In the past, we've done a "Senior Profile" on each senior on their special night. But this year, there are just two and, well....you know damn well who they are.

We've all been very lucky to watch these two over the last four years. We've seen them perform earlier than expected as the "Baby Boilers" (much to the chagrin of guys like Terry Hutchens). We've seen them give teams a run for their money in the tourney, including final four and championship teams.

We saw them improve year after year. These guys took a program that was in the basement (16 wins over two seasons) and immediately helped it become a winner. Goals were set. Goals were met.

In front of a less than packed Mack



 And then last year was hopefully to be the potential coronation. These guys as juniors, along with running mate Rob Hummel, put together with veterans like Keaton Grant and Chris Kramer...and a Final Four slated for Indianapolis. It all fit...perhaps a little too well. We know what happened next. And then what happened again in October.

Rather than fold from the stomach punches they had received, these two seniors -- who had come back for one more run together -- decided that it was still their time.

Hoping this cowboy finds a way back to Houston

The first tourney for these guys ended with a second round loss to the Elite Eight-bound Xavier Musketeers.

In year two, they lost in the Round of 16 to Final Four team UConn.

And then last year, despite being considered the smartest bet to lose to a double-digit seed in the first round, the Boilers clawed their way to another Sweet 16, where they did their best to hang with Duke -- the eventual National Champion -- and even were within a point at halftime. However, the shots weren't falling, the team was still finding itself without Rob, Chris Kramer had one of his worst overall games as a Boilermaker (unfortunately, in his final appearance) and, quite frankly, the Dookies were too good.

The JJ and Smooge combo is 5-3 in the NCAA Tournament. They are 105-30 in their nearly four seasons, which is a .778 winning percentage. Take a look around for four-year players who have amassed that kind of record -- the list will be very short.



One of the sickest dunks I've seen in person.

One of the greatest things for us in watching these guys is the fact that we've gotten to watch them grow up before our very eyes and actually improve considerably from year to year. This doesn't always happen, especially these days. Often guys don't stay in school long enough or they just don't do the things necessary to get better. Take a guy like Demetrius McCamey at Illinois. Tremendously talented, but seemingly unable to focus for long periods, apparently not interested in listening to coaches, kind of just wants to do whatever he feels like doing. Has he improved? Not much.

Or to take it across sports, look at a guy like Curtis Painter at Purdue. When he came in, we could all see the raw talent. And when he left, he had some impressive numbers. But did he ever develop? Did he ever get better at any part of his game? No, not really.

JaJuan now takes over when his team needs him most, rather than waiting for the game to come to him. E'Twaun does the same thing and when he's not taking over, he's quietly amassing the points needed to put the team over the hump.



Thanks, fellas.