For those following this series the #1 ICON shouldn't be a surprise. This list would not be complete without Mr. Drew Brees, who has an unquestioned current reign as the most well-known athletic alumni at the moment. I was a little surprised that he was voted #1 in the poll over John Wooden, but it really wasn't even close.

Drew Brees received an astounding 739 votes, besting Wooden by 50. Brees appeared on every single ballot (even Wooden was missing from one) and was never ranked lower than 10^th. That 10^th place vote was an outlier, as he was no lower than six on any other ballot. Of the 32 ballots I received Brees was the #1 selection on 10 of them. The only other athletes to receive first place votes were Wooden, Bob Griese, Rick Mount, Ray Ewry, and one person who took Neil Armstong's history in the AAMB as athletic enough to be voted #1.

The best part about Brees is that his story is still being written. He is a legend in West Lafayette and beloved in his current home of New Orleans. He had his iconic photo after Super Bowl XLIV where it was more important for him to lift up his son, Baylen, than the Lombardi Trophy. There is no pressure, but I think we should begin sending recruiting info to the Brees household for his sons Baylen and Bowen right now. We can't make the same mistake we made with Brian Griese.

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When I came up with the idea for this running series I knew that the top five would be pretty easy to pick. I knew Big Dog, Rick Mount, Bob Griese, John Wooden, and a certain quarterback we all know and love would all slot somewhere into that top 5. I was hoping Wooden would finish #1 because he is such an idol of mine. Here is someone that was the best at what he did for much of his life, yet he was incredibly humble. If a coach like Rick Pitino had 10 NCAA championships we would never hear the end of it.

Maybe it is because Wooden came from a different era without the 24/7 boasting of credentials and arguing over who the best is. Maybe it's because when he was doing his thing, either on the court or as a coach, there was no argument he was the best. As a coach he established a record (10 championships) that I doubt will ever be broken (though, Matt Painter, you are free to try). More importantly, he knew that his role was to teach about life, not basketball. When he passed away last summer I mourned deeply because I felt the world lost a truly great man.

I don't have many heroes, but John Wooden is my hero. With 689 votes, including 14 first place votes (and my own first place vote) John Wooden is our #2 Purdue ICON. Most of what follows is copied from his Profile In Badassery I wrote back in October, but that is because I can't think of a more fitting tribute to him. Amazingly, one person out of the 32 voters left him off of their ballot entirely.

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When thinking of the greatest of those in the Cradle of Quarterbacks there are a few players that rise to the top of even that elite group. For example: Kyle Orton and Curtis Painter are considered to be in that group, but they are not among the top. Jim Everett broke some records, but only appeared in one bowl game. Among all those great quarterbacks, only one has led Purdue to a Rose Bowl victory.

Bob Griese is undoubtedly a Purdue legend. He is mostly known for his accomplishments on the football field, but few people today realize that he was also a pitcher for the Purdue baseball team during his time at Purdue as well as an excellent guard on the basketball team. In football he not only was the quarterback, but he served as the kicker and punter during one of Purdue's greatest runs of success.

When compiling this ICONS list I wanted to open it to all athletes, but among the top 25 no one branched out among so many sports as Griese. Even Rod Woodson limited himself to just track and football. Griese was skilled enough to not only play three sports, but excel at them including three positions in one sport. While he may not have been voted the #1 ICON, he might be the greatest all-around athlete in Purdue history. With 626 votes, including two first place votes, Bob Griese is the #3 Purdue ICON.

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With my final article before heading up to Chicago I wanted to get even on the Purdue ICONS series. After today I have three football previews and three ICONS left to write before getting into positional previews. The Ohio State and Iowa Previews will come next week with the #3 and #2 ICONS. The Indiana preview and #1 ICON profile will come the following week. It seems like as good of a schedule as any since we're almost five weeks from kickoff.

Today's ICON is on one of our basketball greats. He is a player I never saw play except in grainy old films, but his legend continues to endure. Yesterday's profile on Glenn Robinson was mostly about one season: the magical 1993-94 year when Robinson turned in one of the most dominant performances in Big Ten history. Today we feature career excellence in Rick Mount. I would probably give the last ten years off my life to have Mount's silky smooth jumper. God gives everyone gifts. Rick Mount was put on this earth with the gift of a perfect jump shot. He brought it to Purdue and took us as close as we have ever come to winning an NCAA Championship in Men's Basketball. With 606 votes, including three first place votes, Mount is the #4 Purdue ICON.

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JaJuan Johnson was recently our first opening round NBA Draft Selection since Glenn Robinson went #1 overall in 1994. He is coming off of an All-America senior season in which he was the Big Ten's best player, taking both the Big Ten Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Awards. Those capped a stellar four-year career, but he wasn't the Big Dog.

Glenn Robinson wasn't so much a basketball player at Purdue as a force of nature. He lost his freshman season as an academic casualty and he left early, but in two years he dominated on the court like no other. He took Gene Keady to the brink of the Final Four before riding off as the #1 overall pick of the 1994 NBA Draft. he even had a cool nickname, The Big Dog, that struck fear in the hearts of the rest of the Big Ten. For one season he was an unstoppable force that teams could only hope to weather. With 598 votes, Glenn Robinson is your #5 Purdue ICON.

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Last Saturday was a great day because I got to meet and interview the next ICON on the list. I headed back to Kokomo for the Howard County Fair and I was able to pick up a quick story for the Tribune centered on the Pat Keady Memorial Golf Outing. The event raised scholarship money in the name of Gene's wife, who lost her battle with cancer a few years ago.

I forgot how awesome it was to have coach commanding a room. He is instantly one of those people that, as a long time Purdue fan, you reference him as coach instead of Gene or Mr. Keady. Just before I interviewed him, my high school coach, Basil Mawbey, spoke with him for a few moments. It was like seeing a summit of the two men that have influenced my basketball life the most. The two men have combined for nearly 1,200 career wins, and both are legends at their respective levels of the game.I only got to speak to him for a few minutes, but it was like speaking to a larger than life character.

The only real difference between the two is championships. Coach Mawbey has won two state championships, is (to my knowledge) the only coach in Indiana to win state championships at both the Class and non-class levels, and appeared in four State Finals with three different schools. Coach Keady, as much as we love him, has the unfortunate moniker of being the best coach in college basketball that never made a Final Four. To us, it doesn't matter. We still love him, as evidenced by the 518 votes he received as the #6 Purdue ICON.

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You guys are awesome. Yesterday there were over 500 comments on the Women's World Cup Soccer Final. Only the Open Thread Champs could deliver that type of devotion in the middle of the summer. Of course, it helps that it is bloody hot out and everyone is in the air conditioning. Numbers like that will help the cause greatly tomorrow, as I have a meeting with the athletic department to clear up past credentialing issues.

Today's matter is continuing the ICONS countdown with another legendary football player. I am a little young to remember seeing him play at Purdue, especially his epic final game where he went both ways to almost single-handedly defeat Indiana. That game has taken on legendary proportions in the eyes of many Purdue fans. With 443 votes, Rod Woodson was voted the #7 Purdue ICON.

High School Career

From the very beginning it looked like Rod Woodson was going to go to a Hall of Fame, it was just a question of which one. He is truly one of those rare players that is simply given a gift of pure athleticism and he can pick which sport he wants to dominate. At Snider High in Ft. Wayne is where Woodson began his legendary career. They have long been one of the better teams in the state, but with Woodson they reached their first ever State Finals in 1981. He was a standout defensive back, but he also played running back and wide receiver on offense. He earned all-state honors his final two years as a defensive back.

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Mike Alstott is one of my favorite all-time Boilermakers. He might be the best player at Purdue that never played on a winning team. That's because he had the unfortunate handicap of Jim "A tie is as good as a win in the Big Ten" Colletto as his coach. During Alstott's career Purdue had three ties, lost the highest scoring game in Division 1-A history at that point, somehow lost a game 5-0, and managed to miss a bowl game after starting a season 4-1.

Despite that, Mike Alstott remains a fan favorite. He is the only Boilermaker to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl, Purdue's all-time leading rusher, and was a beast of a running back that was a Heisman candidate despite playing for some pretty awful teams. I honestly think that he, along with Antwan Randle El, are two of the best Big Ten players of the last 20 years in the Big Ten that never played in a bowl game.

With 437 votes Mike Alstott is the #8 Purdue ICON

Purdue career as "The A-Train"

During the 2000 season, as we were battling for the Big Ten crown with Michigan, people kept calling running back Anthony Thomas "The A-Train". This always bothered me because we know that Alstott is the real A-Train. In the fall of 1992 Alstott came to Purdue as part of Colletto's second team in West Lafayette. Diamond Jim had finished a mediocre 4-7 during his first season, and was still getting the benefit of the doubt as a second year coach.

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