GLENDALE, Ariz. – In the last locker room before leaving Purdue's locker room, Bailey Goode leans against the backdrop of the Final Four, headphones in her ears, staring at her laptop.
Who is Bailey Good?
He is the senior manager of the Purdue basketball team.
To many, he's an unknown in this NCAA tournament leading up to the national title game, but he was once the star point guard at Clinton Prairie High School, a rural school in Indiana about 40 miles from Purdue's campus. McKee Within the walls of his arena, his game is highly regarded.
“That's the great thing about Indiana basketball. It's like a brotherhood in a way,” Good said Sunday afternoon. “Even if you don't play against the players, you're going to see some of the headlines. You're going to see how they're doing.”
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Purdue star PJ Thompson.“I'm going to be one of the best college coaches in the country.”
And therein lies the blueprint for Purdue's success.
Do you need top-level domestic talent? Of course.
But if you live in basketball-obsessed Indiana, you might as well win the recruiting war in your state.
Baby boiler changed everything
When Matt Painter was hired by Purdue, Indiana had two of the top high school players in the country.
And Painter didn't even go after Greg Oden or Mike Conley.
Wisely, Purdue targeted this crop a year later than that group, given where Purdue's program was at the time, the post-David Teague and Carl Lundy era. knew full well what it would take to shock the Boilermakers into a comeback.
Doyle:In Indiana, the joke ends with a “banner.” If Purdue wins, a new conversation will begin.
Painter visited the Region, an area in northern Indiana bordering Illinois outside of Chicago. Purdue acquired E'Wuan Moore, Robbie Hamel, Scott Martin, and Ja'Juan Johnson from Indianapolis. They became known as “baby boilers”.
Although Martin transferred after one season, Moore, Hummel, and Johnson became well-known in college basketball circles, and all three played in the NBA.
footprints
When Bob Knight walked into a gym in Indiana, at least he could talk to the players he wanted.
That's where the painter is.
And his staff delivered a tough blow to the state.
Purdue's current roster has 17 players. Eleven of those players are from Indiana, including starters Trey Kaufman-Len, Fletcher Royer, Braden Smith and sixth man Mason Gillis. Five of Purdue's top eight come from their home state, including freshman Myles Colvin.
“I played against them in high school and watched them on the court and just respect them as players, so it's a great experience to be able to play with them,” said Jace Reil, a freshman walk-on from Kokomo. ” he said.
friends and enemies
Royer's final loss as a high school player still stings. And to top it all off, he was runner-up on IndyStar Mr. Basketball. Smith was the 2022 regional semifinal winner and earned the state's highest individual honor.
water under the bridge.
The two will be forever linked as they start their 74th consecutive game on Monday night.
But that's what happens when you have a lot of people in a locker room packed with former Indiana high school standouts.
“They've played against us a lot, especially AAU,” said assistant coach Terry Johnson, himself an Anderson alum. “They met every summer and knew each other before they became teammates.”
success begets success
Of Purdue's 11 players from Indiana, four won state championships in high school. The other two played on state runner-up teams.
“I expect to win every game I play for every team I play,” said Silver Creek Dragons forward Trey Kaufmanlen, who played in postseason games from his sophomore to senior years. He said he had won 16 straight games. “I was very surprised last year, not because we lost to a 16th seed or anything, but because we ended the season without a win. I'm used to every team being successful.”
So does Caleb Furst of the Purdue Conservation Center.
His Fort Wayne Blackhawk team won 17 straight postseason games from 2019 to 2021. During that period, First's team defeated a Lafayette Central Catholic team led by current Purdue senior Carson Barrett in the semistate.
“When you see people like high school kids, there’s a connection there,” Smith said. “Then we’ll be playing together in college, so that definitely gives us a little bit of an advantage.”
national pride
The 1987 Indiana Hoosiers were the last school in the state to win a men's basketball championship.
Purdue will be the first Division I program to reach the state title game since Butler in 2011.
Indiana was once the basketball capital of the world. In some ways, that's still the case, but some of the state's best talent continues to flee to colleges outside Indiana's borders.
However, Purdue has managed to maintain a significant share.
For many Purdue players, a national championship will not only be a victory for the Boilermakers, but a victory for Indiana high school basketball.
“It gives a sense of pride for many of us,” Furst said.
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email Sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and his Instagram @samultking.