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04 January 2010
Here it is, my first post for Stadium Drives. I can tell by your silence that you've been on the edge of your seat in anticipation of my particular pearls of wisdom. So, how do I plan to endear you, the reader, to me? By demanding your respect.
More precisely, demanding you give some respect to the 2009-10 edition of the Purdue Boilermakers. Even more precisely, this is me complaining that nobody seems to give a crap that my alma mater is 13-0 with wins over Tennessee (before their players were in prison), Wake Forest (11-2 after a win over Xavier) and most recently West Virginia (the fighting Bob Huggins have been a top 10 team all season long).
I had the good fortune to escape from Holiday Family Time on New Years to watch the second half of the Purdue/WVU game. It was a beat down. I didn't catch a single WVU player's name, I was too busy giggling with glee.
Of course, then I tuned into see Temple get emasculated by Kansas the next day, just to hear the ESPN knucklehead announcer (apparently the A through D teams were busy that day) mention how "no disrespect to Purdue" but the other three undefeated teams (KU, UK, Texas) are all contenders. Excuse me while I write a letter to Awful Announcing...
more after the break...
Here's what you don't know about this Boilermaker squad:
- They are the best defensive team in the country. You may have heard the announcers gushing over Chris Kramer and spouting some nonsense about him looking like a football player. He is clearly the defensive leader, but the thing that makes this team so fun to watch is the team defense. There's no Jim Boeheim tricks or matchup zones, it's man-to-man and that's it. What you see is what you get. Every player is happy to sack-up and get right in your face. In fact, Kramer got a clearout elbow to the nose against Michigan last year just because Manny Harris couldn't shake him. Stay classy Michigan.
- JaJuan Johnson is very good, and getting better. WVU had absolutely no answer for him. I can't wait to see what Michigan State does to try and defend him. On NBA draft day, it will be said that he is "long." Johnson also has the rare distinction of having three (count em, three) capital J's in his name which is both amazing and challenging. I mean, do you call him "JJJ" or just go with "Triple J" (perhaps implying a WWE future)? Personally, I'm torn.
- Robbie Hummel can do no wrong. He has Adam Morrison-esque hot streaks, but no dirty molestash. He doesn't talk trash, he doesn't show anybody up, he just plays hard. All the while makes me feel better about my pasty skin and bad haircut. It's a perfect storm.
- E'Twan Moore is an excellent player. But what really matters is his nickname is "Smooge" (rhymes with huge). It's fun to say and even more fun to scream into an opposing fan's face. Smooooooooooooge!
