Contest entertains at preseason event

By Paul Trembacki
And Doug Healey

Wednesday night's "Boilermaker Hoops Sneak Preview" was supposed to give fans a look at the Purdue men's and women's basketball teams, but the event ended up being the Darmetreis Kilgore show.

Kilgore, a 6-foot-5 transfer from Tyler (Texas) Junior College, wowed fans with his dunking skills and then showed his perimeter shooting ability in the team's 10-minute scrimmage.

After the introduction of the coaches, a question-and-answer session with the coaches, a few promotions and a 3-point shootout that was won by Purdue's Shereka Wright and her student partner, the main event, the dunk contest, began.

Seven Boilermakers took the floor, with avid dunkers Willie Deane and Rodney Smith choosing not to participate, and tried different dunks.

In the first round, Kilgore bounced the ball high in the air and, catching it on the way down, slammed it. But Kilgore got upstaged by senior Joe Marshall's two-handed windmill jam.

In the second round, after Marshall went with a simple reverse dunk, Kilgore got creative.

He brought out women's basketball player Erika Valek and had the 5-6 sophomore crouch in the lane so he could jump over her.

Valek, who blew out her right knee against Texas Tech in the Sweet 16 of last season's NCAA tournament, was nervous.

"I thought, 'You know, I'm enjoying every minute of this,'" Valek said. "It's been about — what? — six months since I've been in an atmosphere like this. I said, 'Oh my gosh, this is a little risky. I want to make sure I can play next week.'"

Valek knew Kilgore had "awesome hops" and she knew he'd make the dunk easily. And he did, slamming the ball left-handed.

When Kilgore made it to the final round, where he faced Marshall, he got even more innovative. He had Valek and Mandy Davis, also a junior college transfer from Texas, stand side-by-side approximately seven feet away from beneath the basket.

Valek didn't dare look at coach Kristy Curry because she knew Curry would tell her to get off the court.

But Kilgore made the dunk. He won the contest unanimously because Marshall missed both of his attempts at a 360-degree dunk.

Marshall said the team didn't get enough warm-up time. Otherwise, he might have done a tricky dunk, such as a windmill slam over the ball rack.

"But my hat's off to Darmetreis," Marshall said. "I love what he did. Hey, I liked sitting back and watching him too."

Kilgore, who'll wear No. 33 for the Boilers, hopes the fans liked their first glimpse of him.

"I just wanted to impress the fans and let them know we have something to show them this season," he said. "I hope they continue to come out."

The crowd didn’t come out in large numbers Wednesday night; it was estimated at between 2,500 and 3,000 people. In the past, when Purdue held "Midnight Madness" on the eve of the first night of practice, fans filled 14,123-seat Mackey Arena to the rafters.

"I wish there were more people here, but, hey, we had a 17-15 record last year," Marshall said. "We want more people here but you've got to win respect. If we win enough and show them, hey, we're not a joke this year, I'm sure the crowd will be here."

Both teams gave the crowd a quality 10-minute scrimmage game.

In the women's game, the Gold Team, led by Wright and senior Laura Meadows, who had seven points each, beat the Black Team 25-20.

"I think we looked good," said Valek, who had two points and several assists for the Gold Team. "I think everybody showed what they had."

In the men's scrimmage, which lacked defense, Kilgore had 15 points for the Gold Team in its 37-32 win. Marshall had 15, including a 3-pointer that tied the score at 28, for the Black Team.

"I want everybody to come out, watch and really be excited about us because we really put in a lot of hard work this summer and finally it's paying off for us," Kilgore said.

Contest entertains at preseason event

Purdue offensive line utilizes bye week to recover

SPORTS DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111 ext. 251

Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki

Assistant sports editor:
Doug Healey

To send a letter to the editor, please email sports@purdueexponent.org