It doesn't stink to be Joe Tiller

This just in: Joe Tiller is a wealthy man. I know, I know, many argue that lil' ole Purdue can't compete with the Big Two of the league...in fact, from a salary standpoint, only Iowa and Ohio State pay their head coach better. According the Exponent, Tiller's publicized $242,550 isn't all that pads Joe's pocket. In fact, moneys coming from The Purdue Research Foundation bring Joe's salary up to a hefty $1.8 million. Plus, that money goes pretty far in West Lafayette.

So, what's this mean to me? It means that Purdue can afford to offer Joe's successor a lot of money and go after the best candidate who is the best fit for the job (not necessarily the most convenient candidate)...especially in the case where Joe retires/resigns and is not bought out. I think it's something to keep in mind for the many people out there that keep squawking about how no one will want to come to Purdue...I would venture a guess that $1.5-$2.0 million would make quite a few people at least listen to the prospect of coaching the gold and black. Plus, you can always remind the potential candidate that they'll get one Foxy secretary (Foxy Lafon is one of the three secretaries for the football office...seriously, that's her name, and she's not bad looking)!

Boilers Roll...Ball State is a sugary-sweet bakery treat

Painter's boys pulled out another win against yet another lack-luster opponent after being down late in the contest. Granted, the game wasn't too close down the stretch, but the fact that they were trailing to an 0-6 (now 0-7) team in the second half isn't a real positive.

All that said, it's pretty great to see this team continually learn how to win games in which they are challenged. This is a bit of rebuilding year for the Boilers, but they are notching wins against teams they need to beat to get into the tournament. Plus, the players who are producing are all first and second-year Boilers; most are Freshman & Sophomores.

One thing that is becoming a theme is that many players on this team can step up when needed. We've seen Calasan, Martin, Kramer, Grant & Moore all lead the Boilers in scoring in at least one game this season...and the season's only six games old.

Last night, it was Grant & Krump who stepped up. They went a combined 7-of-10 from behind the arch as most of the rest of the team struggled from three-point range. It's really surprising to me as I thought of those two as two of the worst shooters on the team last year.

Up next, a tough road test versus Missouri who will probably have revenge on their mind as the Boilers beat the Tigers last season. The next two games are the toughest stretch of the pre-conference season. I think if our Boilers can win at least one of these, it should be a pretty good sign that this team is improving and will be playing in the dance.