New faces make up Boiler roster
By Brian Peloza
Staff
Writer
Brian Cardinal, Greg McQuay,
Jaraan Cornell, Mike Robinson and Chad Kerkhof have all departed the
Purdue basketball team, which will leave many new faces on the court
this year.
Despite the lack of big men,
assistant coach Jay Price expects the Boilers to play the same game
they have been known for when the regular season begins Nov. 21.
"I think we’re
going to run our regular offense like we always have," said Price,
who added that the Boilers will be concentrating on the defensive end
of the court.
The Boilers concentrated
on conditioning and teamwork this summer, getting up for 6 a.m. workouts
and playing in the gym. The afternoon and evening pickup games often
included former Boilers such as professionals Glenn Robinson and Brad
Miller.
Despite the Boilers' hard
work, most preseason publications are picking Purdue to finish low in
the Big Ten standings. Senior co-captain Carson Cunningham is ready
to prove the pundits wrong.
"Hopefully by the end
of the year we can say ‘Yet again you have underrated Purdue and
when are you going to learn?'" said Cunningham.
Following is a look at the
roster that the Boilers will bring to the court to try to teach the
predictors a lesson.
Center
Junior John Allison will
be looked upon to contribute major minutes and rebounds to the team
this year. Allison, who stands 6-foot-10, said he hopes to help on the
defensive end also.
"Just being a defensive
presence inside, deterring shots from happening inside, deterring people
from getting easy buckets and layups and mainly a defensive presence
inside," said Allison, who has blocked 38 shots in his first two
seasons at Purdue.
Allison, who averaged 2.6
points while playing 8.1 minutes a game last year, said he spent the
summer working towards improving those statistics.
"I worked a lot on my
offensive moves; I worked a lot on post moves," said Allison.
Allison's game against Athletes
in Action Nov. 2 was an illustration that the hard work will produce
results. The New Palestine, Ind., native scored 18 points on 7-of-8
shooting from the field.
With Adam Wetzel ineligible
to play until at least next semester, freshman Kevin Garrity might play
some valuable minutes as a backup to Allison. Garrity, a 6-foot-11 New
Jersey native, averaged 15 points a game as a senior at The Hun School
in Princeton, N.J.
Forward
Junior Rodney Smith will
lead the Boilers at the power forward position. Being a co-captain,
Smith will have added duties aside from those on the court.
"Just make sure none
of these guys are getting in trouble and they are doing the right things
and going to class every day and being on time," said Smith.
Along with his positive attitude,
it was his solid play last year as a sophomore that helped Smith become
a co-captain this year.
The Indianapolis native started
13 games last year en route to averaging 5.1 points and 3.2 rebounds
a game. The Boilers were 10-3 with Smith in the starting lineup. The
Pike high school alumnus said he is going to be a vocal leader as well
as a leader on the boards for the Boilers, hopefully achieving success
once again.
The only other true forward
on the Boiler roster is freshman and 2000 Indiana All-Star Brett Buscher.
During his senior year at Chesterton High School in Chesterton, Ind.,
Buscher averaged 21 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists a game.
Guard
Cunningham will lead a large,
but young group of guards.
Because of an off-season
knee surgery, Cunningham says he will not be 100 percent mobile until
the Big Ten season starts in January. The senior said he is about 75-80
percent right now and is working on building stamina.
Maynard Lewis will be attempting
to keep building on the success he achieved as a sophomore, when he
averaged six points a game while getting the start twice.
Another junior, Joe Marshall,
will be eligible to play this year, having sat out last year after transferring
from Mississippi State. Marshall, who started the Boilers' first game
against Athletes in Action, averaged 3.1 points a game during his freshman
year at Mississippi State.
The transfer that made the
biggest impact in the Boilers' first exhibition victory was Willie Deane.
The Boston College transfer scored 19 points in the Boilers' victory
against Athletes in Action. Deane, a 6-foot-1 guard, averaged 5.3 points
a game and scored a season high 17 points against Pittsburgh on Jan.
10, 1999.
A couple of freshmen round
off the Boilermaker roster — Andrew Ford and Austin Parkinson.
Parkinson teamed with Buscher
as a 2000 Indiana All-Star this summer and holds the school scoring
record for Kokomo High School with 1,667 points.
Ford, a West Lafayette native
will be red shirted this year.
The Boilers will be hoping
for some long-range shooting out of the third transfer, Travis Best.
As a senior in high school, Best averaged 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds
a game. Best, a Frankfort, Ind., native, is a transfer from Louisville.
Sophomore Kenny Lowe will
be looked upon to provide defensive intensity off the bench. The Gary,
Ind., native scored a career-high eight points Feb. 5 at Iowa.
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