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Gold and Black Illustrated, Vol 28 Digital 4

Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.

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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 4 22 then," Hallman said with his infec- tious laugh. "But being back here again made me realize how great we had it back then, too." I found Edmonson's and Hallman's personality traits to be the same as I had remembered all those years ago. When our impromptu tour made its way to Mackey Arena to try to catch a bit of practice in the afternoon, Edmonson was working the 2018 equipment managers to try to get some Purdue swag the same way he worked me and my fellow managers four decades earlier. And it worked. Edmonson left town convinced there will be a care pack- age sent to his home in San Antonio before long. Those goodies would be in addition to the framed photos, Red Mackey bobblehead and other commemorative items that Hayworth and the basketball staff generously put together for the 15 of us. Edmonson was still Edmonson, and I found it comforting to know that. It was also comforting to see the guys back on Keady Court, in awe of what the place they had spent so many hours during their college days had become. When on the floor awaiting Coach Matt Painter's team practice, Edmon- son, Hallman, Anthrop and the Walk- er brothers reverted to what came naturally to them. They grabbed a basketball and started shooting, each possessing a stroke reminiscent of what it was back then. All are in their late 50s or early 60s, but their casu- al shootaround took me back to our college days. Their shooting form was recognizable to days past. While on Keady Court, the conversation became focused on the two guys that initially thought they would be able to make the reunion, but couldn't: Scearce and Carroll. Brian Walker, a lawyer in Lafayette, got Carroll on the phone and used his ample persuasion skills to try to coax him to jump on a plane from his hometown of Atlanta and come last minute. The same was true in a subsequent phone call to Scearce, now a preacher in Lexington, Ky. Hallman and Edmonson joined the last-minute coercion effort, but to no avail. Carroll, a philanthropist, wealth advisor and author couldn't make a last-minute get- away, and Scearce's religious obligations for that Sunday meant he had to sit this one out. Yet, the phone calls did produce some- thing: A pledge to have a 40-year reunion in 2020. This much was true 38 years later: When this group was on the court, it got some- thing done. Hallman, Edmonson and Anthrop also were treated to a tour of the new Football Performance Complex, courtesy of sopho- more Jackson Anthrop, John's youngest son and Purdue's leading receiver in 2017. "You always want to see progress at your university, and this (football) facility Jana Anthrop Jackson Anthrop (left) showed off the new Foot- ball Performance Complex with his dad John, Edmonson and Hallman.

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