Well, it's Sunday morning and I'm having my morning coffee, and I can't wait for Tuesday night! Purdue and IU are going to battle for the top spot in the Big 10 at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. This is going to be a great game.
There are about 8 different storylines going on.
First, the whole Kelvin Sampson saga is unfolding. This has the possibility of being his last game at IU. After watching IU and MSU battle it out last night, and hearing Moron Vitale tell me about 5 times that Kelvin is a really good guy and he really likes him. But on the flip side, Dickie claims that not only should Sampson be fired, but the AD, who hired Samson, should also be fired. I just don't understand this. I don't think hiring a known cheat was the best idea for IU, but Sampson apparently, "...gave his word..." when he was hired to coach the Hoosiers that none of the problems from OU would ever happen again at IU. Sampson had some success at OU, took the Sooners to a final four, and made a few mistakes. Call me crazy, but I think people do learn from their mistakes and generally, become a better person from the lesson learned. If I was the AD, giving Sampson another chance, to coach at a place like IU, I think you have to believe him. But, obviously Sampson didn't learn from anything in his past and pretty much just gave the NCAA a big, fat, middle finger. Sampson should be let go, immediately if not sooner. He obviously didn't learn from anything he did at OU, and he deserves to be punished. And I can't think of any other way than to take his livelyhood, college basketball, away from him. Maybe now he'll learn something???
Next, IU played their hearts out for that scumbag last night. I was surprised, DJ White gets hurt and they really responded. MSU may not be as good as we thought at the beginning of the week, but IU really played well after the slow start.
DJ White got hurt Saturday night. Tweaked his knee. He's second in the league in scoring and leading in rebounds. If he doesn't play, or isn't 100%, this is a huge break for the Boilers. Purdue really doesn't have anybody skilled or stong enough to guard the 6'11" center. JuJuan is going to need to play a solid game.
This is the only meeting between the 2 rivals this year. I really don't understand this?? Why, why, why do they only play once, and why do they play at IU?? This is like Michigan and OSU taking a couple of years off so they can get Iowa and Minnesota on their schedules.
The rise of Purdue's freshman. Never in my wildest dreams did I think these guys could be this
successful this soon. They've got a team of guys that doesn't care who the high scorer is. One night it's Moore, the next it's Hummel, the next it's Keaton.... This is also the first team that's been able to consistently hit a 3 since Jaraan Cornell.
Matt Painter. 3 years ago, the Boilers won 9 games. I sent an email out to some guys wondering if we could get Painter removed. Don't think I could have been more wrong. What a job he's doing getting these guys to play like a team. There's excitement again in Mackey Arena. Students are camping out before the games to get their spot in the Paint Crew. It was painful the last couple of years to see as many open seats as there were in Mackey. The 5 years I spent at Purdue, I don't think I saw 1 open seat. Good to see things are back to the way they should be.
There are about 8 different storylines going on.
First, the whole Kelvin Sampson saga is unfolding. This has the possibility of being his last game at IU. After watching IU and MSU battle it out last night, and hearing Moron Vitale tell me about 5 times that Kelvin is a really good guy and he really likes him. But on the flip side, Dickie claims that not only should Sampson be fired, but the AD, who hired Samson, should also be fired. I just don't understand this. I don't think hiring a known cheat was the best idea for IU, but Sampson apparently, "...gave his word..." when he was hired to coach the Hoosiers that none of the problems from OU would ever happen again at IU. Sampson had some success at OU, took the Sooners to a final four, and made a few mistakes. Call me crazy, but I think people do learn from their mistakes and generally, become a better person from the lesson learned. If I was the AD, giving Sampson another chance, to coach at a place like IU, I think you have to believe him. But, obviously Sampson didn't learn from anything in his past and pretty much just gave the NCAA a big, fat, middle finger. Sampson should be let go, immediately if not sooner. He obviously didn't learn from anything he did at OU, and he deserves to be punished. And I can't think of any other way than to take his livelyhood, college basketball, away from him. Maybe now he'll learn something???Next, IU played their hearts out for that scumbag last night. I was surprised, DJ White gets hurt and they really responded. MSU may not be as good as we thought at the beginning of the week, but IU really played well after the slow start.
DJ White got hurt Saturday night. Tweaked his knee. He's second in the league in scoring and leading in rebounds. If he doesn't play, or isn't 100%, this is a huge break for the Boilers. Purdue really doesn't have anybody skilled or stong enough to guard the 6'11" center. JuJuan is going to need to play a solid game.
This is the only meeting between the 2 rivals this year. I really don't understand this?? Why, why, why do they only play once, and why do they play at IU?? This is like Michigan and OSU taking a couple of years off so they can get Iowa and Minnesota on their schedules.
The rise of Purdue's freshman. Never in my wildest dreams did I think these guys could be this
successful this soon. They've got a team of guys that doesn't care who the high scorer is. One night it's Moore, the next it's Hummel, the next it's Keaton.... This is also the first team that's been able to consistently hit a 3 since Jaraan Cornell.Matt Painter. 3 years ago, the Boilers won 9 games. I sent an email out to some guys wondering if we could get Painter removed. Don't think I could have been more wrong. What a job he's doing getting these guys to play like a team. There's excitement again in Mackey Arena. Students are camping out before the games to get their spot in the Paint Crew. It was painful the last couple of years to see as many open seats as there were in Mackey. The 5 years I spent at Purdue, I don't think I saw 1 open seat. Good to see things are back to the way they should be.
The last time that E'Tuan and Eric Gordon met? Last years' Indiana State Championship game. E'Tuan got the best of Gordon to take East Chicago Central to the title over Gordon's Lawrence North team. Revenge for Gordon?? Confidence for E'Tuan??? E'Tuan is playing some great basketball right now if you haven't noticed.
And the biggest of them all. The Purdue-IU rivalry is a big game again. This is the first time when IU and Purdue have been 1 and 2 in the league going into battle since I can remember. I could probalby look it up on the internet, but I'm lazy, and it's just not going to happen this morning. So let's just assume it's been a long time. Exciting!! Promises to be a great game.
And by the way, the Boilers smoked Northwestern. Another theme of this season has been the runs this team goes on. Purdue was down 48-50 and decided to go on a 27-5 run to close out the game. It was good to see Scott Martin back out on the floor also. He did look a little rusty, but I'm sure he'll be fine by Tuesday. E'Tuan put up a career high 28. Shot the lights out!
One last thing, remember when Chad Austin hit that jumper from the corner in Assembly Hall for the win?? That was cool!
And the biggest of them all. The Purdue-IU rivalry is a big game again. This is the first time when IU and Purdue have been 1 and 2 in the league going into battle since I can remember. I could probalby look it up on the internet, but I'm lazy, and it's just not going to happen this morning. So let's just assume it's been a long time. Exciting!! Promises to be a great game.
And by the way, the Boilers smoked Northwestern. Another theme of this season has been the runs this team goes on. Purdue was down 48-50 and decided to go on a 27-5 run to close out the game. It was good to see Scott Martin back out on the floor also. He did look a little rusty, but I'm sure he'll be fine by Tuesday. E'Tuan put up a career high 28. Shot the lights out!
One last thing, remember when Chad Austin hit that jumper from the corner in Assembly Hall for the win?? That was cool!
