WEST LAFAYETTE — C.J. Cox does not have a boisterous personality by nature.
Purdue basketball’s lone returning starter is more quiet and reserved.
With a roster comprised of players who’ve been role players or are newcomers, the Boilermakers need Cox to step out of his comfort zone.
Playing alongside alpha guards Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer the past two seasons, Cox was able to ease into college basketball with his quiet demeanor.
Sophomores Omer Mayer and Raleigh Burgess have been the vocal leaders for Purdue in early summer workouts, but as a two-year starter, Cox has to assume that role.
“He’s never going to be a rah-rah type guy, but he’s the one who has played the most minutes,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said after a June 9 practice. “He has the most experience.”
The Boilermakers graduated their top four leading scorers last season, leaving Cox as the top scorer among Boiler returnees.
The last time Purdue’s returning leading scorer averaged less than Cox’s 8.5 points per game was Lewis Jackson in 2011 (8.0 points per game). That team also returned Robbie Hummel after he missed the previous season with a torn ACL.
Cox averaged 9.8 points per game in four NCAA Tournament games last season despite missing nearly a half in the second-round win over Miami and playing the next two games through a knee injury. His 4.1 assists to turnover ratio also was best on the Boilermakers. He had just three turnovers in Big Ten Conference games.
Cox has shown propensity to be a big time scorer, evidenced by his career-high 27 points in a win at Northwestern, but never had to be consistently for Purdue to have success. That will no longer be the case, and with that comes the added responsibility.
Cox is aware he’ll have to come out of his shell next season, given his elevated role and his experience as a two-year starter with 75 career games played.
“Now with Braden and Fletcher and (Trey Kaufman-Renn) gone, they are looking for me to take more of a leadership role,” Cox said. “That’s something I’m capable of doing. The communication aspect is something I want to work on more and something we all need to work on as a team.”
Nathan Baird and Sam King have the best Purdue sports coverage, and sign up for IndyStar’s Boilermakers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: C.J. Cox has the experience — now Purdue needs the voice to match
Reporting by Sam King, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sam King, Lafayette Journal & Courier | USA TODAY Network
