GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 2 76
The Captain
BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com
A
ndreona Keys wants to intim-
idate.
She can frustrate opponents
with her physicality on the defensive
end. She can create a three-point play
by charging hard to the basket, scoring
through contact and yelling out in cel-
ebration. If the offending defender is
close by, then so be it.
She can push back if pushed.
She loves hearing smaller guards
screaming out for defensive help when
she's posting up, knowing that she's
got them overwhelmed. Last season,
she got so mad at an official that she
picked up a technical foul. Frustration,
she called it, without further explana-
tion.
What she doesn't always relish is the
image it creates.
The reality is Keys isn't the
mean-mugging enforcer she portrays
on the court. That's only part of the
character; the other part is Keys as
Purdue's undisputed leader, its only
senior, its captain and the binding
that holds the team together.
"No. 1, Keys cares," sophomore
Dominique Oden said. "For someone
to care enough to get to know you, to
spend time with you, she's a senior
and the only senior. She has stuff to do,
go get a job or keep playing basketball
(after this season), she takes the time
out of her day, out of her busy life, to be
with teammates and get to know them.
As only senior, Keys plans to lead
young Boilermakers
That's a really important thing for a leader. You can respect someone that
you know, not as much as somebody you don't."
Unfortunately, many outside the Boilermakers' locker room don't know
Keys that way. It's fine if opponents don't, she wants them to shy away.
But 5-year-old fans?