22 - The Michigan Daily - TIPOFF '95-96 - Thursday, November 16, 1695 The Michigan Daily -TIPOF Purdue set to defend back-to-back Big Ten titles " Boilermakers hope to sneak up on unsuspecting conference opposition 0B y Barry Soi enberger The Purdue Boilermakers are rarely the most talented team in the conference. But Gene Keady's boys keep doing something that frustrates the rest of the league. They continue to win Big Ten championships - two in a row and five since 1984, to be exact. Two years ago, Purdue won the confer- ence behind Keady's best player ever, a big dog named Glenn Robinson. After Robinson left for the NBA, the Boilers fig- ured to disappear in the Big Ten. Nope. Last year, Cuonzo Martin led a number of nobodies back to the conference title. Martin has since moved on to the NBA, leaving Purdue without a star in the race for an unprecedented third straight conference crown. "Our kids are talking about a third title some," Keady said. "But we need to have someone start to step forward and put the ball in the basket and I haven't seen anyone do that yet in practice." players, but if they play together and have good ball movement and play good de- fense, I think we'll probably have a great team by March." The Boilers return six seniors, but it's two youngsters that have Keady excited. "I think that Brad Miller should have been (Freshman) Player of the Year in the Big Ten last season," Keady said. "I think that anytime a freshman starts at center for a league champion, he should be (Fresh- man) Player of the Year." The sophomore center averaged 6.5 points and 4.8 boards per game last season. More importantly, Purdue was 15-2 after he entered the starting lineup last season. "He's a hard-nosed kid who can run for a big guy," Keady said. "He's a competior and a little bit mean, or ornery, or whatever word you want to use." While the Boilermakers have had their way in the Big Ten in recent years, they haven't won where it's most important - the NCAA Tournament. PrleBOILERMAKERS Last year: 15-3 Big Ten, 25-7 overall Postseason: NCAA 2nd round Returning starters: Justin Jennings (6.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg) Brad Miller (6.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg) Porter Roberts (4.9 ppg, 3.8 apg) Key losses: Cuonzo Martin (18.4 ppg, 2.2 apg) Matt Waddell (9.3 ppg, 3.5 apg) Coach: Gene Keady Career Record: 360-161 (17 years) Record at Purdue: 322-142 (15 years) You can bet Keady is looking for Bran- don Brantley to be that man. The senior forward is Purdue's top re- turning scorer (10.0 point -per game) and rebounder (6.1). He also finished fifth in the conference in blocked shots per game last season (1.1). "We have a lot of good players," Keady said. "We don't have any great BRANTLEY Purdue has not been to the Final Four under Keady and is just 9-10 in the NCAAs during his 15 years in West Lafayette. "We want to win another (conference title)," Keady said."But I think it would be even more important to do well in the NCAAs. I think our seniors are more inter- ested in that." Head Lion sets high goals Dunn looks to improve on Parkhill's efforts * By Brent McIntosh Penn State NITTANY LIONS It's a whole new ballgame in Happy Valley. The 1995-96 season -the 100th bas- ketball season for Penn State - finds the Nittany Lions led by a new coach and a new captain and playing a new style in a new arena. After a dismal first year of Big Ten play,prospects started to look a little brighter last year in Happy Valley. In their sophomore season in the conference, the Nittany Lions finished tied for seventh at 9- 9, but they also managed to win 12 of 14 non-league contests, split their series with Michigan and grab a third-place finish in the NIT. That was under 12-year head coach Bruce Parkhill, though. Parkhill has since resigned, but remains a Lion as assistant athletic director. The helm he vacated was filled by his longtime assistant, Jeny Dunn. Dunn won't venture far from the ways Parkhill trod. "My goals are to maintain what's been done (at Penn State) already by Bruce and the staff, in terms ofthe tradition and corn- The center spot is up for grabs; leading candidates are 6-11, 205-pound redshirt freshman Calvin Booth - whom Dunn describes as "more athletic than Amaechi" - and 6-10,265-pound Jeremy Metzger, a transfer from Richmond. "Both guys have done a solid job in the preseason," Dunn said. "Right now I would have to say that Calvin Booth is a little ahead of the game at that position." With the loss of the stalwart post player, Penn State will be forced to look for other ways to get its buckets. "We'll go from being a club that has the primary look to the big guy first to pos- sibly being a perimeter-type team," Dunn said." Penn State returns three starters, but 6- 6 forward Rashaan Carlton will be slowed by knee problems. Guard Dan Earl, who averaged 5.7 assists per game last year, and 6-8 forward Glenn Sekunda(12.8 ppg) will have to step up for Penn State to succeed, as will 6-4 sophomore guard Pete Lisicky. "Those three had a great postseason in the NIT, and they gained a lot of confi- Last year: 9-9 Big Ten, 21-11 overall Postseason: NIT semi-finalist Returning starters: Glenn Sekunda (12.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg) Dan Earl (9.3 ppg, 5.7 apg) Rashaan Carlton (8.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg) Key losses: John Amaechi (16.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg) Greg Bartram (4.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg) Coach: Jerry Dunn Career Record: First year Record at Penn State: First year DUNN petitiveness that's been established," Dunn said. "(We want) to build upon that and get us to the point that we're going to the NCAA Tournament ... on a consistent ba- sis." The new skipper will, however, be faced with replacing all-Big Ten center John Amaechi, who racked up 16 points and 10 rebounds per game last year includ- ing 26 points in the Nittany Lions' victory over Michigan. dence from that experience," Dunn said. "Our team as a whole responded well in some difficult situations." One difficult situation that Lion oppo- nents won't face this season is the lecture- hall-masquerading-as-an-arena that Penn State called home in years past. The Nittany Lions have replaced the ludi- crously small Rec Hall with the new 15,000-seat Bryce Jordan Center. Dunn is confident that the Nittany Li- ons will find success as they move into the new facility. "The system ... is primarily based on personnel," Dunn said. "We don't have an awful lot of things that are broken, so I'm not going to do a lot of fixing." Few things are broken for the Nittany Lions, but with Amaechi leaving a gaping hole in the middle, the Nittany Lions could struggle in the Big Ten. While they should destroy their patsy- cake non-conference schedule, ensuring another postseason berth, breaking .500 in the league would be a solid showing for the Nittany Lions. Z - m S v 215 5. STATE ST. 0u m r COLLEGE SHOE REPAIR & HOCKEY EQUIPMENT "The Biggest Little Hockey Shop in Town" We offer the Largest Selection of Ice Hockey and In-Line Skating Equipment on Campus! 607 E. William * 1/2 Block West of State Street Charbroiled Burgers & Chicken Weekday In-House Specials Homemade Soup Columbo Frozen Yogurt Chose any of our 22 Cereal, Candy, & Fruit Shakesl Sandwiches Salads Buffalo Wings " Chili " Fries Smoke Free Environment Open 7 Dayse 11om-lipm Weekdays Evening Campus Area Delivery 812 S. State Street 769-5650 BREAKFAST ANYTIME LUNCH+DINNER MON. - SAT. SUN. 7AM TO 10PM SAM TO 8PM 662-0400 ,