Coach Keady has inherited a group of Upperclassmen who loved to score but had not been all that successful being able to stop the other team.  Though the Boilermakers may have been the most talented offensive group in the Big Ten the problem was they had to play defense as well and that is more about attitude than anything else.  Loaded with offensive players seemingly everywhere Keady sometimes does not have enough basketballs to go around.  But as gifted as they were offensively the Boilermakers could not seem to stop anyone especially when it counted.   Keady teaches hard-nosed defense and did everything he could to get this team to play the tough man to man defense he preaches but to no avail.  The feisty coach has to be able to evolve around the talent that he has and Keady eventually had to play last year with the cards he was dealt.  This lead to a season where the fans from West Lafayette got their moneys worth but also had some up and down results.  The Boilermakers did well enough to finish in a tie for fourth in the ultra-tough Big Ten and qualified for the Big Dance (they now invite more than one team from each conference) but this team has enough talent to do better.  Keady understands this and has already brought in some great talent (‘you have to hit Chicago’ is his motto) but the team needs to learn how to win big games and also not run out of gas at the end of the year.

AS stated before Keady had inherited a superb front-line for the Boilermakers.  Junior center Joe Barry Carroll and Senior forwards Terry Dischinger and Dave Schelhasse plus a backcourt of seniors Billy Keller and Rick Mount plus the bear himself, Paul Hoffman, as the sixth man form a quite opposing nucleus.

Dischinger is a great offensive weapon who can score almost at will.  The problem is at six foot seven he is not really a true power forward.  He can score and has good inside moves but he can get dominated by more physical post players and in the Big Ten that is all there is.  He has a hard time stopping the likes of Lucas and McHale but there was no way Keady was going to replace the Dentist.  He definitely can do surgery down low on the other teams gums but when it gets to molars he has some issues.  Carroll is the only defensive presence up front.  A good shot blocker and solid rebounder, Carroll has not missed a beat since committing from Denver two years ago.  One of the biggest changes for the Boilermakers the last couple of years has been trying to recruit beyond the borders of the Hoosier state.  Don’t get me wrong there is plenty of talent in Indiana but if you are going to compete nationally you have to recruit nationally and Carroll was the first major player the Boilermakers were able to bring back to West Lafayette..  More have come but he is the vanguard and the most talented player this program has ever had.  At seven foot and two twenty five (he is probably already over 250 by now) Carroll has the prototype size for a center.  He also has a great skill set and has a natural feel for the game.  He is quiet and unassuming off the court and plays the game almost like a chess match instead of the physical instinctiveness the great ones seem to have.  He is well thought out and cerebral (what an overrated word) but doesn’t help that much in the wars of the Big Ten! If he had a chip on his shoulder and played as hard as Robinson does the world would be his oyster and we would be mentioning him in the same sentence with one of his opponents who also plays decidedly passive Wilt Chamberlain.  The difference is that the Big Dipper will rise up to the challenge and loves to play other great big men.  He is that good.  But JBC is not Lew Alcindor but he was by far the best the Boilermakers had and if he can get a bit more consistent and a little more mean he will own West Lafayette.

The heart and soul of this team used to be Hoffman who has been a star in the Big Ten since seemingly it began.  The 6’2 195 pound physical specimen intimidates other guards with his physicality after all he is known as the Body (Jesse Ventura stole that from him).   Hoffman is not exactly the quickest guy out there and his transfer to point guard has not been easy.  Back in the day the Bear could do what he want on the court but that was then and now he just can’t keep up.  Keady is no dummy and will give Hoffman another shot as he is an icon around these parts but he definitely has other guys waiting in the wings who are much better suited for guarding the new waterbugs that run this league.  It was one of Keady’s bravest and best moves to move Hoffman to the bench as the ‘sixth’ man midway through last year and opened the door for a couple of veteran true point guards. 

Two fellow seniors got plenty of time last year in the back court primarily pushing Hoffman for minutes. Billy Keller and Howie Williams are much better suited at point guard than the Bear (or body, or why don’t we just call him the body bear).  Keller is a gifted outside shooter and can run a team but is undersized at 5’11.  He gets the ball to the other guys and hits open shots when given the chance.  He is also tough as nails.  Nobody expected Keller to be such a gifted shooter when he was recruited from Indianapolis as he did not get many minutes his first two years.  He did develop rapports with some kid named Mount as they dominated their year together on JV in the back court.  He found his range from the three point line the second half of last season. By the end of last year he was playing at least half of the time and if he gets a little better defensively he will push for starting minutes.  Williams is as solid as they come on both ends though he is not the most dynamic dude on the court.  He started next to Hoffman for a year and they were a formidable pair but when the Rocket became eligible Williams, a true team player, gave up his job to the new kid in town.  He is not a great shooter but he is can defend and will be in the mix once again.

Now for the kid from Lebanon who was on the cover of Sports Illustrated before he even got to West Lafayette.  Rick Mount is a superstar!  The Rocket was a First team all-big 10 performer last year and he led the league in scoring at over 20 a game.  Mount has one of the best jump shots in the country.  A legend already in West Lafayette, Mount will fire form anywhere and is hard to guard because of his quick release and his size, 6’4.  His clutch baseline jumper to beat Marquette to get Purdue into the tourney for the first time last season is perhaps (not perhaps, is) the biggest shot in Boilermaker history.  He is not athletic and does not do much else but shoot jumpers but who cares?  In today’s world shooters are like gold and this miner has hit the main vein.  He can flat light it up and like all great shooters has no conscience.  And the fans love him so much they rise up with him every time he rises for another jumper.  He will never be replaced by the fans of the Boilermakers as he is probably the most popular player this program has ever produced. The one down side to the Rocket is that he is a bit of a prima donna and defense is not his middle.

Schellhase has been Mr. Offense at Mackey Arena for his first season but had to take a step back once Mount became eligible.  Keady decided to keep him in the starting role at the three even with Mount around but boy was he giving up a lot defensively.  Still it made sense as Schelhasse is not big enough to guard bigger forwards as he is only six three and is just not a good enough ball handler to be a guard.  He is a good board guy who loves to mix it up and can flat score.  He may not be the Rocket but no other wing tandem in the Big Ten came close to combining for the 35+ this duo brought to the table every night.

Another Senior, Herm Gilliam, split time at three positions and is much better defensively than any of the guys he backs up.  He gives the Boilermakers some quickness and can also distribute the ball.   Gilliam is a tremendous athlete who can really board for a guy who is only 6’3 and will lock you down defensively (somebody has to play it here) and hit some clutch shots during the year.  He might not have the connection with Mount Billy has but he is a true team player that will do what it takes to get the job done.  Juniors Bruce Parkinson and Jerry Sichting are coming up from JV to push for time at the point.  Parkinson is a tough nosed brut ala Hoffman but is the best distributor on the roster.  A 6’2 stud from Yorktown Indiana he was a scoring stud there but this kid will do whatever it takes to get on the court.  He averaged over 7 assists a game on JV and has a good chance of playing and Keady loves his toughness but is he quick enough for this level?  Sichting is another gamer-Keady did not recruit these guys-but can shoot a little from the perimeter and can handle but his best attribute is his ability to get under other team’s skin.  Yeah, he is that guy and every team has one!

Keady does have a host of big men that will compete for playing time including Juniors John Garrett, Walter Jordan, Frank Kendrick and Sophomores Steve ‘American Pie’ Scheffler, Russell Cross and Jim Rowinski.  Cross is the best of this bunch by far as he comes from Chicago where he was dominant on both ends.  Keady is hoping to be able to pair the 6’10 shot blocker with JBC down low.  He was inconsistent last year playing mainly on the JV but the upside is incredible but he must definitely eat some steaks as he goes a svelte 215. Garrett will be JBC’s caddy again as he goes 6’11 233 and can score inside and board but is nowhere near the talent of Carroll.  All of these guys will get a chance to compete for PT at the four next year as Keady loves his big guys and options.  Another sophomore Keith Edmonson is a wing who can flat score and on any other team might be in the running for some big minutes but here will be lucky to get off the pine.  He is not a great defender but he can shoot but behind Mount and company he looks to be JV bound again where he showed potential but also has room to improve especially handling the ball and defensively.  Some of these kids are awfully talented and some of the boosters had rooting interests which led to some other interesting discussions for the comb overed one!  Like its not tough enough coaching the Rocket, the Big Dog and JBC without having to worry about bench guys getting minutes? To be honest Keady might have to send three of his favorites down to the JV again this year in Sophomores Troy Lewis, Everette Stephens and Todd Mitchell.  They formed the infamous 3 Amigos last season and almost won the Big Ten JV tourney.  There is great hope that this trio with their Keady work ethic would lead the Boilermakers back to the promised land of the Murphy era but as gutsy as Keady is, he is not stupid enough to replace those senior stalwarts with his kids.  Not yet, at least! 

The Purdue Boilermakers could have played with anyone in the country on the offensive end.  Even John Wooden’s new team at UCLA would have been hard pressed to match the firepower that Gene Keady had assembled.  The problem was they could not stop anyone.

The Boilermakers scored almost 88 points a game last season but gave up over 86.  Of course the year before he got here it was 92 and 91.  Keady would like to be able to cut that gap a little bit and he wants to be able to do that on the defensive end.  Of course there are a bunch of mouths to feed on this offense and with the only real defensive presence being Carroll this team has a ways to go before they are being confused for Wisconsin in the Big Ten. That is not the biggest problem however.  Somehow this team needs to figure out a way to not shrink in March.  The Boilermakers have always been in the running for league titles in this tough conference but have never been able to get the job done when it counts.  Heck two years ago the Boilermakers had a threw way tie for the Big Ten title but did not get an invite to the Big Dance as back then they were only taking two teams max from any league. All the Boilermakers had to do was beat rival Indiana to win it outright but got blown out in Bloomington and since they had been swept by Ohio State they were the team holding the bag.  That will not happen again with the new rules allowing as many teams as ‘deserved’ from any league (the Big Ten is hoping for at least seven and want eight this year) and the boys from West Lafayette look like they are virtual shoe-ins to make another Big Dance this season.  But that won’t mean nothing if they are out of gas and go one and done.  Again!  After all this this incredible senior class has become legendary in Indiana but outside the state nobody knows who they are?  Well, except Rick Mount.  If you don’t know who the Rocket is then you don’t know college basketball!