Boilermaker basketball star-turned-artist Joe Barry Carroll explores his roots and shares his perspective on growing up in the impoverished South and traveling the world with the NBA through large-scale paintings that befit his imposing stature. Joe Barry Carroll can’t answer the phone. His fingers are covered in paint. When he calls back an hour later, […]
Ukari Figgs (ME’99) is one of the most accomplished athletes in Purdue history. Born in Georgetown, Kentucky, in 1977, Figgs was an immensely talented basketball player in high school. In 1995, she led her high school team to a state championship and earned the title of Kentucky’s Miss Basketball the same year. During the 1998–99 […]
For nearly half a century, Roger Blalock (HHS’69) was a prominent figure on Purdue’s campus. He was a two-year basketball letterwinner, averaging 12.3 points per game during the 1966–67 season. While his college career was cut short when he suffered a broken ankle against Butler in December 1967, he would remain a giant figure in […]
Trevion Williams keeps defying the odds with his signature style Trevion Williams isn’t your average athlete. The six-foot-nine, 280-pound sophomore forward stands out for more than his size. While most college students are strolling campus in sweatpants and hoodies, Williams sports a style all his own. He loves to dress up, wearing tailored pants, pastel […]
Ryan Cline’s resiliency, patience pay off in his senior year A lot of people might have given up. They might have transferred. They might have allowed their frustrations to get the best of them. They might have lost their patience. Not Ryan Cline. He knew his time would come. As a senior at Carmel High […]
Walk-on guard keeps rising to her ambitions, lifting others along the way Abby Abel has always chased big dreams. After participating in a Purdue youth basketball camp at age 9, she decided she was going to play for the Boilermakers one day. She continued attending camps each summer; by her junior year of high school, […]
Name: John Sautter Gig: Visiting men’s basketball team host Years on the job: 37 (that’s close to 550 games!) On duty: Serve as go-to person for questions, requests, or situations, which means I sit outside the visiting team locker room where I hear coaches’ pregame and postgame talks. During the game, I sit behind the […]
As a kid in the ‘80s, Melvin Lenzy mowed lawns for five bucks apiece to afford his first pair of Nike’s Air Jordans, the iconic basketball shoes that changed the sports apparel industry forever. Many years later, while a student at Purdue, he worked at the Tippecanoe Mall’s Finish Line store, selling such products right […]
