How football upbringing helped Purdue basketball guard become 'best defender in the Big Ten'

SAN JOSE, CA — As the roars of a second-round NCAA Tournament crowd echoed down the hall, Purdue basketball’s C.J. Cox put his right knee through a battery of tests. He ran wind sprints, to ensure had the speed necessary to keep up with Miami’s guards. He tried lateral agility drills, to confirm he could plant and cut with confidence and close off the driving lanes the Hurricanes so effectively used in the first half. The March Madness viewing audience likely focused on Cox’s offense that day, from the three 3s he hit in the final two minutes of the first half to the layup attempt on which he was injured three minutes after halftime. Cox, though, needed to make sure that knee he hurt – he...