Express Word: Villainy and the Final Four

GLENDALE. Ariz. — The Express Word is GoldandBlack.com’s weekly opinion column, written by Brian Neubert. In today’s edition, we discuss Purdue’s NCAA Tournament draw and more.

The Express Word is GoldandBlack.com’s weekly opinion column, written by Brian Neubert. In today’s edition, we discuss Purdue’s inexplicable bad-guy perception and more.

HEEL THEY COME

First of all, this season has really hammered home the importance — and maybe this is just me — of not platforming stupid takes, stupid people and worst of all purposefully stupid people profiting off stupid takes.

But in the way some of this stuff has driven Purdue, clearly the line between the real world and toxic-sports-society chum have collided.

For some reason — maybe because people suspect Zach Edey is actually here to kill John Conner — Purdue seems to have been assigned the role of heel this season, for a bunch of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that it’s possible to be both day-by-day favorite but also big-picture underdog, this is it.

It has gotten to Purdue.

“Personally, I love it,” said point guard Braden Smith, Purdue’s most slight-aware player. “I like when people doubt us..

“I don’t understand why people are the way they are and (dislike) us. We’re some of the nicest guys, probably one of the nicest teams you can be around or watch. It sucks a little bit, but at the same time, you have to embrace it.”

It is bizarre, and compounding matters will be the fact that Purdue draws the Tournament’s Cinderella to this point: North Carolina State and lovable DJ Burns. I think people like players they think that in another universe, they could be.

People at Purdue loved Robbie Hummel in part, I think, because they saw him as someone who could just as soon be their kid’s math teacher; Luka Doncic captivates the imagination in part because he looks like he might have just rolled off the couch. Lance Jones is popular because he’s having so much fun. Burns is, shall we say, well proportioned and either can’t or just doesn’t jump. Same as a lot of us.

Never mind the fact that Smith is short — don’t tell him I said that — and Fletcher Loyer looks like your accountant. Never mind the fact that Lance Jones is magnetic and joyous and Mason Gillis and Trey Kaufman-Renn are each smarter — and tougher — than most, a combination that doesn’t grow on trees. Never mind the fact that this is still about Gene Keady and today’s Gene Keady is adorable. Never mind the fact that Purdue’s effort is always good and that there’s not a coach or team that respects the game more. Never mind the fact that Purdue shoots tons of threes, runs and operates highly modern offense. And people who harbor ill will toward Edey because he’s really good, there’s just no helping them.

When Virginia lost to a 16, then won the national title, were they the villains?

Why not?

Connecticut has been mowing down everything in its path the past two NCAA Tournaments and has a particularly bombastic coach and “obnoxious as s–t” fans, per said coach. Are they the bad guys?

Illinois needed a court order to get its best player on the floor as he faces felony charges? Were they the bad guys?

What is wrong with people? I’m not saying people should love Purdue or anything, but the animosity is weird.

THE UPSHOT OF ALL THIS

Purdue basketball doesn’t need this exposure as much as Purdue could use this exposure.

This stuff makes a difference. You will see applications to the university increase, most likely, as they did after Drew Brees took Purdue to the Rose Bowl.

Ryan Walters, Katie Gearlds, Dave Shondell, etc., will benefit from this. The John Purdue Club and Boilermaker Alliance will benefit from this.

Matt Painter and them, they’re good. Every coach wants more of this, more of that, but Painter isn’t like that, and there’s not a lot of fighting for things with this current administration, from the Trustees and athletic director on down.

Purdue doesn’t need a higher level of recruit. Maybe this makes it a little easier to get its guys, but it’s already getting its guys one on top of the other, usually early, and the success rate has been outstanding. Is this going to make Purdue’s staff a better place to work? Well, coaches don’t leave for anything other than head coaching jobs and once there are vacancies, they are really attractive.

This is a big deal for the men’s basketball program, but an even bigger deal, ultimately, for the university and athletic department as wholes.

RANDOM THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

• Hear me out: One of the endearing things about this Purdue team this season has been, yes, profanity. Feel free to disagree, if you’re one of those people, but I think it’s both endearing and revealing.

Matt Painter for weeks now has seemed to be Easter-egging a harmless, inoffensive four-letter word into his public musings, and after the Tennessee game, Zach Edey wasn’t quite so subtle, declaring in no uncertain terms that his opinion is that Purdue has been underestimated (and that he does, in fact, want Ric Flair).

What does salty language tell us about these potty-mouths?

That they’re secure in themselves and that they don’t give two (tee hee) about what people think, the very essence of what Purdue has been this year against what could have been the stifling weight of this season’s desired exorcisms.

• A very important thing to point out here as it pertains to Purdue facing DJ Burns, then potentially Donovan Clingan …

Zach Edey is one thing, but this isn’t just about dealing with him in the post. It’s the marriage between Purdue’s Braden Smith-driven ball-screen offense and Edey on the block that can just grind opposing bigs down to a nub. Purdue’s goal is to make centers guard multiple actions, often ending with fighting Edey.

And tempo just adds another layer to it.

Don’t forget how much the battle-of-attrition factor means to Purdue.

• Another thing to keep in mind: Jump-shooting in football stadiums. It’s my understanding that the layouts have changed over the years, but last time I covered a game at this place, it felt like a basketball court in the middle of a convention center. The backgrounds could not have been helpful for jump-shooters.

How did Purdue shoot in the Lucas Oil Bubble a few years back?

Not saying it’s guaranteed to be a problem for anyone and if it is, it would apply to all four teams, right?

But it’s just something to be mindful of, I suppose.

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