When E'Twaun Moore committed to Purdue -- in a fantastic recruiting class that included JaJuan Johnson, Robbie Hummel and Scott Martin -- coach Matt Painter knew he'd gotten a premier scorer.

Moore scored 1,829 points at East Chicago Central.

When Purdue announced that recruiting class, Painter called Moore a player "that has maturity to his game that you just don't see from a high school player."

And, of course, he knew he was a scorer.

But four years and 106 victories later, Moore has become more than a scorer.

He's emerged as a consistently solid perimeter defender, finally realizing how important that element of the game is, and uses his long arms and quick feet as strengths.

He's committed to rebounding more than ever, averaging over 5 per game this season for a career-high average.

He's second on the team in assists behind point guard Lewis Jackson.

He has fewer turnovers than in any season so far.

"When you're able to get a player of his caliber (and) you desperately need scoring, it gives you a punch in the arm," Painter said last week. "While he really helped us scoring the basketball, I think we helped him develop into an all-around player. He's continually gotten better."

• For even more on Moore, be sure to grab a copy of Monday's JG. I wrote a cover story on him for our NCAA tournament special section.