Now the young and overly un-intimidating Boilermakers are headed to the second
round of the NCAA tournament after a clinic against Baylor on Thursday.
"I thought it was going to be a little tougher game," Purdue
freshman guard E'Twaun Moore admitted after 90-79 rout.
While Baylor continued to jack shots from all over the court, Matt Painter's
club utilized a team approach. It's gotten a team that just everyone figured was
NIT-bound at best just one win away from the Sweet 16.
And it's not entirely clear how that happened.
Yeah, Painter brought in a recruiting class that was heralded nationally —
four freshmen, three of whom played together in the spring and summers. But it
wasn't as if he added Michael Beasley or Eric Gordon.
Moore, Robbie Hummel, Scott Martin and JaJuan Johnson were four quality
pickups, but none are sure-fire NBA players. Johnson has the highest ceiling of
the group and he averaged a whopping 3.9 points in Big Ten play.
"They don't look athletic and don't look like they can play, but they
are very confident and can play," Purdue's defensive-minded sophomore guard
Chris Kramer said. "They are real humble and while they know they're good,
they don't show it."
Purdue has also done it without a true point guard. Sophomore Keaton Grant
arrived at Purdue largely because most high-major programs didn't feel he could
play at the highest level.
The Boilermakers have also done it in the absence of a low-post scorer.
Grant has led the team in assists just once all season. Against Baylor,
Johnson led the Boilermakers in rebounding for just the second time all year.
Whether he receives it or not, Purdue coach Matt Painter has earned National
Coach of the Year honors. No disrespect to other Midwesterners such as Drake's
Keno Davis or Bo Ryan of Wisconsin, but the 37-year-old has gotten the most out
of a young team that could have taken plenty of licks while being thrown into
the fire this year.
The Boilermakers (25-8) are a year ahead of schedule. Moore admitted he
didn't expect to be in the Big Dance this season. Grant said he figured it would
be a rebuilding season after the Boilermakers lost to the two-time defending
national champion Florida Gators in the second round a year ago.
"It's definitely surprising," Moore said. "We definitely
weren't expecting all this to happen."
Painter watched as he lost four of his top five scorers, including Carl Landry (18.9 ppg) and David Teague (14.3 ppg). Landry and Teague graduated.
Chris Lutz, the Big Ten's top 3-point shooter, transferred to Marshall. And
Gordon Watt was kicked off the team.
"I was thinking, 'Are we going to make it?' " Grant said. "We
had no experience and that worried me."
But Painter had already orchestrated one impressive coaching job a year ago
when the Boilermakers won 22 games in the biggest turnaround in the history of
the program.
Painter is a Purdue guy. He played for Gene Keady from 1989-1993 and was
named as Keady's successor prior to a stint as the associate head coach from
2004-05. Keady's farewell tour in West Lafayette was ugly, winning just seven
games.
Painter, who did have one season of head-coaching experience at Southern Illinois under his belt, took the reins and it wasn't much better. The program
lacked talent and he won just nine games.
Last season's outlook didn't appear that much brighter.
Then he led the Boilermakers to 20-plus victories, including one against
Arizona in the first round of the NCAA tournament a year ago. Purdue even gave
Billy Donovan's Gators a test in a game that featured eight lead changes.
"Not everyone is going to give you respect," Grant said. "But
we took it last year and we're trying to take it to another level."
But that was supposed to happen next year, after the freshmen had a season of
experience under their belts. Painter said he knew the team would be an NCAA
tournament-caliber squad at some point this season, but he wasn't certain
whether it would have the resume to make it into the field.
There was legitimate concern after back-to-back losses to Wofford and Iowa State in late-December, but the young Boilermakers responded by winning 14 of
their next 15 games to answer any doubts whether they were a NCAA tournament
team.
Grant started to joke with his younger teammates about what the future could
hold. Tarrance Crump, the backup point guard, is the lone loss to graduation.
"Sometimes we talk about how good we can be when I'm a senior and
they're juniors," Grant said.
They aren't all that bad right now.
Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He
can be reached at GoodmanonFOX@aol.com
or check out his blog, Good
'N Plenty.