Purdue student newspaper pleads to Zeller, I chuckle

  • 10/24/2007 1:04 pm in

Tyler ZellerFirst, an admission: I’ve always followed recruiting very closely. The main reason it piques my interest is the importance it plays on the overall health of the program. Because let’s face it, without good players, you’re not going to win. So I use it as a gauge of the direction the program is headed. So far, so good with Coach Sampson at the helm.

That said, I’ve never been one to sit and worry about a particular recruit coming to Indiana. I figure if the kid doesn’t want to come to IU, it’s his loss. There will always be someone else who will want to don the Cream and Crimson. That doesn’t seem to be the case with our friends in West Lafayette. Check out the following excerpts from their student newspaper, the Exponent:

Tyler Zeller, please come to Purdue. This is a cry that many people have shared over the recent months. I share that cry with them. There is a Facebook group pleading to help coach Matt Painter recruit Tyler Zeller. There’s a 25 percent chance he could come to Purdue as his top choices are Purdue, Indiana, North Carolina and Notre Dame.

Having Zeller would be beneficial for Purdue in more ways than one. First, dynasty. Zeller is the type of player you could build a program around. Purdue is already making a turn to become a threat in the conference and would only strengthen if Zeller came to West Lafayette.

Also, what could be better than making Kelvin Sampson and Indiana look like the losers when Zeller puts on the Old Gold and Black rather than the disgusting Crimson and Crap, err, Cream.

The last comment isn’t worth addressing further because it’s the obligatory shot at Indiana by the Purdue fan. Very creative, I must say. Probably took what, three seconds to come up with?

Second, the “please come to my school” comments are generally reserved for message board junkies. Not in this case. The student newspaper is begging a 17 year-old kid.

Third, I’m wondering how the word “dynasty” made its way into an article talking about Purdue basketball. If anyone wants to fill me in, I’m all ears.

In closing, I think we can all agree that Tyler Zeller is a great player. Would I love to have him at Indiana? Absolutely. Would I ever beg him to come to Indiana? Absolutely not.

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