WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —
Purdue basketball fans took time out Saturday in the middle of a heated rivalry game with Indiana to honor Anderson High School graduate Troy Lewis, whose No. 23 jersey hangs from the rafters at Mackey Arena.
Lewis played for the Boilermakers from 1985-88 and was three-time All-Big Ten. He finished his career fifth on the school’s career scoring list despite playing only two seasons with the 3-point shot. He also currently is 10th on the all-time assist list.
“What a tremendous honor this is,” Lewis told the packed arena. “There are so many people to thank including (current Purdue coach) Matt Painter and his staff. They have a lot to do with this.”
While the night was all about Lewis, he viewed things a bit differently.
“When you look up there, you see my number and my name, but I see a lot of other people,” Lewis said.
He named many people, teammates and coaches.
Then he added, “There are two of my teammates who belong up there too, Todd Mitchell and Everette Stephens.”
He thanked his parents along with his brothers, Scott and Kendrick, who shared the floor with him during the ceremony.
“I couldn’t have had better support from my family,” Lewis said following the festivities. “They helped me pick Purdue, and it was the best decision I ever made. This was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. It was an out-of-body experience.”
The fact that the recognition came during halftime of Purdue’s game against Indiana wasn’t lost on him either.
“You see how electric this place is,” he said. “I played in this (rivalry game) eight times. Back when I played, there was even more excitement because it was Coach (Gene) Keady against Coach (Bob) Knight. Being an Indiana kid, it was always special to play against them.”
The feelings against the Hoosiers haven’t faded either.
He punctuated his speech to the crowd this way: “At Purdue, I always wanted to do three things. I wanted to win the Big Ten championship. I wanted to win a national championship, and I wanted to kick Indiana’s (behind).”
The rivalry hits even closer to home for him.
“I have a daughter who has applied to Indiana,” he said. “She wants to get into the medical field, and Indiana’s a good school for that. But I told her my car doesn’t go to Bloomington. I can take her so far, but then she’ll have to get out and go the rest of the way herself.”
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Former Purdue guard Troy Lewis speaks about having his number hung in the rafters during halftime of the game against Indiana inside Mackey Arena, in West Lafayette, on Saturday. Brent Drinkut / For The Herald Bulletin
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