Thursday Gumbo

The mood about Robert Marve on a few of the Purdue boards has changed because of this article...The way I look at this stuff is it's a pretty big crapshoot. Marve could come to Purdue and be a world-beater, but he could also come in and be beaten out by the unheralded & underexperienced TerBush or Henry. But, competition is paramount for making any team better, before they even hit the field, so I'm a proponent of Marve coming to Purdue.

What I'm not a proponent of is a guy dragging this process on and on...So make up your mind, young fella- either way it's not the end of the world or the second coming of my savior. It's just a kid who seems to be fickle looking for greener pastures. Hope it works out well for him- and if he decides to go to Tennessee as a walk-on, I hope their signing makes up for the lack of schollie.

(oh snap, no he didn't)

I kid Vol fan...gimme a hug.

Rafa
In basketball "news", a Freshman in high school has decided what he'll be doing in four years.

Raphael Davis has verballed to play with Matty and Co. in four years.

I'm told this is a big deal...but I've never seen the kid play, never seen a video of him and didn't watch a ton of eighth grade basketball in '07-'08. Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy that Raphael likes coach Painter and wants to be a part of the Purdue family in 3+ years, but the last time I remember a Freshman verballing to play for my Boilers, he ended up playing in Bloomington and finally Alabama.

I know this is what basketball recruiting is/has become...but if this guy is as good as some sources believe, he'll have a stack of offers up to his waist by the end of his Soph season...and will have all sorts of impropriety heading his direction as the Calipari and Floyd-types of the college basketball world slither into the picture. Let's hope that neither Worldwide Wes nor any other mythological college basketball mobster falls in love with Raphael in the next few years.

The way I see it, the only way to get these kids to stick to their word is make sure they'll be surrounded with other guys who will be part of their class...Patterson, Teague and Smith-Rivera all come to mind. In my opinion, it's sad that I know the name of four high school Freshman players off of the top of my head.

What I think we all want are guys that will go to class, not get arrested and want to be at Purdue...as Purdue wins more and more games, finding talent that fits that bill should become easier and easier. I don't want to hear about any dealings with crooked AAU coaches and $50 handshakes in West Lafayette; that stuff's not worth it.

Indy
The track opened up today for practice after a few days of it being closed so they could rest the pavement (I guess)...and the radar looks clear. Hopefully guys like John Andretti, Servia and others can find speed...I'd also love to see someone from another circuit get in a car and try to put in some laps in the 11th hour like it was back in the 80s...I know I'm dreaming.