Boilermakers hope healthy year looms

By Doug Healey
Assistant Sports Editor

Purdue men's basketball coach Gene Keady knows how injuries can affect a team's season.

That's why he's hesitant to talk about his expectations for this year's team.

"I think it's gonna be a fun year, barring injuries," he said.

Keady was referring to the impact that Rodney Smith and John Allison's foot injuries had on the team last year.

Allison, who was leading the team in rebounding, suffered a stress fracture in his right foot against Michigan State. Several days later, Smith, the team's leading scorer at the time, broke his right foot in a loss to Wisconsin.

The injuries were part of the reason the Boilermakers lost seven of eight games in February and barely qualified for the NIT.

But Keady said those injuries are a distant memory.

"The stress fractures from John Allison and Rodney seem like they're completely (healed)," he said. "We don’t even talk about those anymore. … They've healed those very well."

Although it was tough for him to sit out last season, Allison said he and Smith are even more eager to start this season.

"It was frustrating for both of us to watch the games and kind of have to sit back and see everything unfold the way it did, the way the team struggled through some games last year," said Allison.

Smith, who played in 26 of Purdue's 32 games last season and averaged 13.9 points and 4.8 rebounds, said that when he first came back from surgery he couldn’t even watch basketball on TV because of the fact that he couldn't play hurt him too badly. That's why this year is more special for him.

"There’s no pressure on me," Smith said. "It’s my last year, and hopefully I’ll get to finish the season."

But Allison, who played in 25 games and averaged 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds, said the injury has made him more aware of how quickly the game can be taken away from him.

"The way it happened, in the middle of the season, gave me a sense of urgency and made me realize that something like this can happen, and the way that it set me back just totally threw me off kilter," he said. "I realized that in order to get better I'd have to take care of myself more."

Now that Smith and Allison are healthy, a few of their teammates aren't.

Maynard Lewis, also a senior, said he slightly sprained his ankle during Sunday's practice.

"I'm just rehabbing now," he said. "I will probably go through a light practice (today). But it's not that bad. Now it's just a matter of strengthening it, getting my confidence back and getting back out there and practicing."

Junior guard Willie Deane rolled his ankle on the second or third day of practice, but Keady said it doesn’t look like the injury will bother Deane, which should enable him to be back to 100 percent soon.

Kenneth Lowe, who had surgery on his right shoulder in August, has also been progressing, Keady said.

"Kenny's shoulder is coming along great," said Keady. "He's doing a great job of rehabilitating it. But I don’t know whether he's gonna play or not."

Keady said if the team doesn't have injuries and does well, Lowe will more than likely be given a medical redshirt.

"We wish we had him, but we don’t," said Keady. "So we're not going to dwell on it."

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Boilermakers hope healthy year looms

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Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki

Assistant sports editor:
Doug Healey

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