Meet the Big Ten: Purdue

Coach Gene Keady had to change some aspects of the Purdue team if he wanted the 2002-2003 season to go differently than last year's disastrous showing.\nThe Boilermakers finished the season 13-18, and were tied for 8th place in the Big Ten. For Keady and his team, the losing record was unacceptable.\nSo Keady signed up his team for a 10-day tour of Europe, playing in London, Paris and Brussels. They played eight games during the trip.\n"I thought the Europe trip was good timing," Keady said. "It got our kids we had coming back on the right track. I thought our reunion was timing to get our fans back on track and let everybody understand this is about family, not individuals and that was something that we lost last year. I don't know why."\nPrior to the trip, the team had 10 days to prepare, and on the first day, Keady and his coaches took a different approach.\n"They walked in and acted like they didn't know any of us," senior guard Willie Deane said. "It was like completely starting from scratch. They acted like they didn't know anything about us."\nDeane is expected to be the leader for the team after experiencing individual success last season. Deane was named to the All-Big Ten second team, after leading the team with an average of 24.5 points per game.\nAlso expected to help the Boilermakers is junior guard Kenneth Lowe, who missed last season because of injury, and sophomore Brandon McKnight, who missed the second semester of last season. But the youngsters will also be contributors.\n"I couldn't be happier with our new people," Keady said. "They have shown up with the right attitude. They've shown up with the sense that they have to be in a stance. They know that they have to get back on defense"