Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Boilers Handle Business at Valpo, 76-58

The Boilers went into a tough environment tonight and put together another win that was close for a while, but then at the end you look up and the walk-ons are in and the margin is about 20. I did sense some consternation from the Purdue faithful on Twitter and I guess there are a few things to say here.

First, yes, it was "only" a Horizon League team. Purdue should definitely handle Valpo. And they did -- don't lose sight of that. Also remember, the Horizon League is where the national runner-up came from last season. And also remember that this game was circled on Valpo's calendar. This was by far the biggest game on their schedule. This isn't me being cocky or obnoxious (no more than usual, anyway) -- it's just a fact. Valpo and its fans were amped -- rightfully so -- to get Purdue in their gym. I can understand that and I give them big time props for making that place sound like it was rocking at the start of the night. All true basketball fans can appreciate a raucous atmosphere on a December night in Indiana.

Boilerdowd minimized the Crusaders a bit on last week's Handsome Hour, but I think when he watches the tape of this game he'll feel a little differently. If Purdue did not buckle down and get focused in the second half, this could have been a very different night. Yes, as I said, the Boilers won comfortably, but it's because they adjusted to Valpo and, once again, ground an opponent into submission.

Valpo clearly decided tonight that they were not going to make the mistake some other teams have made and try to play JJ one-on-one. They were doubling him from the start and sometimes tripling the big guy. As a result, other Boilermakers had open shots and, thankfully, guys like Ryne Smith (9 pts on 3/4 shooting, all from 3) and Kelsey Barlow (13 pts on 5/7 shooting) were knocking them down.

Smooge, of course, was his typical dazzling self, shooting over 50%, collecting 23 points and making ESPNU analyst Mark Adams fall in love with him.

Another really encouraging thing I saw tonight was the team play. Purdue had four guys score in double figures, with JJ scoring 13 and LewJack chipping in 11 on 80% (4/5) shooting. I also loved that six different guys had assists.

The Boilers -- shorthanded with John Hart out with a foot injury and Patrick Bade out with his ass stapled to the bench -- came to play tonight and shot 52% as a team. There were, of course, concerns as to who might step up and it was good to see several guys making plays. Terone Johnson was perhaps the only negative tonight, but he's a freshman and games like this are going to happen. He'll be fine.

Purdue fans had a new media target to aim their collective howitzers at tonight....doofus, thy name is Mark Adams.

Adams, who reminded us again and again....and again that Rob Hummel is out for the season, was being called "Coach" by his broadcast partner Jim Barbar. So I decided to look because I didn't know who the hell Mark Adams was... and here's his coaching record. For those too lazy to click the link, he coached at Central Connecticut State from 1991 to '96 and went 40-95, or a sizzling .296 winning percentage. Or an average of eight wins a season. So, definitely, let's listen to Mark. I would say that all Mark Adams knows about basketball is that he wasn't good at coaching it.

Some Adamisms from tonight:

He referred to E'Twaun Moore as "Rob Moore" on more than one occasion.

He said Matt Painter coached at "Eastern Illinois" before Purdue. On more than one occasion.

He said Ryne Smith is "too good a shooter, with too much confidence" to miss that a three that he knocked down. And look, we all love Ryne Smith, but Adams was fooled by Ryne's ability to hit 500 straight threes in practice. 


He seemingly predicted an upset at the outset of the telecast. I'm still not sure I heard him right, but I saw others Tweeting about it so I guess I did. 


He said Homer Drew designed an "offense" to stop JaJuan Johnson. Interesting. 


Was I the only one whose heart stopped at this sight?
Worth mentioning was the collision pictured above where JJ stayed down on the court for an extra minute. I think my knees buckled when I saw this and I involuntary started just saying, "No, no, no...." 


Fortunately, the big man was just fine and was looking for a contact lens or something. 


The Boilers move to 8-1, including 2-0 in true road games. Next up, the Boilers have three games in a 10-day span from 12/11 to 12/21, against North Florida, Indiana State and IPFW. Barring a shocker, Purdue should be 11-1 heading into the conference opener at Michigan on 12/28.

18 comments:

Ryan F said...

The ISU game is at Conseco, for the record

BoilerPaulie said...

Haha. Glad you caught those Adamisms. I chuckled at all of those.

I'm about 60% sure he also referred to Rob Hummel as "Rob Moore" at least once, but I may have caught it out of context when he was really referring to E'Twaun. But hey, maybe he just knows something we don't...?

I must admit, I'm a little surprised you didn't include a comment about E'Twaun's "playground defense" or whatever they called it, which prompted the priceless quote [I'm paraphrasing because I am too lazy to fire up the DVR again] "It's hard to concentrate when you have a guy rubbing your leg down."

Gutsy, Smooge. Gutsy. Two fouls early and you're still willing to pants a guy without the officials noticing.

my word verification: "expazes" - I'm guessing this is the kind of anger management word like "goosfraba" that could be heard in Valpo's locker room tonight after the game.

Anonymous said...

J-

While "Coach" Adams tried his hardest to make my ears bleed with his color commentary, he was actually right in that Eastern Illinois was Painter's first D-1 coaching gig (as an assistant, not head coach).

Also, what pleased me the most in the second half was when Lew and Kelsey drove to the basket, they made their contested shots. I can't tell you how many times last year one of them would blow by their defender but miss their layup.

chevys10 said...

So I'm not the only one who thought Adams was a doofus.....Thank God we don't have to watch any more of our games on "The U."

bjh said...

I believe I saw this correctly, but I enjoyed when Adams diagrammed on his dry erase board how Valpo was collapsing down on JJ and had him listed as #33. Second the JTroyer1986 comment about being really encouraged by Lewis and Kelsey taking it to the bucket and finishing.

Georiga Boiler said...

Commentary from last night. "Purdue really misses Robbie Hummel. 3 pointer made by the best 3 point shooter in the country Ryan Smith (Not sure if any announcer realizes his name is Ryne). Did I mention Robbie Hummel is out for the year? Rob Moore is the best posting guard in the world. Robbie Hummel is back home again and recommends this restaurant, they have good chicken wings. Purdue defense is like a python. Robbie Hummel, Robbie Hummel, Robbie Hummel."

Unknown said...

mark adams is awesome...book him for your next corporate event...

http://www.enthusiadams.com/

Unknown said...

I thought you were making up enthusiadams.

Then I checked it out.

It's real, and it's spectacular.

zlionsfan said...

It was nice to hear a familiar voice (Jim Barbar) in an unfamiliar setting, but I guess they were going to have to find some doofus to do the color commentary, and it seems they did. For all his foolish comments, he did at least praise Moore frequently. What was it, best post-up guard in the country? Pure shooter? So that's something.

I also think Purdue would have had some serious trouble if they weren't focused, and most of the first half showed that. Valpo was more than happy to stay in the game if the Boilers would allow it. Once the defense tightened up, that was that.

FWIW, kenpom has Purdue 10th in the country right now ... but 4th in the Big Ten. (Can you say "Best conference in the country?" I knew you could.) The current projection is 23-8, with an 11-7 conference mark, good for a three-way tie with Illinois and Wisconsin (behind OSU and MSU). Damn these hard schedules (West Virginia's currently 18th; that projects to a 40% chance of a win).

Purdue Matt said...

Several times Adams said we were going to see an upset tonight. Very annoying. He was so sure of it. Anyone know his email address so we can hold him accountable for his stupid comments?

I muted the TV and turned on Cliz after the first 5 minutes.

JonS said...

If LewJack and Barlow continue to play like they did last night, Purdue is going to be very tough to beat. They were rebounding, forcing turnovers, feeding the shooters, creating (and making) high-percentage shots, and frustrating the opponent as usual. Hopefully they can keep that up.

Unknown said...

Adams called upset in the first 10 seconds of the broadcast...annoying clown

http://www.enthusiadams.com/

Purdue Matt said...

And why did he keep talking about a "Boa constrictor defense?" Wtf is that?

Andrew said...

Anyone else think the next few games are huge for T Johnson and his shot? He is getting great looks but missing. He needs to drain a few.

J Money said...

Well, Matt, you could always connect with Mark via Facebook and enthusiadamsly express your displeasure.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Adams/1373520580

Patrick said...

I just watched the game last night from the DVR and your assessment is right on. Concerning TJ, he looked like when shooting behind the arc that he barely and any strength to his shot. I don't know if its his awkward shooting motion or not, but he looked like a 3rd grader trying to shoot a three ball.

Ryan said...

"(Not sure if any announcer realizes his name is Ryne)"

They pronounce it Ryan because that's how the Purdue media guide says how to pronounce it (it says Rye-n, which I can only assume is supposed to be read Ryan). So I assume that's how he pronounces it as well.

zlionsfan said...

BTW, in case people are still concerned about the margin of victory over Oakland, the Golden Grizzlies just lost to MSU by one. (It was in the Palace, technically neutral: Oakland's campus is closer but MSU fans might actually travel for basketball.) The Spartans' biggest first-half lead was 5; they never led at any point by more than 10.

ESPN's play-by-play made it seem like Oakland won by one; the last minute or so had a lot of scoring, as Oakland hit threes and MSU missed free throws. Anyway, there's no shame in beating Oakland by "only" 15.