It's a good time to be a Purdue Boilermaker these days.
Senior guard Chris Kramer was named Big Ten defensive player of the year for the second time in the last three years. The former Huntington North standout also became the first player to make the conference's all-defensive team four straight seasons. His 265 career steals are a school record.
“He's been great for us, especially here at the end where he's had to guard bigger guys,” coach Matt Painter said. “He's just a special player who helps you win on the defensive end.”
Teammate JaJuan Johnson also made the all-defensive team. Johnson and teammates Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore made All-Big Ten. Kelsey Barlow made the all-freshman team. Painter was named conference coach of the year by league coaches. The media chose Ohio State's Thad Matta.
Oh, yes. Purdue also won its record 22nd Big Ten title.
“Any time you have team success you get individual awards,” Painter said. “Those guys worked hard to help us win.”
Also, Hummel had surgery Monday in Indianapolis to repair his torn ACL. He is expected to miss a week of school. Painter said it was possible Hummel could make it to a game this week. He was uncertain if Hummel would make any NCAA tourney trips.
“We'll have to see how it goes and how he's feeling,” Painter said.
Hummel had surgery earlier than expected because his leg strength, range of motion and limited swelling allowed for it.
The No. 6 Boilers (26-4) enter the tourney as Big Ten champs along with No. 5 Ohio State and No. 11 Michigan State. They are the No. 2 seed (Ohio State won the tiebreaker) and will face the winner of Indiana-Northwestern Friday night.
How did they get to this point?
Let's take a look.
Purdue was a non-conference juggernaut. It hammered the likes of Cal State Northridge, Central Michigan, Buffalo, Valparaiso and SIU Edwardsville. It manhandled Ball State at Conseco Fieldhouse as part of the Wooden Tradition.
The Boilers dominated a good Wake Forest team at Assembly Hall, out-toughed Tennessee to win the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands and had one of college basketball's most memorable comebacks while rallying from a 16-point second-half deficit to win at Alabama.
Then came their New Year's Day thriller against No. 6 West Virginia. They won the battle of unbeatens 77-62 behind Johnson's 25 points and 10 rebounds.
Purdue opened Big Ten play with victories over Iowa and Minnesota to begin 14-0 and tie the best start in school history. The 1992-93 team also opened 14-0.
Perfect season dreams ended a few days later at No. 17 Wisconsin, 73-66. The Boilers struggled to rebound and to contain dribble penetration. Guards Jordan Taylor and Jason Bohanon combined for 43 points to offset Moore's 24-point effort.
Losing at Wisconsin, one of the nation's toughest places to play, wasn't unexpected. Blowing a late double-digit lead at Mackey Arena to Ohio State was. Purdue lost 70-66 even with Hummel scoring a career-high 35 points on 8-for-13 three-point shooting.
The low point came a few days later in a 72-64 loss at Northwestern. The Wildcats dominated the rebounding 42-23. With Michigan State on its way to a 9-0 conference start, the Boilers' Big Ten title dreams seemed over.
They were not. Purdue won 10 straight, including huge road wins at Illinois, Ohio State and Michigan State.
Then disaster struck. Hummel tore his ACL early in a game at Minnesota. Without him the Boilers fell behind by nine before regrouping to win 59-58 on clutch shooting by senior guard Keaton Grant. He had 10 points, including the game-winning jumper with 7.7 seconds remaining.
Purdue was still struggling to adjust to the loss of Hummel when Michigan State came to Mackey Arena. Painter called it the worst performance of the season as the Boilers lost 53-44. They were dominated on the glass 46-20 and scored a season low in points.
However, Purdue rebounded to beat Indiana and Penn State and earn a share of the conference championship with Ohio State and Michigan State. It was their first Big Ten title since 1996.
