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| 08-27-2002 | Previous edition: 08-26-2002 |
        
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Printer-friendly version Freshman player reveres rival Hoosier
Assistant Sports Editor Some Purdue fans may wonder why freshman walk-on Chris Hartley looks up to Indiana guard Tom Coverdale. But when you think about it, maybe the Boilermakers need more of what Coverdale has. And maybe Hartley, a Noblesville, Ind., native, can channel some of his hometown hero's competitive spirit. "He's exactly what I model my game after," Hartley said Monday morning after a practice. "He's the toughest guy not just in the Big Ten but in the nation. In the tournament, he was playing on almost a broken ankle and he's leading the team to victory every day. He was the leader; he showed his team where to go and he communicated." Hartley played that role at Noblesville High School, starting varsity all four seasons. He averaged 19.8 points a game his senior year and was named Hamilton County Player of the Year and first team all-conference. He was also named the metro north player of the year by the Indianapolis Star, an impressive feat considering that perennial state championship contenders Pike and Indianapolis North Central are in the same conference. He said that early in life he was encouraged by his parents, James and Nancy, to play as many sports as he liked so he could pick which ones he liked the best. He played baseball, basketball, golf and ran track through middle school, but in seventh grade, he made the decision to stick with basketball. "Since then, I've just been in basketball and I haven't messed around with any other sports," Hartley said. "My parents never had a problem with it. They never said, 'Well, you have to play baseball or play golf,' or anything like that. They supported the decision, and they knew I had the talent to excel in it." His competitive spirit and his desire to excel extended through high school and continue as he starts his college career. When selecting a school, Hartley opted to walk on at Purdue over smaller schools because he wanted to compete in the Big Ten. "If I didn't think I could play here, I wouldn't have come here," he said. "I didn't really want to go to a smaller school because I thought I could play at this level." Hartley has reason to believe he can compete in the Big Ten; he guarded two Mr. Basketballs in his high school career and played in a conference that has produced the state champion four out of the last five years. His freshman year, he guarded current Arizona and former North Central star Jason Gardner while his sophomore and junior years, he matched up with current Notre Dame and former Pike standout Chris Thomas. "I really thought I held my own with them," Hartley said. "I dont think they gave me enough credit and I excelled because of that. That's kind of a stereotype but it holds true. You have nothing to lose when you're out there. The best things can happen if you go out and play your style of ball. You stick somebody defensively and then get into the flow of the game." His philosophy not only reflects the play of his idol, but the ideals of his new coach, Gene Keady. Likewise, Keady's attitude toward his players reflects Hartley's ideal of how a program should be run. "Coach Keady would do just about anything for his players, to get us through the program with a good education," he said. "It's hard to turn that down. Plus the way he treated my family was great. My grandpa came with me when I talked to the coaches. My grandpa's lived in Kansas his whole life and Coach Keady grew up in Kansas, so they were just talking for 45 minutes about life in Kansas." Hartley's new teammates have already won him over, which also makes the adjustment easier. "On the first day, I already felt like I was part of the team for two years, honestly," he said. "Hanging out together, everybody supports each other, we care about each other; you know, if you have a problem, you can talk to anyone about it. It's just outstanding." Besides his new friends on the team, he credits his friends from home many of whom are at Purdue now with keeping him on the road to success. "I have a lot of good friends around Purdue. Three of my best friends came to Purdue and they've just stuck by me through everything. Back in Noblesville, the whole community is behind me. I've got a great family behind me and they all care about me." On the floor, he wants to win games and he's willing to scrap like his hero in Cream and Crimson to do it. "I'm going out every day; I want to be the person diving on loose balls, getting rebounds, going after any ball that's anywhere, pushing a man out of the way to go get it," he said. He also spoke for the rest of the incoming freshman class Melvin Buckley, Matt Kiefer and David Teague when he spoke of returning Purdue to a place his man Coverdale took the Hoosiers last season. "The freshman class is looking for big things to happen. We want to help bring the Big Ten Championship back to Purdue and get to the Final Four." Printer-friendly version |
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