KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- If you thought Purdue forward Glenn Robinson draws a crowd on the basketball court, try attending one of his press conferences.
The Boilermaker star, who is practically a given for national player of the year, routinely draws double and triple teams from wary opponents. But the media covering the Southeast Regional semifinals full-court pressed Robinson Wednesday in a press conference. After Purdue head coach Gene Keady made some opening remarks about the top seed's matchup tonight against fourth-seeded Kansas, reporters fired the next five questions at Robinson.
The sixth question was addressed to teammates Matt Waddell and Cuonzo Martin: Guys, what's it like playing with such a big star like Glenn Robinson?
To be honest, the hype over the 6-8 junior is well deserved. Robinson has posted astounding numbers this season. He averages 30.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game while also leading the team in steals. In Purdue's Big 10 title-clinching win over Illinois earlier this month, "Big Dog" scored 49 points. Robinson is simply unstoppable at times.
"In my opinion he's probably the best player in the last three or four years in college basketball," Kansas head coach Roy Williams said. "I don't care if he gets 55 points against us as long as Kansas scores one more point than Purdue's team."
Williams hit upon an important point: As good as Robinson is, no college team can win at this level with just one quality player. Duke fans are familiar with the one-man team syndrome. When Grant Hill scores 22 and nobody else gets more than eight, Duke loses.
Robinson's dominance aside, Purdue is a balanced, capable team.
"When I looked, Glenn Robinson was averaging 30 points per game and Purdue was averaging about 85 as a team," Williams said. ~~"So somebody else is accounting for 55 points per game."
Guard Waddell and forward Martin account for 27 of those points between them while four others average over four points per game. Purdue goes surprisingly deep as well: 10 Boilermakers average more than eight minutes per game. Purdue will need that kind of depth tonight against the Jayhawks, who have 10 players averaging more than 10 minutes per game.
Williams noted that in a Purdue victory over rival Indiana earlier in the year, Martin had scored the first nine points of the second half to rally the Boilermakers from a halftime deficit.
But the focus of the Kansas-Purdue game will, nevertheless, remain on Robinson and his brilliant combination of dominant inside play and 38 percent three-point shooting.
"Glenn Robinson is one of a kind," said Kansas forward Richard Scott. "You can't compare him to anybody. But we're not going to design a special defense to stop him."
Going into tonight's game, Williams has no specific game plan for playing Robinson, but the Kansas coach does have a wish list.
"My goal is for Glenn Robinson to not shoot a high percentage from the floor" Williams said. "We've played against good players this year, but there's nobody like Glenn Robinson.
"This game is Purdue against Kansas. If they change the scoreboard from Purdue to Robinson, then I'll be impressed."
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