Led by Kramer, Boilermakers bring steam with tough defense
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Moments after Purdue's 72-64 opening-round victory over Siena, senior guard Chris Kramer sat in the locker room with a bag of ice heavily wrapped around each arm.
"This is what happens when you get thrown into the floor," said Kramer, while pointing to a three-inch floor burn under his left elbow suffered with 0.9 seconds left in the first half.
It did not deter the three-time Big Ten All-Defensive member from shying away from physical play after the break. Kramer displayed his intensity by diving on the floor twice during a pivotal 13-0 run in the first three minutes of the half to wrestle the ball away from a Siena player. In both cases, he forced a held ball situation.
"Kramer is kicking their a--," a fan yelled from the front row at Spokane Area.
More importantly, the 6-3 guard fronted the post against Alex Franklin and used his brute force to keep him off the offensive glass. Kramer provided Franklin with little space to operate, after the MAAC Player of the Year dominated the post in the first 20 minutes. Midway through the first half, Franklin had 10 of Siena's 18 points and kept the Saints in the game with a bevy of spin moves. He spun past Kramer twice in the post during an 8-0 run to give Siena an 18-15 lead. It was the last time he scored. "They tried to key on me a little more and made it harder to create for myself," Franklin said.
Kramer likely would not have even been guarding Franklin if forward Robbie Hummel had been in the lineup. Purdue coach Matt Painter has used Kramer against opposing power forwards since Hummel went out for the season in late February. The former high school quarterback has made the adjustment seamlessly.
"If you watch guys like Kramer, you see there's an advantage if you recruit football players," Painter said. "They close down on angles, they do a good job of pursing the basketball. He's got good speed, good quickness, but more than anything he's just a winner."
When he first came to Purdue, Kramer developed a defensive mentality almost out of necessity. His game on offense needed polish and he knew his only way to earn playing time was to become a shut-down defender. He quickly received help from guard David Teague and then-assistant coach Cuonzo Martin.
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"Teague and coach Martin took me under their wings and just made me be that defensive stopper," Kramer said. "David was that before I got there and he wanted me to take the role."
This year, Kramer held Al-Farouq Aminu, a lottery prospect from Wake Forest, to 3-of-11 shooting on December 1 and harassed National Player of the Year candidate Evan Turner into six turnovers on January 12. Before Friday, Kramer forced his primary defensive assignment into four turnovers more than a dozen times. Franklin, too, finished with four turnovers in Friday's loss.
"It's just something you have to take pride in, to be that defensive stopper," Kramer said. "It's something I have really bought into and coaches hold me accountable for. When you do that, you get a lot of easy buckets for your team."
Kramer was not the only Boilermaker to affect the game defensively. JaJuan Johnson, a 6-10 center, finished with three blocks and constantly altered Siena's opportunities near the hoop. A Johnson block sent a Ryan Rossiter layup out of bounds near the start of the game and he swatted a likely Rossiter hoop away with 2:27 remaining, as Siena rallied from a 15-point deficit.
"It's big, especially towards the end of the game," Johnson said. "My job was just to move to the ball and make plays whenever I could."
Siena cut the Purdue lead to 66-63 with 1:11 remaining, but could not get any closer. The Boilermakers' stifling defense to open the half proved to be too much to overcome.
"They went out to their credit and created a little bit with some pressure," Siena coach Fran McCaffery said. "We had a couple of turnovers that were uncharacteristic."
Purdue advances to face Texas A&M in Sunday's second round. Strong play on the defensive end will be paramount.
By then, the bags of ice will be long gone from Kramer's elbows and he'll be ready to endure some more floor burns.
