Midwestern State Quick-Wrap

Two sick kids and a wife not feeling great made for a quick change in the B'Dowd home. LBD and Mrs. Boilerdowd weren't able to go, so I got to go watch our Boilers beat Midwestern State 78-58 this evening. Here are my thoughts:

-Terone Johnson's boxscore was impressive...but in person, he might have been even better. In 15 minutes, he was 6 of 7 with 17 points and 5 boards. He's silky smooth and has the ability to change speeds while keeping his head up. On more than one occasion, he kept his dribble while pushing the ball on a late fast break and shredded the defense. He's good...and he'll get better. I'm not sure how he can be kept out of the starting line-up too long.

-JJ was pretty sluggish. He played a team high 26 minutes, but only mustered 8 points and 8 rebounds. The rebounds probably bother me more than the points. But, he had 3 blocks and pretty much made the MSU players soil themselves over and over as they saw him between themselves and the basket. It seemed like this was a night that he just wasn't exerting himself. As we've said for four years, when he decides to be great, he is...when he doesn't...

-Ryne Smith was busting his hump, but seemed to be spinning his wheels and getting nowhere. He didn't shoot a lot, but he really couldn't create enough space to do so, it seemed.

-Smooge was what you'd expect- 22 minutes, 15 points, 7 rebounds. But, he didn't shoot well (3 of 9). He drew a ton of fouls and hit 8 free throws, but needs to be shooting above 80%, at minimum, to really make teams pay for fouling him. Like JJ, I it wasn't his most-inspired performance.

-I really like the way DJ Byrd played. He didn't shoot well (1 of 6), but had 4 assists and a steal. But, like our pal Paul said after the Indy game, he seems to sell out and move at a similar pace to Kramer...that sort of effort is contagious. Smith also works hard without the ball, but doesn't have the athleticism that Byrd does. The Byrdman almost had a spectacular putback dunk...almost doesn't count though.

-LewJack was pretty quiet, but played pretty well. His quickness wasn't matched by anyone on the MSU roster as he drove through the lane a few times and actually hit the finishing lay-ups!!! I think we'll see plenty of that this season. In 14 minutes, he had 8 points, 4 assists and he continues to rebound well (5) in spite of being the smallest guy on the court by a lot...it's about position and will, in my opinion.

-I thought Barlow had some of the most dramatic plays of the day as he looked like Magic Johnson a few times while threading the needle from a long distance...he only finished with 2 assists. But, that was in large part the fault of the shooter on the other end of the pass, not him.

-Bade had 13 points in 19 minutes, but only two boards...none on the offensive end. I like the offensive output, but, like JJ, he's really needed on the glass. His body control and decision making are vastly-improved from last season.

-Anthony Johnson looks cool under pressure. He didn't have a "loud" game in the boxscore, but I think he will have one this season. You can see that he has a good shot, but I think he's still getting used to the fact that defenders just don't give him the space he's used to.

-Hart shot poorly (0-6) and seemed rushed for much of the night.

-Carroll looked kind of like Bade did last year...both physically and in his output.

-Marcius didn't play (continues to look massive in the huddle) and Anthrop looked pretty horrible in limited action...Hopefully he'll be able to spell some players as the season progresses, but it doesn't look like it, based on what I saw tonight.

Notes

-My handsome nephew, my brother and I were on the big screen tonight in Mackey...for those of you who were there, now you know what I look like.

-Purdue's team defense is a work in progress. BUT, at times in the first half, MSU's guards were very frustrated with Purdue's pressure. Plus, Purdue was very scrappy and dove for a ton of loose balls during the game...always a good thing.

-Purdue didn't dominate the glass like they did v. UIndy...but, they did outrebound Midwestern State by 5, and nearly got to 50 (47).

-Purdue's impressive unimportant game versus UIndy caused Andy Katz to launch Purdue up his top 25 from 23 to 14. Katz continues to be little more than a clown with a megaphone.

Super-In-Depth Look at Unimportant Contest

(Thanks to our pal, Paul for this!!)

First off, it feels soo good to be sitting in Mackey Arena watching Purdue Basketball. There was certainly a larger turnout this year than there was for last year's exhibition opener, and those that did show up were treated to a pretty good show. The good guys won 82-59, but had a little slowdown late in the first half where UIndy got to within 8 or 9.

I'm not as polished at writing these things as the handsome proprietors of this fine site, so I'll just jump right into a player-by-player breakdown:

The Usual Suspects:
E'Twaun Moore - 13pts, 6rebs, 2 ast, 1 blk
Smooge played a very solid game, though the scoring didn't come right away. He had the highlight of the first half with a great fake and drive to the basket for an authoritative slam. He had a beautiful misdirection drive to the lane to start the second half, and later had a "are you kidding me?" falling and shooting after contact three point play.

JaJuan Johnson - 11pts, 8rebs, 1 blk (though I think he could be credited with two)
Well, he's certainly been in the weight room; and it shows with a lot more bulk and definition on his shoulder and arms. He also played like an All-American, leaving no doubt about who the best big man on the floor was. He was matched up against a freshman from UIndy for some of the game, and it wasn't even a contest. He had some great putbacks, crashed the boards hard, and it only took approximately 3.5mins for the first thunderdunk. He asserted his will in the post and had a great game.

Lewis Jackson - 7pts, 3ast, 5 rebs
LewJack is at full speed, and it's a good thing. He ran the point very well, only had 1 turnover, and played the kind of defense we've come to expect from him. He even shot 75% at the line, so maybe his free throw woes are behind him!

Ryne Smith - 9pts, 2rebs, 1ast, 0 fouls
I'm throwing Ryne into the usual suspects because if he plays the way he did tonight, then he will become one of the usual suspects. 2/4 on threes, and those are the only shots he took from the field. He also swished all three chances at the line and played very good, but not great defense. He looked very much in the flow of the offense, and seemed to be trying to step up his leadership during the game by being vocal. Very promising, now just keep it up!

Big Shoes to Fill: (The three big guys)
Patrick Bade- 4pts, 1reb, 2 blks (I felt like he got one or two more rebounds, he was really working the boards)
Bade had a sweet rebound of an airball and putback late in the second half, and really worked hard. His two blocks were really good effort plays and overall his defensive effort was solid. He still needs to work on jumpshooting and obviously needs to grab more boards, but overall his game isn't looking too bad. He was definitely more mobile than last season.

Sandi Marcius (pronounced Mar-chuss) 2pts, 5rebs, 2 fouls
He ran, rebounded, and defended. He only committed two fouls, one of which was kind of soft, so that's a good sign for a guy who hasn't been playing bball for as long as some of us hoosier kids. He didnt take many shots, missed his only free throw attempt, but did have a sweet putback to beat the buzzer in the first half. He played hard and dove for a loose ball, but there's still some work to do. Oh, and he's a big guy!

Travis Carroll- 2pts, 2rebs, 2 fouls
Another run, rebound, defend guy that didn't do as much rebounding. That isn't to say he didn't play hard and dive for a few loose balls, but he definitely showed plenty of times that he's a freshman in his first game, and as a freshman big man it's all the more obvious. I will say that there's a lot of upside, but some time in the gym would definitely benefit him.

All Together Now: (the guards)
Kelsey "please calm down" Barlow- 1pt, 1ast, 6TO's, 2rebs
He played great defense. Now that we've got that out of the way... Kelsey, Kelsey, Kelsey, I have such great hopes for you! Tonight felt like he took all the kind of mistakes he would make, including not finishing at the rim, last year and rolled them all up into one game. At one point Coach Painter made a rather large statement by replacing him with Dru Anthrop IN THE FIRST HALF! My mom is a huge Kelsey Barlow fan, and I still believe he can be a great player, but tonight felt like a complete backslide from everything he improved on by the end of last season. I could tell he was frustrated, and sometimes I think he is too hard on himself... but tonight maybe it's worth it.

DJ Byrd- 6pts, 5rebs
DJ took two charges, scrapped for loose balls, defended pretty well, and took the shots that were open. He was a glue guy. That said if Chris Kramer was Acme Super Glue, DJ Byrd is still on the Elmer's Extra Strength level, but he's already showing some signs of grit and determination. Also a pretty nice shooting touch.

John Hart- 9pts, 2stls, 2ast, 2rebs, 1 blk
3/7 from downtown isn't stellar, but he showed confidence in his shooting played good defense. He wasn't always very noticeable on offense, but made plays and filled his stat sheet nicely. I don't think he's quite at the level to be a big minutes guy, but he might be right on the edge of that.

Terone Johnson- 9pts, 1ast, 4 TO's, 1reb, 4 fouls
I heard an older Boilermaker saying he didn't like Terone a few rows behind me, but I have to disagree. First off, he played very good defense for a freshman, and the rumors of him having a body ready for the big ten are true. He looked a little overwhelmed at times, but less than Anthony Johnson did. His 9 points were all on smart shots and most importantly 3/3 from the charity stripe! Some of his fouls came from just trying too hard for rebounds he had no chance of getting, but you could see that he's definitely ready to give a lot of effort, and will probably contribute and grow throughout the season.

Anthony Johnson- 7pts, 3rebs
He didn't play quite as much, and had a scary moment late in the game when he went down clutching his knee, though he went through the post-game handshake line ok, so cross your fingers it's not an ACL. He definitely does have great lateral quickness, and he used this in playing some ok defense. His shot selection wasn't great, but he did drain his only attempt from long range and in general gave good effort. He had a few soft fouls that may just be freshman growing pains, but overall he seemed a little overwhelmed at times.

The Walk-on White-out: (trademark T-Mill of Hammer and Rails)
They played well when they were in, giving effort and defending decently, but there isn't much more to say as they weren't in for long. Bubba day did have a nice jumper, which of course got the Paint Crew fired up.

This has been your BS straight from the field, I'm Paul, and I've got to get back to being a "research-maker" whatever the heck that is...

Paradise Jammin' With You

Here's the odd-looking bracket for next season's Paradise Jam...