Painter preaches fight again at banquet

Afteraseasonthatdidn'tgoasplannedwithalast-placefinishintheBigTenandasecondconsecutivelosingseason,MorganBurkeandMattPaintertalkedabouthandlingadversitybutmaintainingthefightinPurdue'spostseasonbanquetWednesday.

Intheevent,whichlastedabouttwohours,Painteradmittedtheseasonwas"very,veryfrustrating"aftertheBoilermakerscouldneverfindconsistencywithalargelyyoungroster.

"Nobodywantstobehere.Youcangoputthecoversoveryourheadandfeelsorryforyourselforyoucanlearnfromit,"Paintersaid,speakingtohisteamandthegroupinsidethePurdueStudentUnionbanquethall."Youcanbecomeabettermanbecauseofitandyoucanhelppeopleasyougoalongfromtheexperiencesthatyouhad.

"It'shardtobegood.Itjustis.It'shardtomakesacrifices.It'shardwhenthingsgettough,whatdoyoudoandthat'swhoyouarewhenadversitysetsin.WhenwemetwithJesseJacksonacoupleyearsagoandhespoketoourteamfor15minutes…theonethingthatreallystuckwithmewasthatchampionsalwaysgetoffthecanvas.Youdon'tmakeanexcuse.Yougetupandfightagain."

ADBurkealsoreferencedhow"heartbreak"canteachyoungmenlessons.Admittedlylessonsthatdon'twanttobelearned,"skills"thataren'tnearlyasmuchfunaswinning,hesaid.Butwhatheconsidersvaluableskills.

"It'sinlearninghowtodealwiththatadversity,disappointment,thatthesuccessultimatelycomes,"hetoldtheplayers."Allofunderstandthatlifedoesnotalwaysrewardourhardworkthewaywewantittoberewarded.Butasstudent-athletes,Ithinkwelearnandfigureoutthatyouhavetogetontothenextplay,nextgameandnextmoment,andthat'ssomethingyou'llcarrywithyouforalifetime."

It'satoolthatthereturningplayersforwouldrathernothavetoworryaboutfor2014-15.

Paintersaidit'llbecrucialmovingforwardforhisteamtofocusonthelittlethingslikefreethrows,looseballs,box-outassignmentsandfollowingascoutingreport.

Hedoesn'tthinktalentwasthereasonPurduemanagedtowinonly15ofits32gameslastseason.Itwasattitude,workethicanddecision-making.

"Ifyoudon'tliketheholeyou'rein,stopdiggingandstartfighting,"hesaid.

HandingouttheawardsTeroneJohnsontookhometheteam'sbiggesthonorforthesecondconsecutiveseason,beingvotedMVPbyhisteammates.

Johnson,aguard,averagedateam-high12.0pointspergameinhisfinalseason.

"Eventhoughwedidn'thavetheseasonwecouldhavehad,justcomingfrommyteammates,namingmetheTeamMVP…itwasaprettygoodhonor,"Johnsonsaid.

HesaidhevotedforA.J.Hammons.

FellowseniorTravisCarrollalsogotaspecialaward,thefirstTomReiterAwardgiventotheindividualwhoexemplifiesthevalueofbeingatrueBoilermaker.Reiter,thelongtimecoachandadministrator,diedinJanuary.

"Iwasn'texpectinganything,sogettingthataward-especiallyforahigh-characterguylikeTom,beingaroundourprogramlikehewas-isunbelievableforme,"Carrollsaid.

Inotherawards:HammonsgottheReboundAwardandPlayHardAward,SterlingCarterearnedtheCourageAwardandMr.HustleAwardandwalk-onJonMcKeemanwontheLambertAwardforhighestGPAthelasttwosemesters.

WordsofadviceMostoftheseniorsincludedintheirspeecheswordsspecificallydirectedatthereturningplayers.

Carter'smayhavebeenthemostpassionate,urgingthemto"dowhatyouguysaresupposedto."Heremindedthemthathardworkwouldpayoffashesaidhedidforhim,eventuallygettingmoreplayingtimeinhisonlyseasonatPurdue.Hetoldtheyoungstersnottotaketheexperienceforgranted.

Johnson,too,madesuretotellhisteammatestostayfocusedontheirgoals.

Carrollthinksthat'simportant,too.

"Ithinkjustusingeveryopportunitythattheycantowardstheirgoalandrealizingthatliterallyeverysingleplayinabasketballgamecanbethedifference"willbekey,hesaid."Sayyoulosebyonepoint.Maybethatbadshotyoutookwith18minutesleftinthefirsthalfcouldbethegamerightthere.Soyouhavetotreasureeverypossessionyouget."

SeizingtheopportunityAftersittingthroughthreepreviousbanquets,Carrollknewwhatitwasabout.Andwhenhegothischancetogiveaseniorspeech,hedidn'twasteit.

Thecoacheswhogavehimallhecouldhandleoverhiscareerweregoingtogetroasted.

Inthefunniestspeechofthenight,Carrolldeliveredawide-rangingassaultthathe'dseendonesowellbypreviousteammates,especiallyRyneSmith,whowasatthebanquettosupporthisgoodbuddy.

"WithSterlingandErrick,Idon'tthinktheyrealizedthewholething.ThenTerone,Ithoughthehadasubparperformance,littledisappointed,"Carrollsaid,smiling.

ButCarroll,whowasthefirstseniortospeak,cameoutblazing.

Hetoldthestoryofhowhe'dplannedtogoonatriptoArizonawithhisfamilyduringhisfreshmanyear-kindofalastfamilyvacationbecausehissisterhadjustgottenajob-butPaintertoldhimhecouldn'tgobecausehehadtostayforMaymester.

"SoIcanceledthetrip.Itwasfine.Itwasonlyabout$500,"saidCarroll,tonguefirmlyplantedincheek."IwasjustabletogotoArizonaforthefirsttimeinnineyears."

HestartedwithassistantcoachGregGarysaying,"verygoodcoach"butthenquicklytookaturn.HesaidGarywouldcussplayersoutbutwouldn'traisehisvoice,sohethankedthecoachfor"cussingmeoutwithouteverybodyelsehearing."(Fortherecord,GaryapproachedCarrollafterwardandmadesureanearbyreporterheardhimplayfullydenysuchinstances.)

HecalledoutBrandonBrantleyforholdinginthepostinpractice,hittingplayers"unbelievablyhardfornoreason"andnevercallingafoul.

Carrollalsoplayedbitteraboutbeingabletogotoabunchofnicerestaurantsaspartoftheteam,helpinghimdevelop"reallyexpensivetaste"onlynowto"havenoincome"tosupportit.

Intherestofhisspeech,whichhemadetosuretonotewasn'taslongashisseniordayone,healsothankedtrainersforhis"body-builder-likephysique."

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