The Gene Keady era ended with a whimper at
Purdue. Besides
the farewell to Coach Keady, the 2004-2005 campaign can’t be
forgotten soon enough for Boilermaker fans. There were flashes
of what is yet to come with a victory over Iowa, a 31 point
performance by Carl Landry at the Breslin Center and a team who
gave undefeated Illinois a run for their money in mid January.
With a solid core of returning talent and a stellar group of
newcomers, the old gold and black are quickly looking ahead to
what Matt Painter can do his first season at the helm.
Who’s Out: Starting point guard Brandon McKnight averaged
over 37 minutes per game, leaving a black hole in the point
guard spot. McKnight averaged 11.8 points and a team high 3.8
assists per contest. Andrew Ford started 14 games, but his 1.1
points per game won’t be greatly missed. Fellow guards Adam
Liddell and Xavier Price are transferring. Liddell only saw mop
up duty, while Price had his chance as a freshman, starting five
games. Charles Davis proved to be a nice big man off the bench
after football season was over, but the tight end will solely
concentrate on the gridiron this year.
Who’s In: Purdue was in desperate need of a good
recruiting class to bring some new life to a team that won only
seven games a year ago. And Matt Painter delivered. For multiple
reasons, the star of the class is point guard Tarrance Crump.
He’s a great player and Purdue really needed an experienced true
point guard to step in immediately and start. Crump will do just
that. If he is slow to adapt to the Big Ten, Purdue could have
trouble early in the year. The junior averaged 16.0 points and
7.0 assists per game last year at Shelton State (AL) Community
College. A group of six freshmen will do more than help out the
backcourt. Nate Minnoy has the ability to play multiple
positions as a 6-3, 260 pound wingman. He can shoot from outside
and is strong enough to battle in the paint. Chris Lutz will be
challenging for a starting spot. He’s a tremendous shooter who
should at least be a nice deep threat off the bench. Korey
Spates is a scoring point guard who will see some minutes behind
Crump. Marcus Green, a 6-4 shooting guard from Chicago, has a
lot of upside with his athletic ability, but will need some time
to adjust to the college level of play. Walk-ons Geno Parker and
Dwayne Pruitt will add some emergency depth to the Boiler
backcourt. Forward Marcus White, a transfer from Connecticut,
will immediately fight for a starting role once he is eligible
in December if returnees Matt Kiefer and Gary Ware aren’t up to
the task.
Who to Watch:
Carl Landry is the star of the team and a
possible Big Ten player of the year, but David Teague will have
to be the leader of the backcourt. The senior averaged 14.0
points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest a year ago and
needs to be a consistent threat to compliment Landry, especially
early in the year while the newcomers are still getting
acclimated to playing at Mackey Arena.
Projected Conference Rank:
With Carl Landry, David
Teague, Matt Kiefer, Bryant Dillon and Gary Ware as returning
seniors, things aren’t looking too bad for Purdue. Kiefer and
Ware will fight it out for the starting role beside Landry in
the frontcourt. It is Kiefer’s to lose, and with some off-season
run-ins with the law and Marcus White coming into the picture in
December, Kiefer might not be starting much at all. A 9th
place finish in the Big Ten isn’t what Purdue hopes for, but
there is talent here that just needs to come together. If Matt
Painter can get his squad together by the New Year, Purdue can
do some major damage in the Big Ten. If not, Purdue could have
momentum swinging in the wrong direction once again.
Projected Post-season Tournament: none
Projected Starting
Five:
Tarrance Crump,
Junior, Guard, DNP last season
David Teague,
Senior, Guard, 14.0 points per game
Nate Minnoy,
Freshman, Guard, DNP last season
Carl Landry, Senior,
Forward, 18.2 points per game
Matt Kiefer, Senior,
Forward, 9.0 points per game
