March 15--There was the time he showed up late for the bus to Northwestern. And the time he appeared ready to depart for Wisconsin ... without his shoes.
"His freshman year he'd walk in late, hair disheveled, things like that," Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
A.J. Hammons arrived in West Lafayette, Ind., as the quintessential man-child. He looked like an adult but acted more like an eighth-grader.
"When I got here," guard Ryan Cline said, "everyone perceived him as lazy."
Now, with No. 5 seed Purdue poised for an NCAA tournament run, they perceive him in a different way.
"He is elite," Michigan coach John Beilein said after Hammons torched the Wolverines for 27 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in a Big Ten tournament semifinal.
The light turned on late for Hammons, who turns 24 in August. It wasn't all that bright even at the start of this season, as he served a two-game suspension for undisclosed reasons and didn't start until three games into the Big Ten schedule.
But the 7-footer flourished into a first-team All-Big Ten player and won the conference's Defensive Player of the Year award.
"I've seen him change from someone who always had his hood up, feeling sorry for himself, to someone who is locked in all the time," backup center Isaac Haas said. "I love being around him, honestly."
Added forward Vince Edwards: "People used to say he didn't care because he doesn't show emotion, but he does care. He's always cared. Now that it's his senior year, it's coming out."
Not outwardly, though.
When Hammons was informed that CBS' Jim Nantz had called him a "poor man's Tim Duncan" during Saturday's broadcast, he replied: "I guess I'll take that as a compliment. We're kind of similar. Great hook shot, great rebounding, about the same expressions on the face. That's just how I am. Always been like that. I'd rather just play than scream and get all riled up."
Hammons never envisioned spending four years in college. No top-80 recruit does.
"But I'm here now and no complaints," he said. "I'm more mature handling my business."
Many Big Ten stars can say that because so many are four-year players. Think about Michigan State's triumvirate of Denzel Valentine, Bryn Forbes and Matt Costello. Or Indiana point guard Yogi Ferrell.
Iowa has four senior starters in Anthony Clemmons, Mike Gesell, Jarrod Uthoff and Adam Woodbury. Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes is a junior -- it just seems like he has been cracking jokes in Madison forever.
Hammons' teammates tease him for being goofy and talking so fast, he can be hard to understand.
"If you don't talk to him on a regular basis, you're like, 'What did you just say?' " Edwards said.
Added Cline: "He's always happy, always with a smile on his face."
Hammons credits his coaches, friends and brother Tyrone for motivating him.
"He'd get under my skin and tell me, 'Man, you sucked today,' " Hammons said. "He'd pick out all my flaws."
Painter had more of a balancing act.
"I just tried to hold him accountable, like any of our guys," he said. "As a coach sometimes you're not flying off the handle on certain things, but you make sure there are consequences.
"He has improved in terms of not just being on time, but being ready. You see him up here talking fast, but he's really an intelligent guy. He understands scouting reports and what he's doing up there. He's very poised."
The NCAA tournament scouting report on Purdue will likely be to double-team Hammons, make him kick out to shooters Rapheal Davis, Edwards and Cline and hope they miss.
"We run plays through him," Painter said. "We trust him. Before it was like, they can't stop him, but he can stop himself. Now if you double him, he passes. If you don't, he'll be aggressive."
tgreenstein@tribpub.com
