Backup point guard finds
openings in second half
By Seth Schwartz
Senior
Writer
It came out of nowhere.
Northwestern had pulled to within three points
with 14:08 remaining after Purdue had led by 15 in the first half.
Willie Deane got a steal and Rodney Smith hit a
3-pointer. Deane then got the ball to Maynard Lewis and he hit a three.
Next was Austin Parkinson.
Parkinson's 3-pointer seemed to fire him up a little
and give the backup point guard a little confidence.
On Purdue's next offensive possession, the Boilers’
backup point guard would find Brett Buscher for a field goal, the first
of his six second-half assists.
After that, Parkinson seemed to be able to deliver
the ball to the right people at the right times in the second half of
Saturday night's 78-59 win over Northwestern. To go along with his seven
assists for the game, Parkinson scored five points, connecting on his
only field goal, the 3-pointer, and making both of his free throws.
Purdue coach Gene Keady said, "In the second half,
we came out and got a couple of buckets to go, a couple of steals and
made something happen. Most of it was due to Austin."
Parkinson said that due to his extended minutes,
he was able to get a rhythm going.
"The guys were cutting," said Parkinson. "All
week in practice we worked on cutting a little more. Guys just seemed
to find the seams and I just gave them the ball when they were open."
Parkinson's teammates praised him, John Allison
calling him an "outstanding true point guard."
Keady said Parkinson understands the game as well
as any freshman player he has ever had.
"He knows what to do, when to trap, when to turn
the guy in, where to get the ball to and so on," he said. "It's been
fun to watch him."
According to Allison, Smith and Parkinson rarely
get to play together in practice, but he likes when they do.
"It's been a while since we've played in practice
with Rodney and Austin together, but when you see the effect on the
court, its great," he said.
Smith said that when he started to use some backdoor
cuts, all he needed to do was make eye contact with Parkinson.
"I love playing with Austin. Eye contact is all
you need and its up in the air."
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