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basketball: news and notes vertime Finally: Moore Returns To Mackey BY STACY CLARDIE SClardie@GoldandBlack.com E 'Twaun Moore has had his jersey number hanging from Mackey Arena's rafters for two years. Only Wednesday was he able to get back to be honored for the accomplishment. "Finally. It's been awhile," said Moore, smiling, before Purdue played Boston College. "I guess that's a good sign. It means I've been busy. I've been working. As long as I keep a job, it's good." Moore's banner was hung after he was named a two-time All-American and finished his Purdue career with 2,136 career points. He's the only player in school history with at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 150 steals. He also won 107 games as a Boilermaker. That kind of career left him with many fond memories of his time in West Lafayette, though he joked some of his most prominent memories of playing in Mackey were the sweltering summer nights in the non-air conditioned facility when he came in to work on his game. It's that tireless work ethic that helped Moore have so much success for the Boilermakers and Coach Matt Painter, who didn't stay on the court for Moore's halftime ceremony but got to chat with his former player before and after the game. "He's a class guy, and he worked very hard while he was at Purdue in school and obviously on the basketball floor," Painter said. "So any honor he's received, he's worked for. He'll spoil you. You get guys like him, Rob Hummel, JaJuan Johnson, Chris Kramer, they spoil you because they literally are no trouble for four years. I didn't have one issue with E'Twaun Moore off the court. He came early. He stayed late. At times, he shot too much, but he learned if he was going to make it as a professional, he was going to have to be a professional. He understands the definition of that. He gets it, and you can't have enough of that." Moore spent much of the first half of Wednesday's game in the stands with his family. After giving a halftime speech that thanked the "best fans in college basketball" and his family, Moore headed back to the seats for the second half. But that time wasn't all in a bleacher section with his parents and siblings, who all made the trip for the ceremony. The latter part of the half was spent in the student section with Moore even briefly wearing a hard hat and joining in on The Paint Crew's cheers. "It's cool. I'm coming in as a fan, so it feels good to come back as a fan and try to enjoy the game and enjoy the atmosphere," Moore said before the game. "When you're playing, you're focused and sometimes you don't see everything that's Tom Campbell E'Twaun Moore was honored at halftime, being presented a game ball from athletic director Morgan Burke and seeing his jersey number hanging from the rafters in Mackey Arena. going on in the crowd. So now I over Boston College. One of those get to watch and just have fun." losses was No. 1 Michigan State being upset by North Carolina. No bragging rights And the Big Ten had to settle The Big Ten had a solid finish for a tie in the series, 6-6. on the second night of the ACC/ By virtue of the tie, the Big Ten Big Ten Challenge, going 4-2, in- retains the Commissioner's Cup cluding Purdue's 88-67 victory and is 3-10-2 in the 15 Challenges. GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 13 • 10