten to where the practices are probably more important than anything," Painter said, "especially for incoming players to get those 10 practices on top of the workouts that you already have. That was very ben- eficial." Of those incoming players, Spain marked, in effect, the Purdue debuts of guards Carsen Edwards and Spike Albrecht, a freshman and fifth-year senior, respective- ly, who figure to impact the Boilermakers' backcourt significantly this season. Edwards starred, playing the shooting guard posi- tion even though he was recruited with point guard in mind. He averaged 16.3 points, second to only Tom Campbell Carsen Edwards debuted in the intrasquad scrimmage at Jef- ferson High School in early August, then took his show on the road. Coach Matt Painter likes his ability to provide "instant offense." PURDUE'S TRIP WORTHWHILE Though competition wasn't great, Purdue benefited from Spain