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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 28 Digital 4

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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 4 21 ing cast, too, including a physically imposing leaper at the 4 in Arnette Hallman, versatile and talented swing- men Keith Edmonson and Drake Mor- ris and a tough-minded point guard in Walker. The bench wasn't deep, but it was usually productive with forwards Mike "Scooby Doo" Scearce, current Pitt coach Kevin Stallings and Walker's older brother, Steve, who was an un- dersized but hard-nosed forward. Even the deep bench came up big in the clutch as freshman center Ted Benson and guards Jon Kitchel and Roosevelt Barnes had moments of production. With the reunion scheduled for a Sunday night 8 p.m. game against Penn State, it wasn't easy to get ev- eryone back to campus. Coach Matt Painter's administrative assistant Deb Hayworth did yeoman's work to get as many of the guys as possible back. She made arrangements for every detail, including last-minute travel for Hallman and Edmonson, the two that had to travel the farthest. Hall- man lives in Frankfurt, Germany, and hadn't been back to the U.S. since his mother died 21 years ago. Edmonson had to shuffle his and wife Amanda's work schedule in order to make it. "It was the best move I've made in a while," Edmonson said. "I wasn't sure what to expect coming back and seeing these guys again, but I am so glad I did." As a townie, I felt fortunate, along with fellow Lafayette area residents Brian Walker and walk-on guard John An- throp, to host Edmonson and Hallman for much of the day Saturday, taking them around campus and to the athletics complex. It was an eye-opening experience for both the for- mer Boilermaker standouts. Unlike Hallman, Edmonson had at least been to campus since graduation, returning once for a Gene Keady roast back in the late 1990s. But that visit was brief, as Edmon- son had little time to explore the changes Purdue had made, even back then. The topics at breakfast, which included Anthrop and Bri- an Walker as well, were free flowing and ranged from how much things had changed at Purdue to the tough loss to UCLA in the Final Four to why Rose bolted Purdue right af- ter the 1980 season. Rose's departure was still an unresolved mystery in the minds of Hallman and Edmonson. They looked to me for an answer, for which I didn't have a very good or very satisfying one. I told them there were many circumstances, not wanting to have to explain all the theories and facts surrounding why Rose headed to the University of South Florida for the 1980-81 season. Edmonson and Hall- man seem understanding that even 38 years ago, things were complicated and beyond their ability to grasp then and now. And in the end, it really didn't seem to matter much. That topic wasn't brought up again, at least in my pres- ence, over the rest of the visit. All seemed ready to move on to the next story, the next memory, the next place on campus to see. In truth, there was much more laughter and storytelling/embellishing than there was serious conversa- tion. Not surprisingly, campus was barely recognizable to Hallman and Edmonson. The unrecognizable places far outnumbered the recognizable ones, making it nearly im- possible for the two to get their bearings. Hallman wanted to see his favorite restaurant Morris Bryant only to learn it had been gone for nearly 25 years. Morris Bryant had the dubious distinction of being de- stroyed in a fire and tornado in the same week back in 1994. But the search for familiarity continued for Hallman as he thought his old apartment was close to the old smorgasbord restaurant that served as a team meal hangout back in the day. After a little driving around, we were finally able to find the old one-story row home. "Man, compared to those beautiful apartments I see around campus now, I realized we lived in the ghetto back The 1979-80 Boilermakers Fast Facts Record: 23-10, Third Place. Sixth Seed, NCAA Mideast Regional. Third- place NCAA Tournament finish NBA First Round picks: Joe Barry Carroll (1st overall, Golden State, 1980), Keith Edmonson (7th overall, Atlanta Hawks, 1982) Leaders Points/Gm: Carroll 22.3 Rebounds/Gm: Carroll 9.2 Assists/Gm: Brian Walker 5.1 Wayne Doebling Lee Rose, unable to make it to the reunion, often was credited throughout the weekend for keeping the team focused on the big prize of reaching the Final Four.

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