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A not so good afternoon Boiler Fans! I say that because we have lost a young member of The Purdue Sports Family to Leukemia as former men's basketball player, Gary McQuay, passed away Thursday morning. Of course, are thoughts and prayers are with Gary, his brother Greg, and all of his loved ones. Boilerstation has a couple of articles with all the details.
In football news...there is a report that our All American Free Safety Stuart Schweigert has slightly torn or sprained his pcl tendon and though it will not require surgery, he is supposedly out for 1-3 weeks. Also today, we have the latest practice reports, and a feature on the story of fall practice, o-lineman walkon Nick Hardwick, who may start at guard for us this season. On the recruiting front, we had a big win in the o-line dept with the verbal commitment of Nick Fincher from Michigan. Nick is rated 3-stars by both Rivals and Insiders and is listed at 6-4, 275 lbs with very nice 4.9/40 agility.
Congrats to Coach Spack who is spearheading the recruitment of Michigan and may be on to some other studs from The Great Lakes State such as DE Doug Van Dyke, OT Chris Patrick, and RB Jerome Jackson. Now if we can just rope in a few more quality o-lineman, we should appease some of the restless recruiting freaks out there :-)
Apparently, Joe Tiller has requested that we be careful about disseminating info about practices on The Internet. In addition, he will be closing down practice access quite a bit more in the weeks to come. My thoughts on the matter are:
I support Tiller's stance in that we don't want to be broadcasting the playbook, game plans, secret personnel decisions, etc by being too detailed with practice reports.
I do think there is a strong correlation between being well informed and supporting the program though. I can clearly state that if it were not for The Internet reports on The Boilers, my excitement for the teams would wane considerably. It's not like the local print outlets cover Purdue here in Austin!
I would think that Coach Tiller sees the positives of The Internet (and I'd add Satellite TV) as well as the negatives. Because of The Internet, I have maintained a long distance passion and support (time, attendance, dollars) for Tiller's Program. I bet there are others both nearby and remote who could say the same thing.
Looking forward to seeing The Boiler Faithful on August 31st! I'll have my Vegas Gold t-shirt on just for Coach T.
In basketball news, Center Ivan Kartelo may have had his best effort yet with 8 rebounds in 13 minutes the other night for the Big 10 All-Stars in a losing cause. More on the most recent games are featured today as well as info on the men's basketball schedule and a recap of Gene Keady's roast.
Finally, today BoilerJoe Milligan is working on a Old Gold Free Press tailgater for the ISU game.
-Barclay
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Gary McQuay loses battle with leukemia
Former Boiler dies at age 24
"Gary McQuay, the former Purdue basketball player who was diagnosed with leukemia in March, 2000, died at 6:30 Thursday morning at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
McQuay, a 6-foot-9 forward who averaged 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 94 games from the 1996-97 season through '98-'99, was 24.
The 1996 Gary West graduate was attending second-semester classes at Purdue when his condition began to deteriorate on Feb. 14."
click on the above link for the full story
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Gary native's short life was full of many ups and downs
"Decorating a Christmas tree. Shining moments in Alaska. And an uncanny artistic likeness of Fred Flintstone.
When my phone rang Thursday and I learned former Purdue basketball player Gary McQuay had lost a lengthy battle with leukemia, those vivid images popped into my head.
The creative, free-spirited McQuay's three-year Boilermaker career was like a roller coaster ride at Ohio's Cedar Point. Up one moment. Down the next. And lots of twists and turns in the middle."
click on the above link for the full story
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Football Practice Report No. 10
Boilermakers work on the kicking game
"WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - There are not many question marks remaining for Purdue football coach Joe Tiller as his team heads into the final days of training camp.
The lone enigma on the squad according to Tiller is the kicking game. As a result, for the first time under Tiller, the Boilermakers used the first of two practices on Thursday to work exclusively with the kickers.
"This is the first time that we've devoted an entire practice to just the kicking game," said Tiller. "We'll come back on Saturday morning and have a kicking scrimmage. That is something we have done before. But we've never taken a practice and just worked on kicking the entire time, so I would say that we are very interested in honing in on that area."
click on the above link for the full story
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Football Practice Report No. 9
Orton confident in offense
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - In a State of the Offense address Wednesday afternoon, sophomore quarterback Kyle Orton is confident that the Boilermakers are improving.
"We're making progress," said the 6-foot-4, 215-pound native of Altoona, Iowa. "We're not all the way there, but we're working hard and getting better every day."
Orton, as well as the coaching staff, knows the offense faces the daunting task of facing an experienced defense in practice daily."
click on the above link for the full story
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Hardwick may wrestle a spot on Purdue's offensive line
By Michael Pointer
michael.pointer@indystar.com
August 15, 2002
http://www.indystar.com/article.php?pufb15.html
" WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Nick Hardwick played his last competitive football game in 1995 -- as a 5-6, 130-pound member of the Lawrence North High School freshman team.
"I don't even remember what position I played," he said. "I didn't play enough."
Seven years, 10 inches and more than 150 pounds later, he just might take the field with his Purdue teammates on Aug. 31 as the starting right guard -- though he moved to the position last week. "
click on the above link for the full story
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If Purdue has its way, Schweigert won't be nation's best-kept secret
"Even though he's not a record-setting quarterback, the decision to promote safety Stuart Schweigert for postseason awards was an easy one for Purdue sports information director Tom Schott.
Schott says his department will apply lessons learned from the Drew Brees Heisman Trophy campaign two years ago. On its official Web site, www.purduesports.com, Purdue is pushing Schweigert not only for All-America honors but for the Jim Thorpe (top defensive back) and Bronko Nagurski (top defensive player) awards.
"Based on the two years Stu has had here, he's the highest profile player we have right now," Schott said. "We have learned with Drew that you have to promote the heck out of your guys. "
"Notre Dame landed one of the state's top players -- and Purdue missed out on one -- when Valparaiso wide receiver Jeff Samardzija made a verbal commitment to the Irish on Monday.
Purdue appeared to be the frontrunner until Notre Dame made him an offer this summer. He was impressed with how the Purdue coaching staff made him feel like he was its No. 1 priority and a perfect fit for the Boilers' spread offense.
But Samardzija said he was impressed by first-year Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willingham's installation of the passing-friendly, West Coast offense for the Irish."
click on the above link for the full story
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2002-03 Men's Basketball Schedule Released
Boilermakers face Indiana on Dec. 14 in Indianapolis
"WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A preseason visit from the Harlem Globetrotters, a game at Xavier, a trip to Las Vegas to face Arizona State, a showdown with Louisville and a non-conference battle with Indiana in the RCA Dome highlight the 2002-03 Purdue men's basketball schedule.
After two exhibition games, including one against the Harlem Globetrotters on Nov. 5 in Mackey Arena and one against Marathon Oil on Nov. 15, the Boilermakers will play 27 games and conclude the schedule with the Big Ten Tournament from March 13 to 16 in Chicago, Ill."
"The Big Ten All-Stars dropped its first game of its European trip, 99-84, against Spirou Pepsi Charleroi, one of the top professional teams in Belgium on Thursday. The team is now 3-1 on the trip.
"This was by far the best team we've played on the tour," said head coach Bill Self. "This team was an experienced squad that finished second in the Belgium pro league last year, and probably has their sites set higher. They obviously have a good program and are very sound in what they do. They also defended very well."
Purdue's Ivan Kartelo grabbed eight rebounds in 13 minutes of action. Kartelo scored two points and registered one block and one steal."
"LIEGE, Belgium - Illinois' Sean Harrington knocked down two crucial three pointers in the final three minutes, including one to give the Big Ten their first lead of the second half with 4:26 remaining to lead the Big Ten All-Stars to an 81-79 victory over Euphony Liege Basketball Club on Tuesday.
The squad is now 3-0. The victory is the ninth in a row by the Big Ten touring teams over the last two years, tying the Big Ten's longest winning streak.
Purdue's Ivan Kartelo grabbed four rebounds, blocked two shots and had two steals in the victory. He also dished out two assists in the victory."
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14th Annual Gene Keady-Emerson Kampen Golf Classic Raises Over $40,000
"WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue men's basketball coach Gene Keady hosted the 14th annual Gene Keady-Emerson Kampen Golf Classic on Tuesday, at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex at Purdue University in West Lafayette.
Over $40,000 was raised for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Over 180 golfers participated in the scramble, which featured a live and silent auction.
Keady was happy to see a great turnout"
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