Thanks for the tip from someone on these boards that let me know it was "Purdue day" on the BTN last week. I recorded all of the shows/games and was able to watch the '94 Purdue/IU game in Mackey. I was at that game, as it was my junior year. What a time to be a Purdue fan, '94-'96. What stood out to me most about that '94 team with Big Dog and Cuonzo Martin, was how much they encouraged each other as teammates, especially Martin and Porter Roberts. When one player dove for a ball, the others players got excited, came over and helped them up, or were generally fired up. Martin was a great leader. Painter misses him as an assistant coach also.
When I thought about the past 2 seasons' teams, I was struck by how little these teams seemed to play "together" and generally didn't get fired up when one of them makes a tough, good, or, great play. Now, I know this '94 team was an Elite 8, talented group, with the #1 player in college hoops on it. However, regardless of the talent, I felt from watching the game that it was a TEAM first, even with a 5-star elite player like Big Dog. They all pulled for each other and hustled, and worked hard at setting screens, rebounding, etc. We also got to see some of this fire and togetherness with the Hummel, JJ, Moore, Kramer, LewJack teams. I really miss that Purdue fire. I say all of this because I feel that this is the year that the tide will turn and regardless of the talent (though the talent is there), there appears to some characters on this year's roster that will breathe fire and hard work into the team. We've talked about RayD on these boards as the leader, but I also think others will just "bring it" on the floor too. I'm really looking forward to this year's team and also believe the incoming freshmen will breathe some competitive life and togetherness into the season. The future seems bright to me for Purdue fans.
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