102 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED
on, we're good, and
he knows that we can
compete with almost
any team in the coun-
try. The most import-
ant part of a season is
not how we start, but
how we finish.
"I've been on teams
here that have start-
ed out kind of shaky,
been up and down in
the middle, and then
finished strong and
went to the postsea-
son with huge mo-
mentum and done
really well. It's nice
having that experi-
ence with Dave, but
also with myself too.
I know what's import-
ant, and I can bring
that information to
them and lead them
in the right direction.
"In the Big Ten, every team's good...we're going
to go through this for 12 weeks in the Big Ten, play-
ing the best competition every night, so when we
get to the postseason, it's kind of the same thing.
You're playing good competition, and they want to
win as much as we do, but the advantage for us is
that we've been going through that for the last 12
weeks in the Big Ten Conference. It's an advantage
for us."
In many ways, Adelaja serves as a translator of
sorts for Shondell and his coaching staff, helping
not only echo coaches' instructions to those around
her, but sometimes also explaining to the under-
classmen (or demonstrating, when necessary) ex-
actly what those words mean.
When I say
"good,"
you say
"neighbor."
P097313.1
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Purdue
Adelaja (left), with Danielle Cuttino (20) and Ashley Evans,
has understood her role during her five years at Purdue. She
hopes the trio can pull it together for an end-of-season run.