Good evening everyone and happy Thanksgiving.
I've attained the ultimate happiness Thanksgiving can bring — an empty sink and a full dishwasher — and now it's time for basketball, Purdue and Clemson tonight for the championship of the Space Coast Challenge.
I didn't get to watch Clemson as much as I would have liked last night because of post-game work, but the casual glances I stole suggested that the Tigers were able to befuddle a Mississippi State team that has a whole bunch of grown men but limited offensive ability. Clemson's best player was in foul trouble last night too and they still beat SEC athleticism decidedly.
A couple thoughts on this one, best I can tell.
• Aamir Sims is Clemson's 4 man, an All-ACC player and a good three-point shooter. Aaron Wheeler and Mason Gillis are gonna have their work cut out with him on D. Purdue's got to do a better job than it did last night rotating to shooters, and Sims will be one of the subjects of it tonight.
• The turnovers have to get cleaned up. Sixteen again tonight might get Purdue beat because I think it'll be more of a challenge to execute on offense vs. Clemson as it was vs. Liberty. I'd say last night's total might have been a first-game-anxiousness sort of deal for new guys, but it wasn't a problem centralized just with the new guys. (Purdue really could have used Eric Hunter regardless last night.)
• This will be Purdue's new guys' first experience getting scouted. Clemson's only had today basically to scout, but they've now seen Zach Edey and Jaden Ivey and Brandon Newman and I'm sure they'll have some tips for their guys on what to do against them. Things will be tougher tonight for Purdue.
This will also be a mental test for these young players, because they're quick-prep turnarounds are a new deal for all of them. It'll test their attention spans, for sure.
• Purdue's got to be more disruptive defensively on the ball.
• It goes without saying that Purdue's gonna need Trevion Williams scoring and being efficient this season to beat high-level teams. Otherwise, he did some really positive things last night as a passer and rebounder, but Purdue needs him scoring. Clearly.
Purdue did some good things last night, but was far from perfect. Some inconsistencies will almost certainly occur in the weeks to come. A win tonight would be a really big deal, but the Boilermakers will have to be better tonight than they were last night, IMO. Not sure they're gonna 8-for- 11 from three or shoot 59 percent for the game tonight.
That's what I've got.
I'll chip into this thread as the game goes on, and you can follow me on Twitter for more as well. We'll have all our usual coverage on the site tonight.
I've attained the ultimate happiness Thanksgiving can bring — an empty sink and a full dishwasher — and now it's time for basketball, Purdue and Clemson tonight for the championship of the Space Coast Challenge.
I didn't get to watch Clemson as much as I would have liked last night because of post-game work, but the casual glances I stole suggested that the Tigers were able to befuddle a Mississippi State team that has a whole bunch of grown men but limited offensive ability. Clemson's best player was in foul trouble last night too and they still beat SEC athleticism decidedly.
A couple thoughts on this one, best I can tell.
• Aamir Sims is Clemson's 4 man, an All-ACC player and a good three-point shooter. Aaron Wheeler and Mason Gillis are gonna have their work cut out with him on D. Purdue's got to do a better job than it did last night rotating to shooters, and Sims will be one of the subjects of it tonight.
• The turnovers have to get cleaned up. Sixteen again tonight might get Purdue beat because I think it'll be more of a challenge to execute on offense vs. Clemson as it was vs. Liberty. I'd say last night's total might have been a first-game-anxiousness sort of deal for new guys, but it wasn't a problem centralized just with the new guys. (Purdue really could have used Eric Hunter regardless last night.)
• This will be Purdue's new guys' first experience getting scouted. Clemson's only had today basically to scout, but they've now seen Zach Edey and Jaden Ivey and Brandon Newman and I'm sure they'll have some tips for their guys on what to do against them. Things will be tougher tonight for Purdue.
This will also be a mental test for these young players, because they're quick-prep turnarounds are a new deal for all of them. It'll test their attention spans, for sure.
• Purdue's got to be more disruptive defensively on the ball.
• It goes without saying that Purdue's gonna need Trevion Williams scoring and being efficient this season to beat high-level teams. Otherwise, he did some really positive things last night as a passer and rebounder, but Purdue needs him scoring. Clearly.
Purdue did some good things last night, but was far from perfect. Some inconsistencies will almost certainly occur in the weeks to come. A win tonight would be a really big deal, but the Boilermakers will have to be better tonight than they were last night, IMO. Not sure they're gonna 8-for- 11 from three or shoot 59 percent for the game tonight.
That's what I've got.
I'll chip into this thread as the game goes on, and you can follow me on Twitter for more as well. We'll have all our usual coverage on the site tonight.
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