Recruiting question from a newbie

[ItalianBoiler]

Hey guys, international fan here. Not so sure I can define myself as a "real" Boiler fan but I'm definitely a huge sympathizer.
I love the college basketball world and follow it as much as I can but with the difference in time, language and culture, sometimes things are not so clear to me. So I was wondering, why a great basketball program like Purdue, with passionate fans, great history and a very good coach is not able to recruit top class talent (I'm not saying a top ten guy every year, more like a 5 stars player every two classes) more consistently? It's because of the "defense first/team first" mentality? It's because Purdue isn't, for some reason, a one-and-done school? It's because of too much following of the rules (something to be proud of, btw)?

Don't get me wrong, this team is full of talent and players who were clearly underrated out of the high school (A.J., Vince, Isaac and Ray are all top caliber players to me) and I think Purdue will respond when the big challanges will arrive in the next months.

I don't know if it's a silly question to you die-hard fans but I was just curious. Sorry for my english. Boiler up!

 

[FiveWeight]

Probably a lot of reasons. Here's my top 2:

1) It takes momentum. A program like Duke can recruit on name alone because they've won so many championships. If Purdue were to win 2 NCs in the next 5 years, they would be able to recruit elite players every year for a couple decades no matter who was coaching.

2) In the state of Indiana, more casual fans relate to Indiana university since it shares the same name as the state. Thus, a lot of in-state kids grow up with extended families that never went to IU but who follow it. Part of that is due to the NCs Indiana had a few decades ago, though that advantage is dwindling with every passing year.

There are other reasons. Academics are notably difficult at Purdue. As a state school with high academic reputation, they have to be less selective with entrance criteria but are determined to graduate only the best from many programs like Engineering. Therefore, the coursework is very difficult and weeds out a lot of students. This isn't true of all programs, but when I was a freshman in the late 90s, something like only 62% of incoming freshmen got their bachelors. Also, not having a draw such as being near a beach doesn't help. A lot of elite programs have the recruiting benefit of being located in a location you might vacation (or "holiday" if you're from over-seas). In short, it's a sum of many factors.

 

[tjreese]

Probably a lot of reasons. Here's my top 2:

1) It takes momentum. A program like Duke can recruit on name alone because they've won so many championships. If Purdue were to win 2 NCs in the next 5 years, they would be able to recruit elite players every year for a couple decades no matter who was coaching.

2) In the state of Indiana, more casual fans relate to Indiana university since it shares the same name as the state. Thus, a lot of in-state kids grow up with extended families that never went to IU but who follow it. Part of that is due to the NCs Indiana had a few decades ago, though that advantage is dwindling with every passing year.

There are other reasons. Academics are notably difficult at Purdue. As a state school with high academic reputation, they have to be less selective with entrance criteria but are determined to graduate only the best from many programs like Engineering. Therefore, the coursework is very difficult and weeds out a lot of students. This isn't true of all programs, but when I was a freshman in the late 90s, something like only 62% of incoming freshmen got their bachelors. Also, not having a draw such as being near a beach doesn't help. A lot of elite programs have the recruiting benefit of being located in a location you might vacation (or "holiday" if you're from over-seas). In short, it's a sum of many factors.

I'm not going to add much here only because this particular subject has been beaten around by me for a few decades and you certainly hit on some of the issues. I will add star power versus underrated. First, star power is an indication of worth. IT does carry weight and generally speaking the more star power the more talent.

That said...star power is an individual rating most generally and measures little to nothing of team contributions and defense...things that matter as well. I don't know that Purdue's talent was underrated as much as we sometimes get an infatuation with star power that we don't see other areas that people contribute. Still, there is a positive correlation between more star power and more talent...but that correlation has a regression as well...

 

[TopSecretBoiler]

A lot, but not all, come with "handlers". These are the sort of people who are looking to get something out of the recruitment either for themselves or the player, or both. This can be anything from money, housing, car, or even a job on the staff (use your imagination). CMP rightly refuses to deal with that crap so that eliminates a good chunk of them right off the bat. The rest can pick and choose where they go and they tend to go to the proven coaches/programs and it's hard to blame them for that. Honestly I think CMP is on the verge of breaking through and becoming a proven established winner where elite talent can flourish.

 

[Do Dah Day]

In general, there are 20 5* players each year. It varies. Considering things like spending more time with their AAU coaches than they do their parents, traveling all over the country, shoe contracts with AAU teams and college teams, et al. There is a LOT of pressure on 5*s to go somewhere "great" and to go where other 5*s (their traveling friends) are going. If you figure KY, Duke, Kansas, and MSU will draw 6 to 8 of them and local teams (WI, LSU, Florida, Maryland, OSU) will get another 3 or 4, that leaves 8 or so for the rest. We haven't mentioned the appeal of NC, Syracuse, AZ, Gonzaga, IU, UCLA, and many others. Until Purdue becomes one of THE teams, through winning, the pool of 5*s that we appeal to will be limited. On the other hand, a lot of teams have done very, very well with 4*s. As we are showing. If Painter continues to be astute in his talent evaluation, and sells the program well, we can keep on keeping one just fine.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

Ok, thanks for the answers!
I was thinking, could also be because top prospects watch how many NBA players a school develops (and the draft position as well)?
And, if that's the case, don't you think it would be a good thing for CMP try to give AJH a little bit more exposure?
It's clear that is impossible cut down Isaac's minutes right now (he is simply playing at an unbelievable level of efficiency) but maybe for future will be a good thing for both Purdue and A.J. if he can impress NBA scouts and earn a first round selection.

 

[Bigohh]

Ok, thanks for the answers!
I was thinking, could also be because top prospects watch how many NBA players a school develops (and the draft position as well)?
And, if that's the case, don't you think it would be a good thing for CMP try to give AJH a little bit more exposure?
It's clear that is impossible cut down Isaac's minutes right now (he is simply playing at an unbelievable level of efficiency) but maybe for future will be a good thing for both Purdue and A.J. if he can impress NBA scouts and earn a first round selection.

Interesting point about AJ in that I was talking to some people last night about the option of having AJ sub for Swanigan as well as Haas and go big on teams who are big. It looks to me like Purdue's vulnerability is having Swanigan, Hass, and AJ guard a player who can make a 3 and also drive the ball. On the other hand, it seems that AJ has improved his range to where he cannot be ignored out around the 3 point line but I do not believe he can drive or has the handles to take more than one dribble before shooting or passing.

 

[tjreese]

Interesting point about AJ in that I was talking to some people last night about the option of having AJ sub for Swanigan as well as Haas and go big on teams who are big. It looks to me like Purdue's vulnerability is having Swanigan, Hass, and AJ guard a player who can make a 3 and also drive the ball. On the other hand, it seems that AJ has improved his range to where he cannot be ignored out around the 3 point line but I do not believe he can drive or has the handles to take more than one dribble before shooting or passing.

yeah, AJ is not one to dribble in traffic or quickly....but I would expect a lot of junior high students to be able to shoot a layup with one dribble from the FT line...course that is only getting through one person on D adn not having to gather oneself ...

 

[purdue4sure]

Ok, thanks for the answers!
I was thinking, could also be because top prospects watch how many NBA players a school develops (and the draft position as well)?
And, if that's the case, don't you think it would be a good thing for CMP try to give AJH a little bit more exposure?
It's clear that is impossible cut down Isaac's minutes right now (he is simply playing at an unbelievable level of efficiency) but maybe for future will be a good thing for both Purdue and A.J. if he can impress NBA scouts and earn a first round selection.

I'm curious why you think that you can see it, but NBA scouts aren't smart enough to see it.

 

[New Pal Boiler]

Hey guys, international fan here. Not so sure I can define myself as a "real" Boiler fan but I'm definitely a huge sympathizer.
I love the college basketball world and follow it as much as I can but with the difference in time, language and culture, sometimes things are not so clear to me. So I was wondering, why a great basketball program like Purdue, with passionate fans, great history and a very good coach is not able to recruit top class talent (I'm not saying a top ten guy every year, more like a 5 stars player every two classes) more consistently? It's because of the "defense first/team first" mentality? It's because Purdue isn't, for some reason, a one-and-done school? It's because of too much following of the rules (something to be proud of, btw)?

Don't get me wrong, this team is full of talent and players who were clearly underrated out of the high school (A.J., Vince, Isaac and Ray are all top caliber players to me) and I think Purdue will respond when the big challanges will arrive in the next months.

I don't know if it's a silly question to you die-hard fans but I was just curious. Sorry for my english. Boiler up!

Nice work, troll. Have to admit I laughed at the Balki Bartokomos-like English.

Move along now.

 

[boilerzz]

Nice work, troll. Have to admit I laughed at the Balki Bartokomos-like English.

Move along now.

Dude, what the hell?

 

[CRBoiler]

Dude, what the hell?

Yeh, New Pal, guy does not seem troll-like to me. Read the whole thread. I see what you're thinking... That this guy is what I think of as the "sneaky patronizing" type of troll. Possible I suppose, but if so then his attempt is a fail. I'm not really a fan of calling troll on people unless it is clear, and this one ain't clear to me. Seems pretty real and sincere to me.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

I'm curious why you think that you can see it, but NBA scouts aren't smart enough to see it.

I'm not saying that they can't see it, obviously they can. I'm just saying that is easiest for a gm to draft a guy with stats like 30 mpg, 16-17 ppg, 10 rpg and 3+ blks, because media and fans love good stats (probably too much).

Nice work, troll. Have to admit I laughed at the Balki Bartokomos-like English.

Move along now.

Troll? For what, asking a question and read the answers? Not a great troll-job by me...

And again, sorry for my english. Maybe you can write something in italian so I can laugh too.

 

[dumpsterFyre]

To put it into Italian soccer (because I'm in the US) terms, Purdue is like SSC Napoli . We have a rich history, won the league a couple times, but never the big one in the UCL or NCAA Tournament (although we've come close in the 80's). Like Napoli, we aren't usually associated with the top tier of our sport, although we have a recognizable brand.

We are able to attract mid-high (top 25-100) level talent because like Napoli in Serie A, we play in one of the top conferences--the Big Ten. However, if a target recruit shows promise, this youngster usually gets courted by the big clubs in Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, MCFC because they offer competition at the highest level. These institutions like UK, KU, UNC, put a lot of money into their basketball programs, that Purdue until late (facility upgrades, recruiting budget, coach salaries), has not been able to match.

Purdue's historic best recruits come from local Indiana schools as Napoli's are homegrown Italian players. I believe, to break into the next level of recruiting, Purdue needs to demonstrate sustained success in the NCAA tournament and Big Ten to be a national brand and attract the young wrold-class players like Neymars and Raheem Sterling.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

To put it into Italian soccer (because I'm in the US) terms, Purdue is like SSC Napoli . We have a rich history, won the league a couple times, but never the big one in the UCL or NCAA Tournament (although we've come close in the 80's). Like Napoli, we aren't usually associated with the top tier of our sport, although we have a recognizable brand.

We are able to attract mid-high (top 25-100) level talent because like Napoli in Serie A, we play in one of the top conferences--the Big Ten. However, if a target recruit shows promise, this youngster usually gets courted by the big clubs in Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, MCFC because they offer competition at the highest level. These institutions like UK, KU, UNC, put a lot of money into their basketball programs, that Purdue until late (facility upgrades, recruiting budget, coach salaries), has not been able to match.

Purdue's historic best recruits come from local Indiana schools as Napoli's are homegrown Italian players. I believe, to break into the next level of recruiting, Purdue needs to demonstrate sustained success in the NCAA tournament and Big Ten to be a national brand and attract the young wrold-class players like Neymars and Raheem Sterling.

Ok, thanks for putting this into italian soccer (or football?), it's always a good way to try to explain something to an italian guy. But to me the two worlds are too much different to be compared. As a huge Inter fan I can assure you that in Italian/International soccer world the thing that really matters is just money. If you have money you can do whatever you want and be able to play for big trophies. If you haven't money you can be as good as you want, you'll never compete at the highest level. Chelsea, PSG and MCFC are all good example of that, they were mediocre teams before some random billionaire or sheik decided to buy the team and invest a crazy amount of money in it. It worked that way also for Napoli, they were in serie C before De Laurentiis bought the team.

That's one of the great things about college basketball, money are no involved in a big way (at least in theory).
However I understand what you're saying, but in my mind Purdue is a top program, right after schools like UK, KU, UNC, Duke, UCLA and few others.

How you see the recruiting situation for 2017? I read here that Indiana is loaded with talent in that class, I hope the Boilers can pick up some great talents!

 

[njm8845]

Just a few questions to the OP:
- how did you pick Purdue to follow? Any friend or family connection?
- have you ever had the privilege of watching a game in Mackey?
- are you able to watch many games?

 

[dumpsterFyre]

I'm sure most of us would be flattered that you've included Purdue in that group. The similar trait amongst UK, KU, UNC, Duke, and UCLA are multiple NCAA championships. I think we have a chance to make a deep run in the tournament this year. If we keep making deep runs, the media exposure could also be an effective recruiting tool.

I think we have 3 scholarships available for 2017. My opinion is that Biggie and Isaac are coming back unless we make a Final Four and they have great games (cash in on high draft stock). Neither of them mentioned right now on Draftexpress 2016 mock draft updated on Monday.

We definitely will have a need for another strong post presence. I think one of Jaren Jackson, Jeremiah Tilmon, or Malik Williams would be a perfect fit.

Illinois, another fertile recruiting ground, also has a good crop in 2017. I think the odds are good that we will be able to reload with quality players.

That's my .02 USD.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

Just a few questions to the OP:
- how did you pick Purdue to follow? Any friend or family connection?
- have you ever had the privilege of watching a game in Mackey?
- are you able to watch many games?

- For a very stupid reason, I played with them in a videogame . And then I saw a couple of games of the Moore-Kramer-Hummel-JaJuan team and I loved the mentality and the style of that team, so I started to follow it more closely. That's why I said I can't be considered a "real fan" like you guys are, but more a sympathizer (if that's the right word). No friend or family connection at all.
- No, unfortunately I haven't. I hope to be there someday and live a real college basketball experience, I'm sure the atmosphere is great.
- Not so many in live coverage (the majority of the tip-offs are at 1 a.m. or later here). This year i watched live the games against ODU, Florida and the first half vs New Mexico. And I downloaded or watched on YouTube the games vs Pitt, Incarnate Word and Leigh.

I'm sure most of us would be flattered that you've included Purdue in that group. The similar trait amongst UK, KU, UNC, Duke, and UCLA are multiple NCAA championships. I think we have a chance to make a deep run in the tournament this year. If we keep making deep runs, the media exposure could also be an effective recruiting tool.

I think we have 3 scholarships available for 2017. My opinion is that Biggie and Isaac are coming back unless we make a Final Four and they have great games (cash in on high draft stock). Neither of them mentioned right now on Draftexpress 2016 mock draft updated on Monday.

We definitely will have a need for another strong post presence. I think one of Jaren Jackson, Jeremiah Tilmon, or Malik Williams would be a perfect fit.

Illinois, another fertile recruiting ground, also has a good crop in 2017. I think the odds are good that we will be able to reload with quality players.

That's my .02 USD.

I wasn't be able to explain my thought. I meant that for me is:
Tier 1 - UK, KU, UNC, Duke, UCLA and a few others
Tier 2 - Purdue is there for sure

Thanks for your opinion about 2017 recruiting!

 

[dumpsterFyre]

I'm sure the players are happy to have your support nonetheless! Speaking as an alumnus, I'm more than happy to see our institution has made basketball fans around the globe.

 

[New Pal Boiler]

Dude, what the hell?

I very well could be wrong, but this guy strikes me as a very clever troll. Can someone actually trace his IP address to Italy? Or does it instead come from Fort Wayne?

I apologize in advance Italian Boiler if I am mistaken, this just seems a little off to me. If you are a troll, congrats on the creativity and ingenuity.

 

[patj11288]

Based on your user name I'll assume you're Italian haha. An analogy that may be appropriate is that they are kind of like Roma. (more so then Napoli who was irrelevant and bankrupt for a long period of time). We have a nice history, an extremely passionate fan base that is mostly concentrated among Purdue Alumni and people living in the area, and have had some very good players over the years, but we just have not been able to get over the hump in the tournament. Kind of like Roma we have been a been a bit of a choke artist over the years.

As far as the 2017 class I think we have a good shot at some of those in-state guys. Our problem and why we had two years of falling off the map was largely due to not landing solid in-state talent and instead having to settle for mediocre to bad players like Lawson, Sandi, Hale, et al. Hopefully there isn't a let down in 2017.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

I very well could be wrong, but this guy strikes me as a very clever troll. Can someone actually trace his IP address to Italy? Or does it instead come from Fort Wayne?

I apologize in advance Italian Boiler if I am mistaken, this just seems a little off to me. If you are a troll, congrats on the creativity and ingenuity.

No problem man, I understand your troll fever, many sport forums are full of them. But I assure you that I'm not a troll and I'm from Italy, do all the checks that you want.

Based on your user name I'll assume you're Italian haha. An analogy that may be appropriate is that they are kind of like Roma. (more so then Napoli who was irrelevant and bankrupt for a long period of time). We have a nice history, an extremely passionate fan base that is mostly concentrated among Purdue Alumni and people living in the area, and have had some very good players over the years, but we just have not been able to get over the hump in the tournament. Kind of like Roma we have been a been a bit of a choke artist over the years.

With the only difference that you guys actually support your team and help the Boilers to succeed. Instead these ridiculous Roma's ultras (or hooligans, call them as you want) are only able to criticise and create a bad atmosphere around the team every time they have some difficulties. To me that's the main reason for their lack of success.

 

[patj11288]

No problem man, I understand your troll fever, many sport forums are full of them. But I assure you that I'm not a troll and I'm from Italy, do all the checks that you want.



With the only difference that you guys actually support your team and help the Boilers to succeed. Instead these ridiculous Roma's ultras (or hooligans, call them as you want) are only able to criticise and create a bad atmosphere around the team every time they have some difficulties. To me that's the main reason of their lack of success.

True. Roma's Ultras are absolutely awful, but so are a lot of clubs. Full disclosure, my favorite club team is Roma. I grew up watching Totti, which was somewhat difficult here in the states. Purdue like Roma has a pretty regional fan base. Of course you have alumni who have moved all over the country, but we are a long ways off from your historically blue blood programs. We're not a Cinderella team and we don't have the history of tournament success that your typical casual observer would get excited about.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

True. Roma's Ultras are absolutely awful, but so are a lot of clubs. Full disclosure, my favorite club team is Roma. I grew up watching Totti, which was somewhat difficult here in the states. Purdue like Roma has a pretty regional fan base. Of course you have alumni who have moved all over the country, but we are a long ways off from your historically blue blood programs. We're not a Cinderella team and we don't have the history of tournament success that your typical casual observer would get excited about.

Francesco "Er Pupone" Totti, what a player! I don't know how many years will pass until we will have another player of that quality in our National Team...

Anyway, thanks for the explanation and the Roma-Purdue comparison!

 

[patj11288]

Francesco "Er Pupone" Totti, what a player! I don't know how many years will pass until we will have another player of that quality in our National Team...

Anyway, thanks for the explanation and the Roma-Purdue comparison!

Could have been Cassano, but for Cassanata. Too bad.

 

[atmafola]

To put it into Italian soccer (because I'm in the US) terms, Purdue is like SSC Napoli . We have a rich history, won the league a couple times, but never the big one in the UCL or NCAA Tournament (although we've come close in the 80's). Like Napoli, we aren't usually associated with the top tier of our sport, although we have a recognizable brand.

We are able to attract mid-high (top 25-100) level talent because like Napoli in Serie A, we play in one of the top conferences--the Big Ten. However, if a target recruit shows promise, this youngster usually gets courted by the big clubs in Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG, MCFC because they offer competition at the highest level. These institutions like UK, KU, UNC, put a lot of money into their basketball programs, that Purdue until late (facility upgrades, recruiting budget, coach salaries), has not been able to match.

Purdue's historic best recruits come from local Indiana schools as Napoli's are homegrown Italian players. I believe, to break into the next level of recruiting, Purdue needs to demonstrate sustained success in the NCAA tournament and Big Ten to be a national brand and attract the young wrold-class players like Neymars and Raheem Sterling.

Do you know one of soccer overall top 3 legends did play for Napoli once. I am talking about Diego Maradona. That would be like having Magic or MJ or Kareem playing for us. The best we ever came to having the best in the game were Mount and Big Dog.

 

[cjf04]

What Italian would ever use the term "newbie"? Get it together fellas, you're smarter than this....

 

[patj11288]

Do you know one of soccer overall top 3 legends did play for Napoli once. I am talking about Diego Maradona. That would be like having Magic or MJ or Kareem playing for us. The best we ever came to having the best in the game were Mount and Big Dog.

Or Wooden, but that is well before any of us were alive.

 

[patj11288]

What Italian would ever use the term "newbie"? Get it together fellas, you're smarter than this....

I would argue anyone that plays video games online would be familiar with the term newbie whether American or not. Maybe he is a troll, but he seems to know a pretty decent amount about Calcio and Serie A.......

 

[ItalianBoiler]

Do you know one of soccer overall top 3 legends did play for Napoli once. I am talking about Diego Maradona. That would be like having Magic or MJ or Kareem playing for us. The best we ever came to having the best in the game were Mount and Big Dog.

Yeah but the situation of soccer and Serie A was very different in the '80s (and I also think that Maradona was a little overrated, but that's just mho).

What Italian would ever use the term "newbie"? Get it together fellas, you're smarter than this....

Actually it's a word vastly used on the internet and in almost every forum and online game.

I would argue anyone that plays video games online would be familiar with the term newbie whether American or not. Maybe he is a troll, but he seems to know a pretty decent amount about Calcio and Serie A.......

I don't know what to say guys, ask me anything you want about Italy (answering about soccer it's too easy, that's Italy's religion) and I will show you.

More details? I'm from Verona, a city in the north-east of Italy. And btw, I really hope that a Boilermaker will play for the basketball team of my city, Scaligera Basket Verona, one day. We have a former Big Ten player on our roster this season, Rayvonte Rice from Illinois, very talented player.
And a couple of weeks ago I saw Robbie Hummel and JaJuan Johnson playing against each other in the rivalry game Milano-Cantù in the basketball Serie A. It was great fun.

 

[TopSecretBoiler]

What is the Italian term of endearment for Monza?
Who got the 400th Enzo built?
NO GOOGLING!

 

[patj11288]

Yeah but the situation of soccer and Serie A was very different in the '80s (and I also think that Maradona was a little overrated, but that's just mho).


Actually it's a word vastly used on the internet and in almost every forum and online game.


I don't know what to say guys, ask me anything you want about Italy (answering about soccer it's too easy, that's Italy's religion) and I will show you.

More details? I'm from Verona, a city in the north-east of Italy. And btw, I really hope that a Boilermaker will play for the basketball team of my city, Scaligera Basket Verona, one day. We have a former Big Ten player on our roster this season, Rayvonte Rice from Illinois, very talented player.
And a couple of weeks ago I saw Robbie Hummel and JaJuan Johnson playing against each other in the rivalry game Milano-Cantù in the basketball Serie A. It was great fun.

Anyone who is familiar with the phrase ultra or Totti's nickname and claims to be from Italy is probably not going to be a troll. Those are not something that your average soccer fan, especially someone in the States would know to reference.

I have family in Carpi, if you are familiar. Near Modena. I love the country and will be going back again in August albeit in the South for a few weeks. Verona is a great city also. I made the mistake of going in August though when all of the fat German women on vacation were flocking to la casa di Giulietta. The amphitheater is amazing though.

Also, that's great about being able to see Hummel and Johnson. I think Robbie would have been a very solid NBA player had it not been for knee injuries. That and having to stay an extra year really limited his draft stock. Johnson was always going to have a tough time in the NBA IMO.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

What is the Italian term of endearment for Monza?
Who got the 400th Enzo built?
NO GOOGLING!

Ok, you really got me here
The first question I really don't understand what you are asking, like a nickname for the city of Monza or something?
The second one I think is something about Enzo Ferrari but I really don't know nothing about cars or motorsports, I really don't like them. And also I don't like wine (I know, I'm the shame of my family).
But if you want I can tell you all the mistakes that U.S. people do about italian cuisine and Italy in general.

Anyone who is familiar with the phrase ultra or Totti's nickname and claims to be from Italy is probably not going to be a troll. Those are not something that your average soccer fan, especially someone in the States would know to reference.

I have family in Carpi, if you are familiar. Near Modena. I love the country and will be going back again in August albeit in the South for a few weeks. Verona is a great city also. I made the mistake of going in August though when all of the fat German women on vacation were flocking to la casa di Giulietta. The amphitheater is amazing though.

Also, that's great about being able to see Hummel and Johnson. I think Robbie would have been a very solid NBA player had it not been for knee injuries. That and having to stay an extra year really limited his draft stock. Johnson was always going to have a tough time in the NBA IMO.

I really can't understand why all the people wanna see that f***ing balcony, it's a fake for God's sake! Verona is such a beautiful city and everyone want to see the only thing that really means nothing. At least you redeem yourself going to the Arena also lol. I hope you also visited the other great monuments of the city.

 

[patj11288]

Ok, you really got me here
The first question I really don't understand what you are asking, like a nickname for the city of Monza or something?
The second one I think is something about Enzo Ferrari but I really don't know nothing about cars or motorsports, I really don't like them. And also I don't like wine (I know, I'm the shame of my family).
But if you want I can tell you all the mistakes that U.S. people do about italian cuisine and Italy in general.


I really can't understand why all the people wanna see that f***ing balcony, it's a fake for God's sake! Verona is such a beautiful city and everyone want to see the only thing that really means nothing. At least you redeem yourself going to the Arena also lol. I hope you also visited the other great monuments of the city.

Absolutely, the balcony is awful, I essentially just walked by and looked at it. Very nice city to visit, although I am partial to Emilia Romagna rather than Veneto. At some point, I would suggest traveling to Chicago and doing a quick trip to West Lafayette for a Purdue game at Mackey. They are pretty close. Also, if you are a student, there may be study abroad opportunities at Purdue depending on your university and program. My cousin attends Universita di Bologna and I think her abroad option is IU unfortunately.

 

[PurdueDave]

Ho solo una domanda: questo paragrafo è stato tradotto da MicroSoft Outlook. La traduzione fa senso o venire attraverso come qualcuno che davvero non capisce l'italiano? Vai caldaie (Boilers)!!

 

[ItalianBoiler]

Ho solo una domanda: questo paragrafo è stato tradotto da MicroSoft Outlook. La traduzione fa senso o venire attraverso come qualcuno che davvero non capisce l'italiano? Vai caldaie (Boilers)!!

Lol, it's very easy to see when a sentence is wrote using Google translator or Outlook to translate from english to italian (I suppose it's the same thing from italian to english) although the first part is pretty accurate.
The correct version is "La traduzione ha senso o passo per qualcuno che non capisce per niente l'italiano? Forza Boilers!" (and not caldaie ).

 

[TopSecretBoiler]

Ok, you really got me here

Well I thought you might be a ferrari fan. The first one is the "la pista magica" or however it's spelled in Italian and the second one is the pope.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

Well I thought you might be a ferrari fan. The first one is the "la pista magica" or however it's spelled in Italian and the second one is the pope.

So you meant the Autodromo di Monza and not Monza as a city, sorry I didn't understand (and to be honest with you I didn't know it was nicknamed "la pista magica"). I was there in September because the racetrack is inside of the park of a palace called Villa Reale, very beautiful place.

However I'm not a great Ferrari fan, I watched a few F1 races in my life and I know just the basics about the F1 team, like who are the pilots and who is the team principal but that's all because, like I said, I don't like motorsports very much. But many people in Italy are huge F1 and Motogp fan, expecially in part of Italy where the family of patj11288 lives, the Emilia-Romagna region.

Also, if you are a student, there may be study abroad opportunities at Purdue depending on your university and program.

I'm a student but I'm close to finish and I never had the courage to go study abroad, I'm too coward lol. And my english is too bad also.

 

[patj11288]

So you meant the Autodromo di Monza and not Monza as a city, sorry I didn't understand (and to be honest with you I didn't know it was nicknamed "la pista magica"). I was there in September because the racetrack is inside of the park of a palace called Villa Reale, very beautiful place.

However I'm not a great Ferrari fan, I watched a few F1 races in my life and I know just the basics about the F1 team, like who are the pilots and who is the team principal but that's all because, like I said, I don't like motorsports very much. But many people in Italy are huge F1 and Motogp fan, expecially in part of Italy where the family of patj11288 lives, the Emilia-Romagna region.



I'm a student but I'm close to finish and I never had the courage to go study abroad, I'm too coward lol. And my english is too bad also.

It is good to see some Purdue fans abroad. I assume there aren't very many outside of former students. Also, I think the college sports scene is a little difficult for non-Americans to wrap their heads around, because of the mix between athletics and academics that doesn't, to my knowledge, really exist anywhere else.

Question. How do you watch American college basketball over there? Shady Chinese internet streams? That is how I used to watch Serie A before BeIN and FSC started carrying games in the states.

Also, occasionally, Purdue will play overseas summer tournaments. We were in Italy in the Summer of 2012 I believe. If they are in Italy again that might be something worth looking into.

 

[ItalianBoiler]

It is good to see some Purdue fans abroad. I assume there aren't very many outside of former students. Also, I think the college sports scene is a little difficult for non-Americans to wrap their heads around, because of the mix between athletics and academics that doesn't, to my knowledge, really exist anywhere else.

Question. How do you watch American college basketball over there? Shady Chinese internet streams? That is how I used to watch Serie A before BeIN and FSC started carrying games in the states.

Also, occasionally, Purdue will play overseas summer tournaments. We were in Italy in the Summer of 2012 I believe. If they are in Italy again that might be something worth looking into.

Yeah, I think I can't really understand what college sports are about, but I feel like I understand it a little bit more every season, watching games and reading some blogs and articles.
Internet stream are the easiest way to watch games but like I said I watch them also on YouTube or after I downloaded them. In the past I watched some March Madness with a friend of mine who loves basketball and has some pay-per-view channel where you can see it.

I didn't know that Purdue came to Italy in 2012, they also played in Veneto! Last summer MSU was in Italy and played some friendly games, they were absolutely destroyed by the Italian National Team lol (it's normal when you play against NBA and Euroleague players I think).

P.S. Roma must win tonight's game, italian soccer needs so badly two teams in the Champions League top 16.