Junior-college transfer adjusts to Purdue

Tim Orendorff/Senior Photographer EXPLOSIVE: Junior guard Darmetreis Kilgore drives around the Illini's Brian Cook Feb. 9. Kilgore has worked hard to adjust to Purdue's basketball program.

By Doug Healey
Senior Writer

As a ninth-grader at South Bend Washington High School, Darmetreis Kilgore and some teammates were shooting around in the gym before one of their classes.

One of the rims was bent downward and Kilgore, standing 6-foot-1 at that time, simply playing around, jumped up and dunked with one hand.

One of the older guys saw him and said, "hey, get over here and see if you can do it on this one," referring to a rim that wasn’t bent.

So he jumped up and threw down a one-hander, followed by a two-hander shortly after.

Since then, Kilgore has built his reputation as an electrifying dunker.

"That’s what makes the game fun — hearing the 'oohs' and 'ahhs' of the crowd," said Kilgore, a 6-foot-5 junior guard who has a 38-inch vertical leap and can touch the top of the square on the backboard.

But as his dunking ability increased while he was in high school, his academic performance declined.

About halfway through his senior season, Kilgore realized he didn’t have the grades or SAT scores to meet Division-1 academic standards.

"A lot of my peers were going to big-name schools, and I wanted to be like them," said Kilgore, who was a first team all-state selection in his junior and senior seasons.

"I didn’t apply myself. I took things for granted and was concentrating more on basketball. I didn’t have anyone in my ear telling me what I should have been doing."

After high school graduation, Kilgore attended Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. He said his relationship with his coach, Chris Curcthfield, who’s now the coach at New Mexico State, is what made a big difference in not only his game on the court, but also on his academics away from it.

"(Curcthfield) made expectations clear and gave me confidence to perform," said Kilgore, who averaged 19.5 points per game in his first year at Tyler and 23 points in his second year, en route to being named a junior college All-American. "He let me go out and be free. He knew I was gonna take two or three bad shots a game, but he also knew I’d get hot and hit four in a row."

Kilgore still keeps in touch with Curcthfield, whom Kilgore called a "father figure" that he didn’t really have in his life at that time.

His mother, Leona McCoy, sometimes had to work two jobs to pay the bills as Kilgore grew up, so he’d only see her at night and briefly in the morning before school.

That’s when his relationship with his grandparents, John and Ida McCoy, became a focal point of his life. Ida passed away in 1996 due to cancer, but Kilgore said he’ll never forget the impression she left on his life.

"(Ida) was the first person I put a lot of trust into and loved," said Kilgore, who added he was a ‘knucklehead’ before this point in his life. "She introduced Jesus into my life."

After his second year of junior college, Kilgore thought about entering the NBA Draft.

"I felt I had conquered the junior college level," he said. "I felt that I was ready."

But he had already committed to Purdue and coach Gene Keady, and he didn’t want to let him down because he felt like he had established a good relationship with the Purdue coaching staff.

Also, he said, Purdue is close to South Bend, Ind., so his mom, older brother and younger sister could come and watch him play.

"The NBA’s not going anywhere," he said.

Last summer, Kilgore stayed on campus to work out with his teammates. He said everyone woke up at 6 a.m. to do conditioning and then came back at night to play pickup games.

Kilgore said doing that helped him to adjust to campus life and to get used to playing with his new teammates and get a feel for one another.

Kilgore, who was also recruited by Illinois, was one of the most highly touted recruits in recent history of the Purdue basketball program.

"A lot of people thought he'd come here and be the leading scorer and be a miniature Glenn Robinson," said senior forward Rodney Smith. "You have coach (Keady's) system you have to abide by, and it's tough learning it. Everybody goes through it."

But, Kilgore said, he knows he’ll live up to those expectations.

"Coach (Keady) isn’t gonna let me be as free as if we were winning," he said. "And it’s showed. Coach just tried to find ways for us to win, to find a good group to put out there."

Kilgore’s playing time has reflected that. He started the team's first nine games, including three games in which he played 30 minutes. But he's started just 4 of 16 Big Ten games and has averaged 20.8 minutes in the Big Ten season.

"I’m not getting frustrated because I know what I can do," Kilgore said. "I know I can still dominate a game. I think (Keady’s) getting that trust. I’m just waiting on it.

"It’s because we’re losing. (Keady) has to make some sacrifices. Unfortunately, I had to be one of those. But he’s the coach, it’s his team and I have to deal with it. It did frustrate me, but I figured out it’s gonna make me a better player."

The upside, he said, has been his ability to play less minutes but still come in and contribute with 3-point shooting, rebounding and getting his average.

He's second on the team behind junior guard Willie Deane, the Big Ten's leading scorer, with an average of 10.2 points per game. He's also shot 38.2 percent from beyond the 3-point line this season.

Although Kilgore has played well offensively, Keady has criticized Kilgore’s defensive skills at times throughout the season, which is one of the reasons why he went through the stretch where he didn’t play much.

In Purdue's 73-68 victory over Iowa Jan. 26, Kilgore played a season-low nine minutes, attempting just one shot and not scoring.

"I thought I would be here one year and then go to the NBA," said Kilgore. "But it just didn’t work out that way. I put in the work. It’s just the season. If we didn’t have such a bad season, it probably wouldn’t be up in the air."

Assistant coach Jay Price said Kilgore has done a good job of trying to improve his defense.

"(Kilgore) comes in, he watches film, he tries and he's doing his best to improve defensively, and that's all you can ask for," said Price. "He's been a real good student of the game this year, and I think that's really important."

Kilgore said he had focused a lot more on scoring prior to this season.

"I have a scorer’s mentality," said Kilgore, who added that his strengths are 3-point shooting and the ability to create his shot and score every which way possible. "My killer instinct will never get taken away from me. I’m offensive minded, but I’m trying to become a complete player."

He said he became comfortable after the Xavier game, when he scored 11 points in 30 minutes of action and led the team with seven rebounds. That’s when Keady told Kilgore what he needed from him.

Kilgore contends that his inconsistent play has been a result of a lack of consistent playing time — not because of a big adjustment from junior college to Big Ten basketball.

"The Big Ten is no different than the league I played in at Tyler," said Kilgore. "There’s bigger big men in the Big Ten, but the competition is no different, not at all."

Although there's a lot of competition on the court, Kilgore said the best part about basketball is the reward of it — not just the financial possibility — but being accepted in the eye of the people.

"I love kids and I love being a role model for them because that was me," he said. "I’ll always take time out to talk to kids."

He remembers when he was in junior high and he went to a Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers game in Indianapolis at Market Square Arena. He said Jason Kidd spoke to him, but Jimmy Jackson acted like he didn’t hear Kilgore, which he didn’t appreciate.

"I will never be like that," he said.

He’ll speak to any child and he loves interacting with people, but he said he’s quiet if he doesn’t know you on a personal level.

"Once I get to know you, then I’ll open up," said Kilgore.

When he has time, Kilgore said he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, and, especially in the summer, having a little alone time.

But while some Big Ten athletes don’t like to watch the sport they play, Kilgore said he watches as much basketball as he can. He also attended Purdue’s football game against Notre Dame, which was the first college football game he ever attended.

Overall, he said assistant coach Cuonzo Martin has had a big influence on his improvement throughout this season.

"(Martin's) been great, keeping me focused and keeping my head up," said Kilgore.

The Boilers have to win the Big Ten tournament to gain a postseason berth, but that adds to Kilgore's motivation for the off-season.

"I’m gonna use the summer to work that much harder," he said. "I’ll get my shot, but I’m more concerned about winning."

He said he's motivated when he sees people doubting him, but he won't let the critics get to him.

"I was frustrated but I took it upon myself and said I have to fall before I rise," he said.

But one thing’s for certain. He can definitely rise above the rim.

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