FanPost

My learning as a tutor for Purdue AD

Between 91 and 93 I was a math tutor for the Purdue AD. It was great. I had a chance to meet some wonderful people and see firsthand the differences and pressures of being a student athlete at the different sports. Before get to the point of this post, let me tell you of some the MBB players I meet.

Kenny Williams. What a wonderful person! I got to know him the best on the basketball team. He overcame a lot of challenges in life to be successful at college. If anyone knows where he is at today, I would like to know so I can reach out to him.

Zo: Excellent Leader. He got along with everyone. We should give Zo’s daughters BB scholarships now.

Glenn: The hardest working person I ever met in my life! Period. If I worked as he did in college, I would be a CEO today. BTW, when he needed help understanding something from a class he was taking, he would ask and get his work done.

Todd Foster: He grew up on a farm in a small town IL, and everyone teased him about it. But Todd was the best teammate. He always did what was best for his friends and for the team.

Coach Webber led the study tables. Very honest, direct (I think this is where Painter learned to be direct from) and I felt he had the best interests of the student in mind for the long term. I have much respect for Webber.

I only met Painter one time, and I did not meet Keady.

The point of my story: with the exception of one individual, everyone I meet on the team during that time was really class acts. Yet, sometimes as fans we didn’t treat them that way. One time while having the Larry Clispe call-in show on, a loyal Purdue fan called and said the Corny McNary's offense was horrible and he was not a Big Ten caliper center. I was sitting right next to Corny when this happened. Corny was always very critical of himself. I didn’t think this comment was helpful to his confidence or his game. Not only was he very angry for the rest of the night, but I think he thought about it for a long time after.

I have been guilty of making some posts that have not been completely supportive. But I got a good feeling about winning this O$U game. For the remainder of the season, let’s truly get behind and support our players. As fans of Purdue and of these young adults, let’s do what we can to build their confidence and leave the negitivety behind. Go Boilers!

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