Best, worst, and predicted outcomes for this year

[cprh9u]

It's a slow offseason. I know some of you don't like this kind of thing. Feel free not to participate. Now that our roster is final for the upcoming season and we are starting to imagine what to expect from our guys and what other rosters are looking like, I thought it might be fun to throw out your best case, worst case, and actual predictions for the 2015-2016 season.

Best Case- The AJH and Swanigan combination down low are unstoppable most night. Edwards is looked at as one of the most versatile players in the B1G as he takes a big step forward from a very solid freshman year. Kendall and Mathias both connect on 42-43% of their long distance shots while RD locks down some of the best offensive players in the league while adding a solid scoring punch as well. Haas takes advantage of backups that have no business guarding him and is a major offensive threat off the bench. Hill and Thompson prove to be adequate PG's, but in our best line ups, RD is able to match up with the opposing PG giving us a ridiculous size and rebounding advantange (RD- 6'5, KS or DM- 6'4 - 6'5, VE- 6'7, CS- 6'8 and AJH- 7'0. Painter figures out how to trim the rotation just right and what combinations work the best. This team wins the B1G and charges to the Final Four as a #1 seed.

Worst Case- Teams play zone against us creating a lot of TO's and poor ball movement. The lane is too clogged for CS, AJH or Haas to maneuver, and our shooters shoot poorly even when open. Our PG play is below average, and we give up a big advantage to schools with stellar guard play. Painter doesn't figure out the best rotation until midway through the B1G season, we get some solid wins, make the bubble and enter the tournament as a 9 or 10 seed, and get knocked out by a hot shooting team with excellent guard play in our first game.

Expected- Most teams can't handle our size, and we have rebounding edges in almost every game. Having AJH, CS and VE in the frontcourt is a top 5 frontcourt in the country, maybe higher. Our guards shoot ok, but not well enough to really give our big men room to roam in the paint and get 1-1 matchups regularly. Our PG play is pretty decent, but playing a true PG often times leaves a better player on the bench. Painter starts off a bit slow, gets a solid rotation by mid-December, and then sees a lot of success in league play on the way to a 2nd place finish behind Maryland. Purdue earns a 4 seed, wins 2 games, but falls to eventual National Champ UNC in the sweet 16. A 4 seed and sweet 16 from being dead last just 2 years ago is not a bad thing in my opinion.

Thoughts? What do you think is our ceiling, our floor, and realistic next year.

 

[SNU0821]

It's a slow offseason. I know some of you don't like this kind of thing. Feel free not to participate. Now that our roster is final for the upcoming season and we are starting to imagine what to expect from our guys and what other rosters are looking like, I thought it might be fun to throw out your best case, worst case, and actual predictions for the 2015-2016 season.

Best Case- The AJH and Swanigan combination down low are unstoppable most night. Edwards is looked at as one of the most versatile players in the B1G as he takes a big step forward from a very solid freshman year. Kendall and Mathias both connect on 42-43% of their long distance shots while RD locks down some of the best offensive players in the league while adding a solid scoring punch as well. Haas takes advantage of backups that have no business guarding him and is a major offensive threat off the bench. Hill and Thompson prove to be adequate PG's, but in our best line ups, RD is able to match up with the opposing PG giving us a ridiculous size and rebounding advantange (RD- 6'5, KS or DM- 6'4 - 6'5, VE- 6'7, CS- 6'8 and AJH- 7'0. Painter figures out how to trim the rotation just right and what combinations work the best. This team wins the B1G and charges to the Final Four as a #1 seed.

Worst Case- Teams play zone against us creating a lot of TO's and poor ball movement. The lane is too clogged for CS, AJH or Haas to maneuver, and our shooters shoot poorly even when open. Our PG play is below average, and we give up a big advantage to schools with stellar guard play. Painter doesn't figure out the best rotation until midway through the B1G season, we get some solid wins, make the bubble and enter the tournament as a 9 or 10 seed, and get knocked out by a hot shooting team with excellent guard play in our first game.

Expected- Most teams can't handle our size, and we have rebounding edges in almost every game. Having AJH, CS and VE in the frontcourt is a top 5 frontcourt in the country, maybe higher. Our guards shoot ok, but not well enough to really give our big men room to roam in the paint and get 1-1 matchups regularly. Our PG play is pretty decent, but playing a true PG often times leaves a better player on the bench. Painter starts off a bit slow, gets a solid rotation by mid-December, and then sees a lot of success in league play on the way to a 2nd place finish behind Maryland. Purdue earns a 4 seed, wins 2 games, but falls to eventual National Champ UNC in the sweet 16. A 4 seed and sweet 16 from being dead last just 2 years ago is not a bad thing in my opinion.

Thoughts? What do you think is our ceiling, our floor, and realistic next year.

Pretty fair. Losing in the first round would 100% be under achieving. Expecting a S16 (right now) doesn't seem far fetched at all, but anything beyond that I'll withhold judgement until I see how your guard play does. That to me is the kicker.

 

[cprh9u]

Pretty fair. Losing in the first round would 100% be under achieving. Expecting a S16 (right now) doesn't seem far fetched at all, but anything beyond that I'll withhold judgement until I see how your guard play does. That to me is the kicker.

Agreed, guard play is definitely the key

 

[rasrar]

It's a slow offseason. I know some of you don't like this kind of thing. Feel free not to participate. Now that our roster is final for the upcoming season and we are starting to imagine what to expect from our guys and what other rosters are looking like, I thought it might be fun to throw out your best case, worst case, and actual predictions for the 2015-2016 season.

Best Case- The AJH and Swanigan combination down low are unstoppable most night. Edwards is looked at as one of the most versatile players in the B1G as he takes a big step forward from a very solid freshman year. Kendall and Mathias both connect on 42-43% of their long distance shots while RD locks down some of the best offensive players in the league while adding a solid scoring punch as well. Haas takes advantage of backups that have no business guarding him and is a major offensive threat off the bench. Hill and Thompson prove to be adequate PG's, but in our best line ups, RD is able to match up with the opposing PG giving us a ridiculous size and rebounding advantange (RD- 6'5, KS or DM- 6'4 - 6'5, VE- 6'7, CS- 6'8 and AJH- 7'0. Painter figures out how to trim the rotation just right and what combinations work the best. This team wins the B1G and charges to the Final Four as a #1 seed.

Worst Case- Teams play zone against us creating a lot of TO's and poor ball movement. The lane is too clogged for CS, AJH or Haas to maneuver, and our shooters shoot poorly even when open. Our PG play is below average, and we give up a big advantage to schools with stellar guard play. Painter doesn't figure out the best rotation until midway through the B1G season, we get some solid wins, make the bubble and enter the tournament as a 9 or 10 seed, and get knocked out by a hot shooting team with excellent guard play in our first game.

Expected- Most teams can't handle our size, and we have rebounding edges in almost every game. Having AJH, CS and VE in the frontcourt is a top 5 frontcourt in the country, maybe higher. Our guards shoot ok, but not well enough to really give our big men room to roam in the paint and get 1-1 matchups regularly. Our PG play is pretty decent, but playing a true PG often times leaves a better player on the bench. Painter starts off a bit slow, gets a solid rotation by mid-December, and then sees a lot of success in league play on the way to a 2nd place finish behind Maryland. Purdue earns a 4 seed, wins 2 games, but falls to eventual National Champ UNC in the sweet 16. A 4 seed and sweet 16 from being dead last just 2 years ago is not a bad thing in my opinion.

Thoughts? What do you think is our ceiling, our floor, and realistic next year.

I'll preface these scenarios by saying that I am making them assuming that the team will be reasonably healthy. I say that because there is too much variance to predict whether a serious injury will occur or not. It's probably fair to assume there will be, at the very least, minor nicks and bruises along the way. So that's all I will assume in these scenarios.

WORST CASE: I may just be drinking too much kool aid, but I just don't see any way that this team isn't a Top 25 team, at the very least. We are so much better and deeper than last year, and I think we'd have been a top 25 team last year if it weren't for the fluke home losses to Gardner Webb and North Florida. So that being said, given that I think we will at the very least finish as a top 25 team, I think the worst case scenario is a 6 seed in the tournament. With that type of seeding, it's possible to lose round 1, but not likely. But losing in the first round as a 6 seed is the absolute worst case scenario for me.

BEST CASE: I think the OP's best case scenario is too modest. First, even if we finish 2nd to Maryland, given how deep the tournament is this year, I think a 3 seed is the absolute worst case scenario for a team to finish 2nd in B10. Given the strength of the B10, it wouldn't surprise me if the B10 got 2 #1 seeds. This isn't likely, but it's possible. With that being said, I think Purdue is capable of winning the B10 and is thus, capable of being a #1 seed going into the tournament. While such a seed doesn't guarantee anything, I believe any #1 seed has a chance and is capable of winning the national championship. So to me, that's Purdue's best case scenario, winning the national championship.

MOST LIKELY: I will try and temper my expectations, but I think this team is just too strong and too deep for fans to not expect a strong regular season and a deep run in the tournament. So I'll say Purdue finishes 2nd to Maryland in the B10 and makes the Elite Eight. The Sweet 16 should be a baseline for this team. Anything less than that should be a disappointment.

 

[Boiler Buck]

Best case.....Championship game......

Dad is 81 this year, and a big-time Purdue guy....so I am praying they get it done one more time before Jesus calls him home.....bucket list thing for us both.......

1. Watch Purdue in a Championship game.

 

[boilerzz]

Best case - Purdue's 5 guys with NBA potential play to it and lead Purdue to it's first national championship.

Worst case - The team's bus is attacked by Ronnie Johnson, potted plant and ball rack, leaving Purdue having to start Weatherford, Cline, Eifert, Taylor and a hack from the co-rec. Fortunately, behind Cline's shooting and Weatherford's best Chris Kramer impression, Purdue still wins enough games to play in the NIT, cementing Coach Painter as the genius that some refuse to admit.

Most likely - The team drops a game or two early in the year while trying to integrate new players and determine the best lineups. They come out of the Holiday break firing on all cylinders and go 13-5 in the B1G, finishing tied for 2nd with Sparty. As a 6 seed, they win their first game easily, slip by the 3 seed in the 2nd but run into a hot 2 seed and bow out in the Sweet 16. Hammons is drafted in the first round. Biggie decides to come back and the national pundits declare Purdue to have the best front line in college basketball the following season. They also say that "If Purdue only had the PG position resolved, we'd be including them in our preseason Top 10".

 

[340duster340]

Maryland and MSU would easily have to be considered the top two teams in the conference next year. Then Indiana, Purdue, Wisconsin , Michigan and Ohio St. in the next group.
Maryland lost really only Wells, adds Stone, and a key transfer.
MSU beat Purdue late last year in a game Dawson only played a couple of minutes in, then suffered the concussion.
They add transfer Eron Harris who will immediately replace Trice and if anything be an upgrade( better shooter, bigger, more athletic, and was played extensively at the point last year in practices while sitting out his transfer) 17.2 ppg as a Soph at WVA on 42% 3 point shooting.
Javon Bess sat out pretty much the entire season as a frosh last year with a foot injury after winning a starting spot prior to the start of the season. Plays like a mini Dawson, excellent rebounder, but with handles and a shot. Then you add Burger boy Deyonta Davis, and two excellent wing prospects in McQuaid and Ahrens.
The above get added to returnees, Valentine, Forbes, Tum Tum, Costello, Schilling, Marvin Clark and Alvin Ellis. All of whom were starters or started at some point last year.
LaVert will help provide UM with a potentially elite backcourt, Ohio State will have a ton of pieces, and Bryant could be a huge difference maker in an extremely thin IU front court.
I would probably go
Maryland. 1A
MSU. 1B
IU 2
Purdue/ Wisky/ UM. 3

 

[dwhitebash11]

I'll say best case, 30+ wins, #1 seed, National Champs. We have the best front court in the NCAA. And we're one of the deepest teams as well. I'm hoping this Weatherford kid is the next Kramer/Craft. That is key to our success. Our guards need to be deadly from beyond the arc. Davis becomes the next Cuanzo Martin. Swanigan is Jared Sullinger-esque in college. And everyone else takes the next step, believes in each other, and the team.


Worse case, sub-par 20 win team. Another 7-10 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and a first round exit.


I think most likely, we'll hover around 25 wins, a loss or two in the non-conference, and 5-6 in the conference. Guards will cost us a few games going cold shooting, turnovers, etc. A sweet 16 appearance as a 4 seed.

 

[SNU0821]

I'll say best case, 30+ wins, #1 seed, National Champs. We have the best front court in the NCAA. And we're one of the deepest teams as well. I'm hoping this Weatherford kid is the next Kramer/Craft. That is key to our success. Our guards need to be deadly from beyond the arc. Davis becomes the next Cuanzo Martin. Swanigan is Jared Sullinger-esque in college. And everyone else takes the next step, believes in each other, and the team.


Worse case, sub-par 20 win team. Another 7-10 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and a first round exit.


I think most likely, we'll hover around 25 wins, a loss or two in the non-conference, and 5-6 in the conference. Guards will cost us a few games going cold shooting, turnovers, etc. A sweet 16 appearance as a 4 seed.

You're not even close to one of the deepest teams.

If you're pinning your success on Weatherford, you're in trouble next year.

 

[Boiler Buck]

MSU beat Purdue late last year in a game Dawson only played a couple of minutes in, then suffered the concussion. They add transfer Eron Harris who will immediately replace Trice and if anything be an upgrade( better shooter, bigger, more athletic, and was played extensively at the point last year in practices while sitting out his transfer) 17.2 ppg as a Soph at WVA on 42% 3 point shooting.

Eron Harris is an upgrade to the MVP of the East region of the NCAA tournament??? Highly Doubtful.

 

[dwhitebash11]

You're not even close to one of the deepest teams.

If you're pinning your success on Weatherford, you're in trouble next year.

Nice editing job there, but still, are you going to make outlandish replies, or are you going to actually back them up?

I can back mine up nicely.

We are 8 strong deep with Hammons, Haas, Swanigan, Edwards, Davis, all have NBA potential, and Mathias, Stephens, Smotherman who can are damn good role players.

Add in unknowns, but with talent and potential; (along with great coaching)

Taylor
Thompson
Hill
Weatherford
Cline

 

[BigTimeAt69]

You're not even close to one of the deepest teams.

If you're pinning your success on Weatherford, you're in trouble next year.

Looking at our roster I think you'll be surprised.

We are deep in the front court and half of the backcourt. PG is the one questing mark.

People seem to have forgot how young we were last year.

Trice isn't going to be so easy to replace, he was a beast last year.

IU added one front court player but loses Hanner... still thin as shit on the frontline. I think they over achieved last year and will under achieve next

 

[West James]

It's a slow offseason. I know some of you don't like this kind of thing. Feel free not to participate. Now that our roster is final for the upcoming season and we are starting to imagine what to expect from our guys and what other rosters are looking like, I thought it might be fun to throw out your best case, worst case, and actual predictions for the 2015-2016 season.

Best Case- The AJH and Swanigan combination down low are unstoppable most night. Edwards is looked at as one of the most versatile players in the B1G as he takes a big step forward from a very solid freshman year. Kendall and Mathias both connect on 42-43% of their long distance shots while RD locks down some of the best offensive players in the league while adding a solid scoring punch as well. Haas takes advantage of backups that have no business guarding him and is a major offensive threat off the bench. Hill and Thompson prove to be adequate PG's, but in our best line ups, RD is able to match up with the opposing PG giving us a ridiculous size and rebounding advantange (RD- 6'5, KS or DM- 6'4 - 6'5, VE- 6'7, CS- 6'8 and AJH- 7'0. Painter figures out how to trim the rotation just right and what combinations work the best. This team wins the B1G and charges to the Final Four as a #1 seed.

Worst Case- Teams play zone against us creating a lot of TO's and poor ball movement. The lane is too clogged for CS, AJH or Haas to maneuver, and our shooters shoot poorly even when open. Our PG play is below average, and we give up a big advantage to schools with stellar guard play. Painter doesn't figure out the best rotation until midway through the B1G season, we get some solid wins, make the bubble and enter the tournament as a 9 or 10 seed, and get knocked out by a hot shooting team with excellent guard play in our first game.

Expected- Most teams can't handle our size, and we have rebounding edges in almost every game. Having AJH, CS and VE in the frontcourt is a top 5 frontcourt in the country, maybe higher. Our guards shoot ok, but not well enough to really give our big men room to roam in the paint and get 1-1 matchups regularly. Our PG play is pretty decent, but playing a true PG often times leaves a better player on the bench. Painter starts off a bit slow, gets a solid rotation by mid-December, and then sees a lot of success in league play on the way to a 2nd place finish behind Maryland. Purdue earns a 4 seed, wins 2 games, but falls to eventual National Champ UNC in the sweet 16. A 4 seed and sweet 16 from being dead last just 2 years ago is not a bad thing in my opinion.

Thoughts? What do you think is our ceiling, our floor, and realistic next year.

Since I haven't seen the pre B1G regular season schedule, I'll limit my predictions to B1G season & beyond. Of course, depending on the injury situation, [assuming there is little or nothing to worry about there] I predict Purdue wins both the regular season B1G title, & B1G tournament. I'll say between 4 & 5 B1G games lost. I think we have a 50/50 chance of making the Final Four, but, mainly because of no returning super PG, we probably won't win the NCAA Tournament this season. If our exploritory experiments work out with both the guard spots sooner than later, this team may do even better than I think. Maybe Coach Painter shouldn't redshirt anyone, one never knows who might be injured, & when such an injury might strike. Boy Scout motto, "Be prepaired". If you're going for it all/have a great chance to do wonderous things in a 1 in 20 special season type situation, you'll want all your horses in the fold. Better safe than sorry.

 

[cprh9u]

I'll preface these scenarios by saying that I am making them assuming that the team will be reasonably healthy. I say that because there is too much variance to predict whether a serious injury will occur or not. It's probably fair to assume there will be, at the very least, minor nicks and bruises along the way. So that's all I will assume in these scenarios.

WORST CASE: I may just be drinking too much kool aid, but I just don't see any way that this team isn't a Top 25 team, at the very least. We are so much better and deeper than last year, and I think we'd have been a top 25 team last year if it weren't for the fluke home losses to Gardner Webb and North Florida. So that being said, given that I think we will at the very least finish as a top 25 team, I think the worst case scenario is a 6 seed in the tournament. With that type of seeding, it's possible to lose round 1, but not likely. But losing in the first round as a 6 seed is the absolute worst case scenario for me.

BEST CASE: I think the OP's best case scenario is too modest. First, even if we finish 2nd to Maryland, given how deep the tournament is this year, I think a 3 seed is the absolute worst case scenario for a team to finish 2nd in B10. Given the strength of the B10, it wouldn't surprise me if the B10 got 2 #1 seeds. This isn't likely, but it's possible. With that being said, I think Purdue is capable of winning the B10 and is thus, capable of being a #1 seed going into the tournament. While such a seed doesn't guarantee anything, I believe any #1 seed has a chance and is capable of winning the national championship. So to me, that's Purdue's best case scenario, winning the national championship.

MOST LIKELY: I will try and temper my expectations, but I think this team is just too strong and too deep for fans to not expect a strong regular season and a deep run in the tournament. So I'll say Purdue finishes 2nd to Maryland in the B10 and makes the Elite Eight. The Sweet 16 should be a baseline for this team. Anything less than that should be a disappointment.

My best case was us winning the B1G, securing a 1 seed and making the final 4. My most likely was us finishing 2nd to Maryland, getting a 4 (where you seem to disagree, no worries) and losing in the sweet 16. Just to clarify

 

[ustankass]

Eron Harris is an upgrade to the MVP of the East region of the NCAA tournament??? Highly Doubtful.

I would not trust Harris. Don't get me wrong I wanted him at Purdue when he was transferring. But I really think it is a bad thing when a team loses their leading scorer and they drastically improve the next year. We shall see.

To the OP, I will keep it short:

Best case: Final four/national championship.

Worst 8-9 seed lose first round.

Most likely: Top 3-4 big ten, 3-5 seed and make the sweet 16 or elite 8. Really excited for this year, but being a Purdue fan, we know heart break and I am tempering my expectations.

 

[SNU0821]

Nice editing job there, but still, are you going to make outlandish replies, or are you going to actually back them up?

I can back mine up nicely.

We are 8 strong deep with Hammons, Haas, Swanigan, Edwards, Davis, all have NBA potential, and Mathias, Stephens, Smotherman who can are damn good role players.

Add in unknowns, but with talent and potential; (along with great coaching)

Taylor
Thompson
Hill
Weatherford
Cline

Hammons, Haas, Swanigan, Edwards and Davis are your main core. Mathias and Stephens have a ton to prove. You still have zero point guard and unproven shooting guards. The rest of the players you listed IMO aren't major contributors. Taylor is talked about here the same way Lawson was. Thompson and Weatherford aren't the point guards you need. Not sure on Hill because I haven't seen him play but I can make assumptions. He played in a weaker conference than Octeus coming into Purdue. He had worse numbers than Octeus did as well. Cline will contribute but he'll still be a freshman. Your point about Weatherford is seriously a joke. That's like an IU fan saying that our success depends on Tim Priller.....Yeah right.

Point is, you have five solid players and two good ones in Mathias and Stephens. Past that, it's nothing to write home about. To say it's one of the deepest teams in the country is a joke.

 

[boiler17]

Ever since CS signed, Ive been entertaining national championship thoughts. I know they have no PG, but are so deep.

Best: National championship

Worst: 2005 football esc locker room meltdown. Painter has redeemed himself with CS recruiting wise, but most years his teams play so flat and lazy come March. I would think a low NCAA seed is still likely even if they struggle with sharing, expectations, and identity.

Most likely is a first or second place big ten team that wilts to 2nd-4th place in the big ten regular season, and two more decent but still disappointing tourney runs.

 

[340duster340]

Yes, when all is said and done Eron will most likely be an upgrade to Trice. And I am not slighting Trice. But Travis shot under 37% from 3 and under 40 overall, and barely a 70% free throw shooter last year. He came up big down the stretch, but had some terrible stretches for large parts of the season. The team played much poorer when he ran the point, the positive change happened when he was moved off the ball and Tum Tum inserted at the 1.
Trice was a career backup who had a real nice 10 game or do stretch. Harris has WAY more upside from day one.
Those who watched MSU practices this past season stated Harris was the best player on the roster. This word got out from a number of sources.

 

[jadeezra]

Snu Purdue is very very deep this year, much deeper than Iu. Definitely a top 25 deep range team, I don't think there's any arguing that its silly

 

[88btfu92]

You're not even close to one of the deepest teams.

If you're pinning your success on Weatherford, you're in trouble next year.

Yes please temper the expectations on Wetherford. this was a bit of a reach by Painter that I think has some potential down the road a couple years.

 

[mathboy]

It's a slow offseason. I know some of you don't like this kind of thing. Feel free not to participate. Now that our roster is final for the upcoming season and we are starting to imagine what to expect from our guys and what other rosters are looking like, I thought it might be fun to throw out your best case, worst case, and actual predictions for the 2015-2016 season.

Best Case- The AJH and Swanigan combination down low are unstoppable most night. Edwards is looked at as one of the most versatile players in the B1G as he takes a big step forward from a very solid freshman year. Kendall and Mathias both connect on 42-43% of their long distance shots while RD locks down some of the best offensive players in the league while adding a solid scoring punch as well. Haas takes advantage of backups that have no business guarding him and is a major offensive threat off the bench. Hill and Thompson prove to be adequate PG's, but in our best line ups, RD is able to match up with the opposing PG giving us a ridiculous size and rebounding advantange (RD- 6'5, KS or DM- 6'4 - 6'5, VE- 6'7, CS- 6'8 and AJH- 7'0. Painter figures out how to trim the rotation just right and what combinations work the best. This team wins the B1G and charges to the Final Four as a #1 seed.

Worst Case- Teams play zone against us creating a lot of TO's and poor ball movement. The lane is too clogged for CS, AJH or Haas to maneuver, and our shooters shoot poorly even when open. Our PG play is below average, and we give up a big advantage to schools with stellar guard play. Painter doesn't figure out the best rotation until midway through the B1G season, we get some solid wins, make the bubble and enter the tournament as a 9 or 10 seed, and get knocked out by a hot shooting team with excellent guard play in our first game.

Expected- Most teams can't handle our size, and we have rebounding edges in almost every game. Having AJH, CS and VE in the frontcourt is a top 5 frontcourt in the country, maybe higher. Our guards shoot ok, but not well enough to really give our big men room to roam in the paint and get 1-1 matchups regularly. Our PG play is pretty decent, but playing a true PG often times leaves a better player on the bench. Painter starts off a bit slow, gets a solid rotation by mid-December, and then sees a lot of success in league play on the way to a 2nd place finish behind Maryland. Purdue earns a 4 seed, wins 2 games, but falls to eventual National Champ UNC in the sweet 16. A 4 seed and sweet 16 from being dead last just 2 years ago is not a bad thing in my opinion.

Thoughts? What do you think is our ceiling, our floor, and realistic next year.

I don't put much stock in freshmen big men. I think it usually takes a year for them too reach their potential. Caleb will be a force, but he might not be that force next year. That said, I don't think we are one of the top 8 teams in the country. So, if we could make the E8, that would be the best case for me. We could always fall into a region that self-destructs like MSU last year, but I won't count on it.

Worst case? We find ourselves in 5th place in a competitive BIG and get a crummy seed. We face a FF team in the second round (sound familiar?) and don't make the S16.

On a side note, there are so many stupid things being said about our team right now on our rivals' boards that I hope someone collects them for good locker room material. All you have to do is read the Red Cedar Board, or Peegs to see how nasty some of the posting are. Wow! When I read these sort of comments, I smell fear. This is going to be an interesting year.

 

[rasrar]

My best case was us winning the B1G, securing a 1 seed and making the final 4. My most likely was us finishing 2nd to Maryland, getting a 4 (where you seem to disagree, no worries) and losing in the sweet 16. Just to clarify

My bad, I admittedly skimmed through that pretty quickly.

 

[purdue4sure]

Taylor is talked about here the same way Lawson was.

And your new center recruit is talked about like Hanner Perea was. So what's your point?

 

[SNU0821]

Snu Purdue is very very deep this year, much deeper than Iu. Definitely a top 25 deep range team, I don't think there's any arguing that its silly

You have depth, but you're not one of the deepest teams in the country. You're just not. A deep team has players that come in and don't miss a beat. I see that in Haas and Stephens or Mathias (whoever doesn't start). After that, there is a drop. Nobody is proven and there's a pretty big drop.

Dbashs' comment was one of the deepest in the country which is far from the truth. I mean the guy thinks Wetherford is the key. Lol

 

[BoilerDaddy]

It's a slow offseason. I know some of you don't like this kind of thing. Feel free not to participate. Now that our roster is final for the upcoming season and we are starting to imagine what to expect from our guys and what other rosters are looking like, I thought it might be fun to throw out your best case, worst case, and actual predictions for the 2015-2016 season.

Best Case- The AJH and Swanigan combination down low are unstoppable most night. Edwards is looked at as one of the most versatile players in the B1G as he takes a big step forward from a very solid freshman year. Kendall and Mathias both connect on 42-43% of their long distance shots while RD locks down some of the best offensive players in the league while adding a solid scoring punch as well. Haas takes advantage of backups that have no business guarding him and is a major offensive threat off the bench. Hill and Thompson prove to be adequate PG's, but in our best line ups, RD is able to match up with the opposing PG giving us a ridiculous size and rebounding advantange (RD- 6'5, KS or DM- 6'4 - 6'5, VE- 6'7, CS- 6'8 and AJH- 7'0. Painter figures out how to trim the rotation just right and what combinations work the best. This team wins the B1G and charges to the Final Four as a #1 seed.

Worst Case- Teams play zone against us creating a lot of TO's and poor ball movement. The lane is too clogged for CS, AJH or Haas to maneuver, and our shooters shoot poorly even when open. Our PG play is below average, and we give up a big advantage to schools with stellar guard play. Painter doesn't figure out the best rotation until midway through the B1G season, we get some solid wins, make the bubble and enter the tournament as a 9 or 10 seed, and get knocked out by a hot shooting team with excellent guard play in our first game.

Expected- Most teams can't handle our size, and we have rebounding edges in almost every game. Having AJH, CS and VE in the frontcourt is a top 5 frontcourt in the country, maybe higher. Our guards shoot ok, but not well enough to really give our big men room to roam in the paint and get 1-1 matchups regularly. Our PG play is pretty decent, but playing a true PG often times leaves a better player on the bench. Painter starts off a bit slow, gets a solid rotation by mid-December, and then sees a lot of success in league play on the way to a 2nd place finish behind Maryland. Purdue earns a 4 seed, wins 2 games, but falls to eventual National Champ UNC in the sweet 16. A 4 seed and sweet 16 from being dead last just 2 years ago is not a bad thing in my opinion.

Thoughts? What do you think is our ceiling, our floor, and realistic next year.

I really don't know what to expect from this team.

The best case has to be a national championship. Purdue's front line should be among the best in the country. If a couple of backcourt players can step up their games and somebody can take charge at point guard, a run through the NCAA Tournament isn't out of the question.

Worst case, the wheels come off and Purdue misses the NCAA Tournament with a sub-.500 Big Ten record. If nobody emerges as a viable point guard and if the team's outside shooting doesn't improve, it could be a tough season.

My most likely scenario is that Purdue battles for second place in the conference, finishing with about a 13-5 Big Ten record. Purdue goes on to make the Sweet 16.

 

[dwhitebash11]

Hammons, Haas, Swanigan, Edwards and Davis are your main core. Mathias and Stephens have a ton to prove. You still have zero point guard and unproven shooting guards. The rest of the players you listed IMO aren't major contributors. Taylor is talked about here the same way Lawson was. Thompson and Weatherford aren't the point guards you need. Not sure on Hill because I haven't seen him play but I can make assumptions. He played in a weaker conference than Octeus coming into Purdue. He had worse numbers than Octeus did as well. Cline will contribute but he'll still be a freshman. Your point about Weatherford is seriously a joke. That's like an IU fan saying that our success depends on Tim Priller.....Yeah right.

Point is, you have five solid players and two good ones in Mathias and Stephens. Past that, it's nothing to write home about. To say it's one of the deepest teams in the country is a joke.

Smotherman is another good role player. He started for us, played exceptionally well in a win vs. OSU, I believe led the team in scoring, when Vince was out. Mathias AND Stephens have proven themselves to be solid shooting guards. Not sure what games you were watching, but it definitely wasn't a Purdue game.

The only real achilles we might have is our PG spot. I'm not saying Weatherford IS going to be the next Kramer/Craft, but he's been compared to both players, has similar recruiting ranks, backgrounds, and intensity levels to both players. He's someone to watch out for. If Purdue reaches its' potential, it's going to be because Weatherford is that type of guy, or Hill/Thompson gives us Octeus stats.

I personally don't know if Cline will contribute as much as you think. I don't see the minutes for him this year. Our back court is loaded right now, and I don't think he'll beat anyone out. If Davis/Stephens get the nod, then he has to beat out Edwards, Mathias, and Smotherman. I don't see any of that happening this year.


Lets leave the Tim Priller jokes at home. We have the same team returning from last year that ended the year strong minus the NCAA Tournament. And we played 9-10 deep, so I'll stick to the proof that we're one of the deeper teams in the league. Obviously you have the blue bloods, UNC, Duke, UK who will be deeper. But I think our depth is right up there behind them .

 

[indyogb]

Best - National Champions!

Worst - 15-18 wins and miss the postseason (my "most likely" prediction before last season )

Most likely - 25 wins, 2nd or 3rd in Big Ten, 2nd Round or Sweet 16 in NCAA. I think this team is Top 20, but probably not quite Top 10.

I hope they prove me wrong, in a good way, again.

 

[SNU0821]

Smotherman is another good role player. He started for us, played exceptionally well in a win vs. OSU, I believe led the team in scoring, when Vince was out. Mathias AND Stephens have proven themselves to be solid shooting guards. Not sure what games you were watching, but it definitely wasn't a Purdue game.

The only real achilles we might have is our PG spot. I'm not saying Weatherford IS going to be the next Kramer/Craft, but he's been compared to both players, has similar recruiting ranks, backgrounds, and intensity levels to both players. He's someone to watch out for. If Purdue reaches its' potential, it's going to be because Weatherford is that type of guy, or Hill/Thompson gives us Octeus stats.

I personally don't know if Cline will contribute as much as you think. I don't see the minutes for him this year. Our back court is loaded right now, and I don't think he'll beat anyone out. If Davis/Stephens get the nod, then he has to beat out Edwards, Mathias, and Smotherman. I don't see any of that happening this year.


Lets leave the Tim Priller jokes at home. We have the same team returning from last year that ended the year strong minus the NCAA Tournament. And we played 9-10 deep, so I'll stick to the proof that we're one of the deeper teams in the league. Obviously you have the blue bloods, UNC, Duke, UK who will be deeper. But I think our depth is right up there behind them .

Yeah, well, we'll just have to agree to disagree. Wetherford hasn't been compared to Craft by anyone and I've only seen him compared to Kramer by Purdue fans. IMO, he seems like a poor mans Bryson Scott (intense, defensive minded, not a shooter).

Stephens and Mathias haven't proven themselves as good/reliable shooters. I know both seem to be good shooters but it's not represented in their percentages and had several games where they were no where to be found. Say it's injuries if you will, but the fact remains that they aren't proven yet along with the PG spot for you guys. That, IMO, is why you all aren't ranked higher.

 

[BigTimeAt69]

Johnny Hill is actually pretty damn good. He's going to surprise a lot of people.

May even be better than Octeus...

 

[BoilerDaddy]

Johnny Hill is actually pretty damn good. He's going to surprise a lot of people.

May even be better than Octeus...

I hope so. That would be huge.

What are you basing this on?

 

[BigTimeAt69]

I hope so. That would be huge.

What are you basing this on?

Seeing him play with two eyes