Carrying on About Purdue Basketball (Nov. 14): Where Do We Start?

WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING

- As mentioned above, Purdue went to Australia this summer for an exhibition tour and finished 2-3 against Aussie professional squads.  The Boilers were without all of their incoming freshmen, as well as team MVP Keaton Grant (recovering from surgery).

- Coach Painter decided to redshirt freshman John Hart.  With the backcourt depth that Purdue enjoys, Painter had expected to let either Hart or Smith wait a year to see action.  Turns out that the Boilermakers can't imagine life without Ryne Smith's beautiful three-point jumpers, so Hart is the odd man out in 2008-09.

- Purdue announced that they will have tri-captains this season: junior Chris Kramer, junior Keaton Grant, and sophomore Robbie Hummel.

- The Boilermakers went 2-0 in November exhibitions against NCAA D-II powers Florida Southern and Northern State.  In the first game, a 94-62 win, Purdue boasted balanced scoring, with five players finishing between 12-14 points.  In the 82-62 victory against NSU, JaJuan Johnson had a monster game with 22 points and 14 boards.

WHAT'S ON TAP

Before next week's edition is published, Purdue will do battle with Detroit Mercy (tonight) and open the NIT Season Tip-Off with a pair of games (against Eastern Michigan and then either Georgia or Loyola-Chicago).  All three games will be played in the friendly environment of 14,123-seat Mackey Arena, where Purdue is 32-2 the past two years.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Accept my apologies for lots of names and numbers in today's preview edition.  When I offered the dare to Bleacher Report, I promised to find storylines and anecdotes that will interest all college hoops fans and sports fans in general.  The problem is, we haven't exactly had a game yet. 

Don't worry though, the action is coming!  Hopefully now you know who everybody is...what to expect...and you can look for the next edition of COAPB on Nov. 21 to find out if the Boilermakers live up to their top 10 ranking in the season's first week.

See you at 3-0?

Carrying On About Purdue Basketball is a weekly column for all sports fans...not necessarily limited to college hoops junkies or the Boilermaker faithful.  The goal is to write an in-depth story about the 2008-09 Purdue season, with a new chapter coming each week. COAPB will usually be published each Friday on BleacherReport.com.  Contact the writer, Tim Cary, at carryingonabout@yahoo.com.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?