ISL catches up with ex-Purdue guard David Teague
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
David Teague is still balling.
Teague and Carl Landry were the key players who helped Purdue’s fortunes turn under coach Matt Painter. The shooting guard recovered from a torn ACL to earn second-team all-Big Ten honors as a senior in 2007.
Teague dropped a career-high 32 points on Indiana that season as Purdue knocked off the Hoosiers while they were ranked. On Senior Day, he took out his cornrows and unveiled an impressive six-inch afro, then put up 23 points and eight rebounds and led Purdue to a 73-50 win over Northwestern. He said afterwards that he played with a $20 bill in his left shoe to signify what he fully expected to be the team’s 20th win of the year.
Teague’s pro career has been a mixed bag. The 29-year-old has been successful overseas and is thankful for his opportunities, but he has faced injuries and feels he’s never gotten a real shot at making it in the NBA. He has played in France, Germany, the Ukraine, Italy, Brazil and Greece and is proud to know a bit of each nation’s language. He will play for Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro starting in August.
While playing for the Giessen 86ers in Germany in January 2010, Teague tore up the same left knee he hurt while at Purdue in 2005, costing him his best shot at making it to the NBA. He was averaging 20.4 points before the injury.
Teague averaged 9.6 points in 23 games this past season for SK Dnipro Azot in the Ukraine before parting ways with that team. He’s training in Indianapolis, playing in Pro-Am leagues to get ready for the next step. He will play in Purdue’s alumni game in August before heading to Brazil later that month.
Indy Sports Legends caught up with him by telephone.
Q – What does it mean to you to see Purdue continue what you and Carl Landry started?
A – Just so proud of Coach Painter and the coaching staff and the guys he’s been able to bring in and get them to continue to have the same mindset we did — working hard, playing defense.
It’s tough to get good talent, then get guys to do the right things on and off the court. I think Coach Painter has been able to do that. E’Twaun, Robbie and JaJuan coming in – I thought me and Carl kind of kick-started the program in the right direction. I think those guys came in and took it to another level. It’s a tribute to coach Painter and the values he instills in his players. He holds true to them.
Q – What do you think about this alumni game on Aug. 4, bringing players like Brian Cardinal, Tarrance Crump, Carson Cunningham, Keaton Grant, Marcus Green, Matt Kiefer, Chris Kramer, Troy Lewis, Kenneth Lowe, Todd Mitchell, Bobby Riddell and Mark Wohlford back?
A – I think it’s going to be great for the program, for the fans – so many guys they haven’t seen nor heard from in years, and I think it’s going to be good to get some of the guys back and kind of mingle and get close to some of those new guys.
Q – One of your career stops was with Flamengo, a team based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. What is it like there?
A – The weather is always nice, there’s always so much to do. The people are great. They speak Portuguese, which, I always thought they spoke Spanish there. I thought I was going to be able to put some of my Spanish down that I learned at Purdue. I was in for a rude awakening when I got there.
It’s like a paid vacation almost. Of course you’ve got to get up every morning and do your job, but it’s a great environment to be in.
Q – So, you have famous cousins – Jeff Teague of the Atlanta Hawks and Marquis Teague, one of the top draft prospects. What has it been like to watch Marquis emerge?
A – During the season, I kind of try to stay out of their way because I understand they’ve got so many people pulling at them from so many different ways. I’m sure they have their own advisors in their ears. I just give words of encouragement. When we’re in the city over the summer, we try to hook up.
It was great to see him get to blossom. A lot of people didn’t give him a chance compared to those other high ranked freshmen. It was great to watch him grow, mature and come into his own. Everything he has coming his way as far as the draft, he went out there and earned it. He sucked it up, he took the criticism and made the necessary changes he needed to make in his game, and made himself a pro, and I’m proud of him for that.
Q – Carl Landry has been in the NBA for a while now. What do you think of his success?
A – Carl is the same guy, man, and that’s what I tell people all the time. What I love and respect and admire about him the most is that with all the success he’s had in the NBA, the guy has never changed. He’s still silly, he’s still goofy, he still loves to clown. He’s still cheap with his money, still really tight.
I’m just really proud and happy to see him progress and be a main force in the NBA. He got his opportunity and ran with it, but he put in the work. Nothing came easy.
Q – You’ve gone a lot of places in your career. What has it been like adjusting to so many stops?
A – It’s difficult bouncing from country to country, and as I get older, it doesn’t get any easier. I’m looking to stay put in Brazil or somewhere in South America for the next few years, if not, the rest of my playing career.
Q – So you don’t have plans to try to play in the NBA again?
A – I always felt confident in my game, especially when I was healthy. After the second knee surgery, I feel back healthy again. I feel like I can play at that highest level, still. It’s just a matter of having a full season and just finishing healthy in the right organization and the right circumstance, and hopefully a team will give me a shot.
So, fans, what was your favorite moment during the Teague/Landry era? Share it with ISL!
