Boilers to face Badgers
 By
Paul Trembacki
Sports Editor
After 37 1/2 years in the coaching profession,
Gene Keady can break things down nice and simple.
"Adam (Wetzel), Kevin (Garrity), Rodney (Smith)
and (Brett) Buscher have to step up or we are not going to win,'' Keady
said. "It's not very complicated."
That's how Keady summed up his team's predicament.
Tonight the Boilers (13-7, 5-4 Big Ten) visit No. 16 Wisconsin (14-5,
5-3). The game, which starts at 8 p.m. EST in Madison, Wisc., will be
Purdue's first this year without injured center John Allison.
On Monday, doctors discovered a stress fracture
in Allison's left foot. Although he hopes to play within the next two
weeks, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound junior has to wait a week just to be
re-evaluated.
"That's 30 minutes a game that we lost," freshman
forward Brett Buscher said. "The other big guys have to step up and
make bigger contributions now."
The player with the biggest opportunity to step
up is freshman Kevin Garrity, a 6-foot-11, 255-pound freshman who has
a total of 12 points in 17 games this season. Garrity will start in
place of Allison.
"This is an opportunity for me to show the coaches
what I can do," said Garrity, who averaged 15 points per game in his
senior year of high school.
Garrity's first game as a starter won't be easy.
He'll have to battle inside with Wisconsin seniors Mark Vershaw and
Andy Kowske.
"They're definitely bangers, but I think I'm a
little quicker than them," Garrity said.
Garrity said he hopes he can get the ball to Purdue's
perimeter players so they can win the game with outside shooting.
Senior point guard Carson Cunningham said he likes
the improvement he's seen from Garrity. But Cunningham admits that replacing
Allison will be hard.
In 20 contests this season, Allison averaged 10.9
points and team highs of 5.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.
"He does a lot more than what the stats tell you,"
Cunningham said. "He changes shots, he helps guys on defense and he
discourages shots. On offense he's great at setting picks and getting
position.
"We're going to have to make up in a lot areas
and it would be nice if guys like myself could hit a shot."
The Boilers don't want to attempt a lot of shots
though. In their 73-67 win over the Badgers Jan. 10 in Mackey Arena,
the Boilers slowed the game's pace and attempted only 48 shots —
10 less than they average.
"We've got to be more patient," Cunningham said.
"We've got to have good shot selection and then play a lot of good help-side
defense and try to sneak out of there with a 'W.'"
As has been the case all season with Purdue, a
quick start will be vital. Allison, who will accompany the team to Madison,
said his teammates need to come out with emotion and silence the Kohl
Center crowd.
"I hope everybody plays hard and realizes that
I'm not there and compensates for my absence," Allison said.
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