Rob Hummel Shows His Analytical Skillz

You already saw Rob Hummel give his quick hit predictions on Purdue basketball for ’15-’16. Now he sits down for a longer segment with Campus Insiders to discuss the upcoming season. Topics include whether or not this is Coach Painter’s most talented team ever, AJ Hammons, Johnny Hill and whether a Final Four could be possible. Maybe Rob is heading to the analyst chair once his playing career is over – we’ll see. As for the segment… Around the 1:10 mark, the BS about AJ’s motor begins. First, Jordan Cornette says AJ has been “an anomaly at times.” What does that even mean?

Rob is then asked why AJ “can’t turn it on consistently.”

MEDIA NARRATIVE SOMETHING SOMETHING.

Seriously, it’s in these situations where you learn just how lazy so much of the sports media really is. When you follow a team closely and know the reality of a situation and then hear the media spout the same old hoary clichés about a program or player, it’s sometimes enough to make you want to punch kittens.

For years, when it came to Purdue football, the 1997-98 “Basketball on Grass” buzzphrase was tossed out there when nobody within the program of the fanbase had used it in years. That doesn’t really “hurt” Purdue, it just makes people like us groan because it’s simply not accurate anymore. But who is tuning in at noon on a November Saturday to hear Glen Mason say it from the Ross-Ade broadcast booth anyway (besides all of us masochists)?

No, the difference here is that this narrative about AJ is the kind of thing that becomes part of the “file” on him. Once it’s embedded – and let’s be honest, it is – it’s hard or impossible to shake. AJ will forever be referred to as having an inconsistent motor or lack of motivation or other stuff that makes Aneesh’s head asplode.

It’s all just one more reason to look forward to basketball season and be happy AJ is back again – not just for our selfish reasons of hoping to see Purdue go far, but also for him to crush that narrative and be more visible as the dominant player he is and can be.

Enjoy the video here.