Baby Boilers all Grown Up

First appeared on December 17th, 2008
in The Lebanon Reporter

There was a time when the Big Ten’s battle between the red sweater and the bad comb over meant everything. Alas the face of the Big Ten conference is changing. The days of the legendary Knight- Keady showdowns are gone and, now that the league has seen an influx of younger coaches and a mandate that all bench chairs be bolted to the floor, one coach has quietly worked his way to the top.
After an inaugural season that saw the Boilers go 9-19 under his leadership, Matt Painter has led a resurrection to the top of the Big Ten. But, just like Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, Painter isn’t fooling anybody. We know whose playbook he‘s stealing pages from. As a former player and assistant under long time Boilermaker front man Gene Keady, Painter has done well putting a 21st century spin on his mentor’s old school philosophy.
To put it plainly, Painter’s Boilers are hard nosed. And when we say hard we mean real hard; hard as in an Abe Lincoln’s nose on Mt. Rushmore kind of hard. This hard nosed “getter done” with defense approach is nothing new to fans of the Boilermakers. In fact, this year’s team exhibits every bit the same defensive vigor and purpose that Keady hammered into his players for 25 years. The biggest difference now is that Painter is preaching his mentor’s defensive philosophy of maximum effort to a group of blue chip recruits that were so few and far between under Keady.
Aside from a couple poor outings, including their first flirtation with the national stage against Duke and their overlooking a scrappy Indiana State team last weekend, Purdue has been rock solid this season. In fact they are rolling opponents by almost 20 a game (a number which is all the more impressive when it includes a 16 point loss to Duke).
To this point the Boilers have racked up 35 more steals than the opposition. They have 79 less turnovers and are smothering opponents into .34% shooting from the field. Throw in a margin of plus 66 in assists along with an average of 20 free throws per game and the Boilers have found a winning recipe for basketball.
JaJuan Johnson’s development as a force inside should help Purdue endure the rough and tumble Big Ten season. E’Twaun Moore is a guard with length who can score as well as defend and, if it isn’t already, Robbie Hummel’s picture should be found in the dictionary under “Basketball Player”. Along with defending Defensive Player of the Year Chris Kramer, the Boilers also have a nice combination of smaller guards who are excellent defenders in their own right.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where the inspiration for the mascots of both schools came from when one sees Purdue Pete’s square jaw and the hook nose and pointy ears of Duke’s Blue Devil. With this in mind, Painter is filling Keady’s shoes well so far. It isn’t always easy to follow an icon at a major university; Just ask Mike Davis and John Treloar…and then just Mike Davis…and then Kelvin Sampson…and of course then Dan Dakich for like half a game…and now Tom Crean.
But to call these Boilers the Baby Boilers now is like telling President Bush to duck. It’s too late; these guys aren’t babies anymore. In fact they have went from being the babies of the Big Ten to the bullies. Instead of just trying to win games, the Boilers are looking to steal your lunch money AND beat you up. It’s this bully-like mentality, and Painter’s style, that should carry the Boilers a long way this season.