Journal and Courier from Lafayette, Indiana • C7

JCONLINE.COM THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2017 7C celebrate the 50th an- niversary of the Purdue basket- ball game in Mackey Arena, Dec. 2, 1967, we are count- ing down the top 50 players to ap- pear on what is now Gene Keady Court. Criteria includes impact on the games played and overall ca- reer. Each Thursday leading up to the Big Ten opener against Northwestern on Dec.3, unveil the list. Today, players 15-1: 15.

Moore If Purdue fans could choose one game when Moore assumed his place as one of the best to don a Boilermaker basketball uniform, it would be the 76- 63 victory against second-ranked Ohio State inside Mackey Arena during his senior season in 2011. Moore had his way with the Buckeyes that day with seven 3-pointers, acrobat- ic layups and clutch jump shots on his way to a career-high 38 points. Moore his career as one of a handful of Purdue players to eclipse 2,000 points (2,136) and one of only three Big Ten players (Michigan Steve Smith and Penn Talor Bat- tle) with at least 2,000 points, 500 re- bounds (611) and 400 assists. He also was a four-time All-Big Ten selection, second-team as a freshman and sophomore before receiving team recognition as a junior and senior. Along the way, Moore teamed up with JaJuan Johnson and Robbie Hummel to help Purdue win Big Ten Tournament (2009) and regular season (2010) cham- pionships.

Moore closed his career as the school record-holder for 3-point goals (243), games started (136) and minutes played (4,517) along with sharing the rec- ord for games played (140), consecutive games played (140) and victories (107) with Johnson. 14. Kent Benson Indiana center Kent tough- ness may have been the in 83-82 victory at Mackey Arena on Feb. 22, 1975. Benson was back spasms, and coach Bob Knight ex- pect the sophomore to play.

Instead, Benson went for 18 points and 14 rebounds on the same night IU lost star forward Scott May with a bro- ken arm. In the 1976 rematch, Benson posted another double-double (10 points, 11 re- bounds) in a 74-71 victory. However, his appearance in Mackey Arena as a player ended painfully when he took a charging foul from Joe Barry Carroll and reinjured his back with less than a min- ute to go in 86-78 victory on Feb. 20, 1977. Carroll and starting center Tom helped hold Benson to 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting and rebounds.

Benson would go on to become the overall No. 1 pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1977 draft. He was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999. 13. Quinn Buckner Only seven basketball players can say they won an NCAA champion- ship, an NBA championship and an Olympic gold medal.

One of them is Quinn Buckner, who also won a high school state champion- ship in Illinois before choosing to play for Bob Knight at Indiana. Starting from Day 1 at point guard, Buckner had 12 points and three assists as a freshman in a 72-69 loss at Purdue in 1973. Buckner and the Hoosiers recov- ered from that loss to reach the Final Four. Two years later, Buckner had one of his games in an 83-82 victory at Purdue, putting up 16 points and 10 as- sists. Foul trouble plagued Buckner in the rematch a year later and he was lim- ited to a basket and three assists in a 76- 71 victory.

Buckner would go on to have a 10-year NBA career, winning the championship with the Boston Celtics in 1984. 12. Chris Webber The two best high school basketball players in 1991 met as collegians on Jan. 7, 1993 in Mackey Arena. Glenn Robinson outscored Chris Webber 30-22, but Fab Five teammates were too much for the ninth-ranked Boilermakers 80-70.

Webber backed up his scoring with 14 rebounds, assists and four blocked shots. He also admitted he read the newspapers leading up to the Purdue game and wanted to make sure he com- pared favorably to Robinson. not going to lie, I got caught up in that early in the Webber said. hey, not Magic and Bird out here battling for 20 With Robinson sitting out his fresh- man season as a Proposition 48 academ- ic casualty, Webber put up 12 and 10 points to lead Michigan to a 70-61 victory at Purdue on March 11, 1992. Webber led Michigan to the NCAA championship games during his seasons in Ann Arbor and earned All- American honors.

He became the overall pick of the 1993 NBA Draft by Orlando, the sophomore since Magic Johnson to be a No. 1 overall draft choice. He was traded to Golden State for Penny Hardaway and three future round draft picks be- fore suiting up for the Magic. 11. Caleb Swanigan Not since Glenn Robin- son has Purdue had such a dominant single-sea- son performance as Caleb in 2016-17.

Swanigan was reward- ed for his work ethic with con- sensus All-America and Big Ten Player of the Year awards in addition to winning the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Award. He averaged 18.5 points, 12.5 re- bounds and 3.1 assists a game, not reached by a college player since fu- ture Hall of Famer Tim Duncan of Wake Forest in 1996-97. His 28 double-doubles set the Big Ten Conference record, resulting in Swani- gan becoming the eighth player in con- ference history to lead the league in scor- ing and rebounding. How unusual were four 20 points-20 rebound games in 2016-17? The rest of the Big Ten has two combined in the past 20 years. Swanigan was named to the Big All-Freshman Team after setting school freshman records for rebounds (282; previous record was 206) and double- doubles (8).

He passed on his two seasons of eligibility to enter the NBA Draft, and he went 26th overall to Portland. 10. Kevin McHale Kevin McHale is one of the greatest Players who made an impact: 15 to 1 Ken Thompson Columnist Lafayette Journal Courier USA TODAY NETWORK Moore drains a 3-point shot over Ohio Jared Sullinger in February 2011, in Mackey Arena. Moore was 7 of 10 from behind the arc, scoring 38 points as Purdue beat No. 2 Ohio State 76-63.

JOHN COURIER Continued on next page Mackey 50th anniversary.