Tales of Kramer's toughness mostly trueBy Jeff RabjohnsPosted: March 19, 2009Chris Kramer's toughness has become the stuff of lore, so much so that some of the stories aren't even true.Heard the one about him going through a portion of high school football practice without his helmet toshow the freshmen how hard they need to play?"I wouldn't do that," Kramer said. "That would be stupid."When you have a reputation for being a tough guy, as Purdue's junior guard does, sometimes the hyperboleruns rampant.Kramer's toughness, the real portion of it, is well-documented, and it's an element that has helped Purduereach its third consecutive NCAA Tournament after winning the school's first Big Ten Tournament title lastweekend.He sets the tone for the Boilermakers, who take a 25-9 record into today's 2:30 p.m. game against NorthernIowa (23-10) in Portland, Ore., in the first round of the West Regional.A starter since his freshman year at Purdue, the 6-3 guard was a football, basketball and baseball standoutat Huntington High School and credits football with giving him his mentality.He played quarterback and defensive back with some time at linebacker for the Class 5A Vikings. Hissenior year against Anderson, he should have been knocked out of the game."He took a late hit out of bounds, a good shot in the ribs that beat up his throwing hand," Huntington Northfootball coach Rief Gilg said. "A lot of kids would have said, 'I'm done.' We moved him to running back and he went for over 130 yards in the second half and did it with basically one hand."There are people who play through pain and you can tell they're in pain. When he was between the lines,you couldn't tell. He hit the hole the same way. He went after people the same way on defense. Hecompletely sacrificed his body, and it's obviously the same kid when I see him on TV playing basketball inthe Big Ten."Kramer was a prodigy of sorts in Huntington.When he was in junior high, he played pickup basketball games with varsity high school players. He hadtalent. He had ability.Long before he suited up for Purdue, his intense desire separated him from others more than his abilityalone."He did not get nearly the credit he deserved when he was here," Gilg said. "People looked at him and sawa lot of God-given talent. But how hard he worked in practice and the effort he put forth every single day --and we weren't even his main sport -- was just as good."Kramer's biggest moment this season came against Michigan on Jan. 31. Michigan's Manny Harris caughtKramer with an elbow that broke Kramer's nose.AdvertisementKramer went to the locker room but returned and played the rest of the game."When you get your nose broken and there's blood pouring everywhere, for him to come back in two or three minutes was impressive," Purdue forward Robbie Hummel said.
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Tales of Toughness - Chris Kramer
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| Upload Date: | 03/25/2009 |
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