This week, in advance of Purdue opening preseason practice Friday, GoldandBlack.com is taking a detailed look at each of Purdue's scholarship players for the 2015-16 season.
We are going in descending order by height for order, so now comes the shortest center on Purdue's roster, 7-foot senior A.J. Hammons.
Where things stand: Hammons has to be considered one of the best true centers in college basketball, though his near time-share at the position with Isaac Haas might water down his numbers to some extent and cost him a bit of recognition in that sense.
He almost has to be considered a preseason first-team All-Big Ten player, though a few incoming freshmen will get a lot of preseason acclaim, and has to be considered the front-runner to unseat teammate Rapheal Davis as the Big Ten's Defensive Player-of-the-Year.
Hammons found consistency in the back half of his junior season and that was the biggest hurdle he had to overcome.
Keys to success: Hammons' breakthrough last season came mid-season when he suddenly shook all his prior issues with inattentiveness and foul trouble and raised his level of play - all across the board - considerably, and sustained it.
He stopped turning the ball over in bulk, he started finishing around the basket better and with more authority and he became an exponentially better defensive player. By that, we don't just mean blocking shots, but also being aware and a more effective back line defensive presence and communicator. He just became more aware and more responsible.
Now, the test is whether Hammons can pick up where he left off and play a full season at an optimal level.
A notorious slow starter, Hammons will want to show those days are behind him now. Sophomore year, it was foul trouble. Junior year, it was just general inconsistency, to the point he got benched in favor of a freshman.
Again, every indication is that those days are over. But Hammons still has to prove it.
In terms of other areas of improvement …
If you watched the game at Michigan State, you saw a game where the Spartans tried to beat Hammons up and had some success throwing him off his game. Could turn out to be a valuable lesson learned there, because all of Purdue's big men might get beaten on like piñatas this season and will have to learn to live with it.
And free throws … Hammons has the potential to be better than his 67-percent shooting last season. His form is excellent. Like with other aspects of basketball for Hammons in past years, it might just be a focus issue.
Speaking of form, Hammons is positioned better than ever this year to be a real threat to shoot the jumper. He looks great doing it sometimes, but in games, he'll need to best pick his spots. He looks terrific shooting them in practices, but the difference between making shots in games and workouts is significant, as Purdue well knows.
What the future may hold: After (wisely) opting each of the past two springs to pass on opportunities to try his hand early at the NBA, Hammons is back for his fourth and final season at Purdue, with NBA hopes remaining very much intact.
He does have much to prove to the pro people, though, and his interests on that front are no different than Purdue's needs from him.
Hammons came back to Purdue to win, a feeling he got his first real taste of from January on last season. But he will also have the chance to really help his future standing in basketball by improving in some of the ways the Boilermakers need him to improve.
Here's a video interview with Hammons from July …
------------------------------
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2015. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.
