J gave a good summation of what happened last night in Empty Valley, but there are a couple more subplots and trends that should be watched as the season progresses.
-One of my favorite parts of the game last night was watching Travis Carroll. He played 12 minutes, only finished with 4 points and 3 rebounds. But, he played confidently, made some very smart plays and wasn't a liability. I can eat crow publicly, so let me do it now- I thought Carroll would be third in line behind Bade and Marcius. But his footwork, fundamentally-sound style and basketball I.Q. seem to outweigh his lack of physical strength at this point. The strength will come- he looks young, but won't for long.
-Terone Johnson is another guy that I'm enjoying watch grow up. The benchmark for shooting guards is obviously Smooge. 33 came in, led the team in scoring was calm, cool and under control from his first minutes in the gold and black. TJohn hasn't been that. But, he's clearly working hard at becoming a college basketball player. He looked lost and out of shape back in early December. Now, he looks neither. He's becoming more willing to shoot, he's starting to make some difficult shots and (probably most-importantly, at this point) his defense looks like a Matty-coached guard should look. He'll be one of the guys that fills the void Moore leaves after graduation...but in the meantime, watch this guy grow into his role. Like Smith, we're watching a caterpillar turn into a beautiful, brightly-colored butterfly...Too much??
-If you've visited the site for more than a year, you know that I heart LewJack. I've been driving his bandwagon since before he got injured last year. Many of you scoffed at my belief in this Pocket Hercules, but last night you saw what he's capable of. He's finishing very well and we're starting to see a bit of the swagger that he had back in high school. This guy is the best ball handler Purdue's had at the point since I've watched Purdue. If he can get rid of the underhand pass that he falls back on from time-to-time, he could be All Conference next season.
-We all Know Ryne Smith can shoot. Last year, we'd hear via Twitter and first-hand accounts that Smith simply couldn't miss at times...behind closed doors. But, myth, folklore and legend are also codewords for guys who don't have the lower-intestinal fortitude to be big time. Smith has changed his outlook, listened to his coaches, locked his jaw and made the decision he's not going to be relegated to being solely a practice wizard. My favorite part of his ascension back to the starting line-up is the fact that so many short-sighted Purdue fans called him a waste of scholarship as recently as this season. You all were wrong. You've all gotten amazingly-quite...but the rest of us remember you. Smith has figured out that when you sell out and put all of your effort and heart on the line, even if you're not the best athlete on the court, you can do amazing things...and your team might be able to become something it couldn't without your help. Hats off to this coach's son for sticking with it when his fellow students and others had given up on him!
(note to reader: Let this be a lesson to you- don't give up on Bade)
-The LewJack/Barlow defensive combo is deadly. Lewis takes away the dribble, Kelsey takes away the jumpshot and passing lanes...and both frustrate the hell out of some really good guards. Oh yeah, sprinkle in some Smooge and TJohn, watch out.
-Purdue's composite computer ranking stands at 8.3 after last night's game
10 comments:
I have a question for those of you that watch a lot more of the Boilers than I am capable of. It looks like Painter is using less of his bench over the last few weeks. I see a lot less of Bade and Marcius now than in mid-December. I also realize there have been some injuries.
Do you think Painter is just focusing more on using certain guys, or have the situations just led to using less of the bench? As Big 10(12) play wears on I would think he would want more of that bench to contribute, even if it is just a few minutes hear and there.
I was wrong about Ryne. He is playing with a lot more confidence this year and it shows.
hindsight is always 20/20, and while i never asked for ryne's schollie for another recruit, the fact of the matter is that he was not producing his first two years and he WAS that mythical legend that never showed up on game day.
reason why i never wrote him off to that degree was that his shot just looked too good, even if they missed. he's a natural shooter and it was only a matter of time before he gained the confidence and the longer leash from painter to take those shots.
i definitely saw a player even early this season that would miss his first couple attempts and then not even look to score the rest of the game. that's not the case when he misses, and definitely not when he makes.
Plang -- He is using less of the bench, though it's due to a natural progression. Players had a chance to prove themselves earlier, and those who haven't are playing less. Practice is the only place you can change that now, I think.
I admit to being a Ryne detractor. I am so glad that he has contributed so much this year. Sometimes I still see the reticent sophomore when he busts out the pump-fake and pass routine, but he has consistently overcome that so far this year.
I am optimistic that he will be able to continue contributing for the rest of the season. He has to in order to completely get me excited about him for next year.
1 item that concerns me at this moment: Defense. I'm so satisfied with the offense right now, but I hope that we can push the defense a little harder. I think that we should be able to hold teams like PSU and Northwestern to fewer than 68/69 points.
Am I missing something, why is no one talking about that?
NW is a high scoring team with a tricky offense. They punk everybody.
I didn't think we played that hard against PSU...I also thought they played amazing for who they are. We held Battle to nothing, but a Frosh and a kid who scored 12 pts. all season combined for like 25 in the first half.
to answer your question historian, I would also say that just b/c NW and Penn St. have been bottom of the barrel teams in the big 10 and still are for the most part doesn't mean they suck. They are both in the RPI top 100 right now (which I hate to even say that b/c I think the RPI is a joke, especially earlier on, hence BYU currently #1). Look, even OSU only beat Iowa by 5.
with that being said I still hate when we give up more than 59 points to anyone not in the top 25.
On a side note, Matt Painter has to be the front runner for Coach of the Year right now....
we gave up that many points to PS because 1 we scored 80 + pts and 2. we gave away easy turnovers that were a result of layups, that was 10-15 pts last night, easily.
Sorry, but I can not resist.
Bade? Remember Dan Vandervieren (http://espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=31543)?
Exactly!
Vandervieren (1.7 ppg, 52% shooting) averaged more than Bade has in 2 years (1.5 ppg and now a HOT 1.3 ppg...37% overall shooting).
Carroll and Marcius will become better players than he ever will/was. Maybe he should have gone to Iowa instead of waiting space on our roster.
Note to reader: If he ever becomes a force (ie over 7 ppg, 6 rpg), I will never say another bad thing about a Purdue player ever!
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