2005 Purdue Boilermakers Basketball Preview

2005 Purdue Boilermakers Team Preview

In 2004-05 the Purdue Boilermakers got steamed, finishing with a 7-21 record and a 3-10 Big Ten mark. Their coach of 25 years, the highly animated Gene Keady, left Purdue with 512 wins and a history composed of legend and bravura. Purdue’s new head coach Matt Painter-- a former player and assistant for Keady-- will create a new look and style for the team. Painter, relatively inexperienced as a head coach, brings a 25-5 lifetime record to West Lafayette. He earned that mark at the helm of Southern Illinois.

For Painter this will be an uphill battle. You just can’t ameliorate a 7-21 record over one summer. What he has to work with includes three seniors who possess fine basketball skills and sound experience. Forward Carl Landry was impressive last season with 18.2 PPG and 7.1 RPG. Relatively unknown and underrated outside of the Big Ten, the 6’ 7” Landry was second in the league in scoring and shot accuracy, seventh in rebounds, and twelfth in blocked shots.

At 6’ 10” senior forward Matt Keifer is capable of scoring double figures every game and needs to do so this year. Keifer can hit from the perimeter and inside, which makes him a versatile weapon. Painter will be looking for him to average more then 9.0 points per game as he did last season.

At guard David Teague is the final of three starting seniors. Teague, who was thirteenth in Big Ten scoring last year, was good for five 20-point games. The solid guard, who was fourth in 3-pointers, was also impressive inside, finishing twelfth in Big Ten rebounding.

Rounding out the starting five are two new players-- junior college transfer Tarrance Crump at guard and freshman Chris Lutz also at guard. The speedy Crump will get the Boilermakers into the transition game quickly, while the athletic Lutz brings a shot any coach would like.

Along with this strong group of five, Painter has recruited an exceptional first-year class of shooters, speedsters, and ball handlers. The Painter era has begun-- will it be brilliant hues or monochromatic grays? It will be worth watching to see what this season’s final picture looks like.

For more info on the 2005 Boilermakers check out the official Purdue athletic site.