Gold and Black���s Men���s Hoops Lineup
The
Starters
A.J. Hammons 20
C ��� 6-11 ��� Fr.
After Hammons didn���t
play particularly well at
Indiana last weekend, he
sat to start the Northwestern game as his coaches
rewarded Sandi Marcius
for his effort and hammered home its importance to Hammons,
who responded by running hard a few
times against Northwestern and turning
away a couple shots in the mere 12 minutes he was asked to play. Had he made
his free throws ��� he was 2-of-6 ��� he���d
have been pretty productive in those
minutes.
Terone Johnson 0
G ��� 6-2 ��� Jr.
As Purdue���s offense
functioned at maybe its
highest level of the Big
Ten season, the junior led
the charge, getting in the
lane time and again and
raining jumpers from the
perimeter. His 4-of-5 three-point shooting
marked a career best and his 22 points
were a game-high. Had more been needed of him, he could have scored 30-plus
against the Wildcats.
Ronnie Johnson 3
G ��� 5-10 ��� Fr.
Purdue moved the ball
better than it had been,
as the Boilermakers
strung easy pass after
easy pass together to
generate buckets, the
way it���s supposed to be.
The point guard was a big part of that,
but also a terror off the dribble, breaking
Northwestern down and making plays in
transition. Too many turnovers, though.
D.J. Byrd 21
F ��� 6-4 ��� Sr.
Byrd has had his ups and
downs this season, with
Northwestern being a
definite ���up.��� He made
two threes and three
free throws after getting
fouled on another and
did some productive things off the dribble and on the boards. But it was his five
assists that might have mattered most.
Purdue moved the ball really well against
the ���Cats and Byrd was central in it.
Rapheal Davis 35
G/F ��� 6-5 ��� Fr.
Davis played just 19 minutes against Northwestern
due to foul trouble, but
made the most of it,
finishing with 10 points,
seven rebounds, three
assists and two steals.
Davis��� effort and commitment have never
been questioned through the course of
this season. He finds ways to produce but
still must pick his spots better in transition.
He remains a charge waiting to happen
when he picks up a head of steam in the
open floor.
The
Reserves
Donnie Hale 15
F ��� 6-8 ��� R-Fr.
Northwestern played small,
making it a matchup that
didn���t lend itself to Hale
seeing significant minutes.
A foul, a turnover and a
missed free throw were all
he had to show for his 10 minutes. For as
old as Hale is (21), he still has plenty of
upside to tap into before he can become
a player who can thrive against any sort of
matchup.
Anthony Johnson 1
G ��� 6-3 ��� So.
Again, Purdue���s ball movement against Northwestern
was outstanding, especially
by Boilermaker standards
this season. That���s a compliment to all its guards, the
sophomore being one of them. He had
five rebounds and three assists in just 19
minutes.
Travis Carroll 50
C ��� 6-9 ��� Jr.
Carroll is Purdue���s best
screener, an overlooked
deficiency in this team, but
still his potential to contribute against quality teams
remains limited. It would be
nice if he could get his jump shot going
again, because it���s his best chance to pose
a scoring threat.
Jacob Lawson 34
F ��� 6-8 ��� So.
After some effort issues
in practice during the
week, Lawson saw only
garbage-time minutes
against Northwestern, who
he might not have played
much against anyway, considering the
nature of their personnel and systems.
That said, the sophomore might be close
to getting buried on the bench.
Sandi Marcius 55
C ��� 6-9 ��� Jr.
Marcius has been playing
hard and was rewarded for
it with a start against Northwestern. He���s always been a
bit rough around the edges
on offense, but when he���s
in, Purdue goes to him the same way it
does with Hammons in the game. The
results have been mixed.
The
Deep
Bench
Jay Simpson 32
F ��� 6-8 ��� Fr.
Dru Anthrop 14
G ��� 6-0 ��� Sr.
Neal Beshears 30
F ��� 6-6 ��� So.
Stephen Toyra 11
G ��� 6-3 ��� Fr.
Simpson is sitting out the rest of the season while recovering from a foot problem
that plagued him through the first 10
games of the season. He���ll pursue a medical redshirt. Anthrop returned to action vs.
NU after missing time with a broken hand.
��� Brian Neubert
GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 23��� ������ 9
