Bleacher Report - Purdue Basketball

Stadium Journey: Purdue Basketball's Mackey Arena

Paul Swaney — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:09:57 -0500

This review originally posted on www.stadiumjourney.com

FANFARE Score: 22 (out of 35)

Food and Beverage: 2

Not much here, and certainly not anything to write home about. Hot dogs, etc., can be found, and Coca-Cola products are offered. I did appreciate that they had souvenir cups available— always an easy way to take home a keepsake.

Atmosphere: 3

This is Indiana, and although Mackey lacks the charm of Hinkle Fieldhouse and the history of Assembly Hall in Bloomington, it still has that Indiana basketball feel. It’s a single bowl design with a raised floor, so sightlines are good no matter where you sit. I wish the students were a little closer to the action, as they feel somewhat removed.

The Purdue Pep Band

The band rates as average by Big Ten standards.

Neighborhood: 3

The one can’t-miss attraction has got to be Harry’s Chocolate Shop. When I arrived it was 10:45 a.m.— time for a drink. Our choice was a Boilermaker. Neither I nor my friend knew exactly what that was, but we figured this was the place to try one (it’s a shot of whiskey inside a beer, by the way). We had another beer and an order of homemade potato chips covered with Gorgonzola cheese.

Next, we decided to see a different venue in the city. Unfortunately, the other bars in the area were either closed or lacked any personality. So we found our way back to Harry’s for a sandwich and another beer. I would like to highly recommend Harry’s as a great place to come for a beer and some food when in West Lafayette. The downstairs section just oozes character, and I especially appreciated the "Ass Hole of the Week" picture, displayed in a toilet seat above the bar.

Fans: 4

I was lucky to see the fans with plenty of opportunities to be raucous. Coach Matt Painter received a technical foul to the end the half, which threw the crowd into a frenzy, and in the second half Michigan’s Manny Harris connected with an elbow to Chris Kramer’s nose, leaving behind a pool of blood— and some ramped-up Boiler fans.

It is clear that these fans love basketball and love their team.

Access: 4

I was able to find free parking about a half mile from the arena, and it was a breeze to get in and out of the arena and back on the road.

Return on Investment: 4

With great sightlines throughout, and reasonable prices, a trip to Mackey is well worth the investment. Parking is free and prices at neighborhood restaurants and bars are a good value. They team has been in or near the top 10 in the country for the past few years— all the more reason to go to a game now.

Etc.: 2

One point for the historically significant honoring of players who were consensus All-Americans with their numbers hung in the rafters, including legends such as Glenn Robinson, Joe Barry Carroll, Rick Mount, and John Wooden.

Another point for the raised floor, something I just love.

Paul Swaney is the Co-Founder of Stadium Journey.

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Crystal Ballin': Purdue, Tennessee Headline Paradise Jam

Scott Henry — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:18:37 -0500

This Friday, eight solid college basketball programs send their teams to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the 10th annual Paradise Jam tournament. As the Purdue Boilermakers are part of this year's event, it's only fitting that a Boilermaker columnist cover the Jam and offer some predictions on the outcome. Two Top 10 programs, Purdue and Tennessee, headline the tournament, with two other teams who reached last season's NCAA Tournament, Northern Iowa and Boston College. UNI and Purdue, in particular, have a little familiarity with each other, with Purdue ending UNI's NCAA ride in last year's first round. Unfortunately, the rematch would not occur here unless the two meet in the championship or fourth-place games. But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Up next is a game-by-game analysis and prediction of this year's Paradise Jam.

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Can the Purdue Boilermakers Survive Lewis Jackson's Foot Injury?

Tim Cary — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:59:56 -0500

The Purdue Boilermakers got bad news this week as sophomore point guard Lewis Jackson underwent foot surgery.

Jackson started 30 games at the point for Purdue in 2008-09, averaging 5.9 ppg and leading the Old Gold and Black in assists.

According to the university, Jackson is out indefinitely, which seems to constitute a horrible blow to the Boilers' hopes for a special season.

Or is it?

While Jackson's speed will be missed, the Boilermakers basically had six starters anyway. In addition to guards Chris Kramer and E'Twaun Moore, Keaton Grant is a more than adequate addition to the starting backcourt: In fact, he's started 49 games for Purdue in the past two seasons and was voted the Boilermakers' team MVP in 2007-08.

Grant's three-point shooting provides an extra threat that a pass-first distributor like Jackson does not, and a lineup of Grant, Kramer, Moore, and All-Big Ten candidates Robbie Hummel and JaJuan Johnson remains arguably the league's finest.

After all, Purdue went 25-9 two seasons ago, pre-Jackson, with the exact same lineup (although then-project Johnson split time at the center spot with Nemanja Calasan).

Throw in an extra two years of experience for the now-veteran upperclassmen, and the Boilers appear to have the luxury of surviving what could be a long stretch without Jackson.

I'll go so far as to wager a guess that Jackson doesn't start a game for Purdue all year. While we don't know how serious the injury is (besides that it required surgery), from the tone of some of Matt Painter's comments, a lengthy absence appears a near-certainty.

Once the Kramer-Grant-Moore-Hummel-Johnson combo has played together for that amount of time, even if Jackson does return to play significant minutes in 2009-10, it would probably be from a bench role, so as not to upset the chemistry of an established lineup.

The real question for Painter and company going into the season was not who would start, but what kind of depth existed behind the top six (now five): That area of concern has understandably skyrocketed with this week's unfortunate injury news.

The only returning backcourt options have rarely seen the floor: sophomore sharpshooter Ryne Smith, redshirt freshman John Hart, and former walk-on Mark Wohlford. All three reserves could contribute, but the level of production they might provide is a question mark at best.

And that brings us to the freshmen, a quartet of players that will have to make an instant impact if Purdue wants to reach its lofty preseason goals.

D.J. Byrd had 13 points in his Boilermaker debut, one of the highest first-game totals for a rookie under Painter. He has been described as a hard-nosed, Kramer-type (can we just say Kramerian?) defender with a bit more scoring potential. In short, Byrd seems the most ready of any of the four to contribute on the college level.

Another potential backcourt star is 6'5" Kelsey Barlow, a tremendous athlete who nearly redshirted this season. With Jackson's injury, Barlow's playing time should skyrocket. His improvement is probably the most critical for the Boilers' Final Four hopes.

The other first-year players, Patrick Bade and Sandi Marcius, provide some desperately-needed size on the front line behind Johnson and Hummel.

Marcius is still a few weeks away from his '09-'10 debut, as the 6'9" Croatian recovers from a foot injury of his own, while Bade will team with high school teammate Johnson to help Purdue with its Achilles heel—rebounding.

Bottom line: Before Jackson's injury, the Purdue Boilermakers looked like a team with a dangerous starting lineup and not a lot of depth or experience behind that.

Now that Jackson has been shelved indefinitely, the lineup shouldn't suffer one iota, but the bench concerns have suddenly become even more prominent.

Here's hoping the newest Baby Boilers grow up in a hurry. Despite an overabundance of talent, the starting five can't win any championships by themselves.

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