GLENDALE, Ariz. — Who had the nickname “Johnny Football”? Filmed at a football stadium, trey kaufman renThe connection between palm trees and the Mario Party video game continues.
A tour of Purdue's locker room on Friday:
when braeden smith He returned from an interview period in the breakout room wearing a T-shirt with a picture of Dennis Rodman on it. It was a strange choice.
But that's not the case, considering Smith said earlier this season that he intended to break Zach Eady's career rebounding record. Rodman was a stud rebounder, and the 6-foot Smith was looking to use that ability to break the school record. For the record, Smith falls short of Eady's record at Purdue with 937 rebounds with two seasons left.
Smith received several shirts for Christmas. Why is Rodman so attracted to Japan's top point guard?
“I watch basketball every day, play basketball, enjoy basketball, and I like his personality,” Smith said. “He likes to go out and be different. He's probably seen the shoes I'm wearing. They're all different and colorful. He likes different things. What is it?”
Speaking of different, if basketball weren't available, Smith would have chosen football. He played quarterback and safety until the sixth grade. His nickname was “Johnny Football” after former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.
It's unclear whether Purdue coach Ryan Walters will try to lure Smith into his program.
“I'd rather play defense, but at this stage I might be able to contribute offensively by throwing some no-look passes or doing some crazy things here and there,” Smith said. “I’ve always been a running quarterback, so I was able to use my speed to my advantage.”
shooting background
The Boilermakers practiced twice inside State Farm Stadium. When the Final Four is held in the Dome, stories behind the filming always surface.
1st year student: “It wasn’t as bad as I thought.” Miles Colvin Said. “When you play in a soccer stadium, your depth perception is a little off, but I think I adapted pretty well. I was able to hit the first two shots.”
Purdue's 50-minute practice on Friday featured a lot of shooting practice as players attempted as many shots as possible. Fletcher Royer made six consecutive jumpers during one stretch.
“The first few shots felt weird'' redshirt freshman camden heide Said. “I couldn't warm up. It's a lot different playing in an NBA arena for three weeks in a row after spending so much time in a place like Mackey. You get used to it. Now we're heading to a bigger stage. I’ll go.”
The Boilermakers don't expect to have any shooting issues with about 65,000 people inside the stadium for the national semifinals. Purdue ranks second nationally in his 3-point field goal percentage (40.6), and in his four straight games in the NCAA Tournament he has made 39%.
Performance and filming conditions in the dome are being discussed among the Boilermakers.
“Some of us have been to Final Four games and some of us haven't seen it yet,” he said. mason gillis He has a 47.5% 3-point shooting success rate. “Some had seen the pictures, some hadn't. We all had different perspectives on the court and its atmosphere.
“(Thursday) we practiced on the court, hit some shots and got a feel for the atmosphere around us. We all said it was better than we expected.”
Palm tree
When Kaufman-Len is around palm trees, the world is right.
“It’s always nice when you see palm trees,” Kaufmannren said.
Kaufmanlen grew up in southern Indiana and attended Silver Creek. It's not a place you'd expect to find a lot of palm trees, but the second-grader remembers going on a family trip to Florida and waking up in the morning to find palm trees.
“I used to sleep in the car and drive all the way to Florida. When I saw the palm trees, I felt like they were getting closer,” Kaufmannren said.
Purdue won three games in Hawaii, surrounded by palm trees. If you're looking for the Kaufman Wren/Palm Tree trend, there's no single defining moment. Kaufmannlen scored 20 points in three games in Hawaii, so hopefully that helps.
“When you have palm trees around you, you don't feel defeated,” Kaufmannren said. “Perhaps the media could be run that way.'' You could say, “Trey never lost his way when he saw a palm tree.'' Purdue has never lost. ” There must be some kind of connection there. ”
Kaufmanlen started watching movies. princess bride To escape from the daily life of basketball.
“It's really cool,” he said. “I've been relaxing and relaxing.”
mario party
Members of the scout team also participated in activities on Friday.
They were playing video games at the end of the locker room. On Thursday, walk-on Josh Furst won by playing Mario Party. Before the public media session ended on Friday, Furst was out on a two-day investigation.
happy birthday
Friday is ethan morton's birthday.
In addition to his special day, Purdue's practice at the Final Four was also Opening Day for his favorite baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Morton was wearing a Pirates jersey.
“You couldn't ask for anything more,” Morton said. “Obviously it’s very special to be in this environment and it’s like a once-in-a-lifetime deal and I’m excited to take it and be with them.”
Morton had planned to watch the baseball game because it started 20 minutes after public practice ended.
“It's perfect,” he said. “Everything's on time. We're ready to go.”
