Hello, there, we are back for another season of post-game Purdue basketball blogs, which means late, late nights spent cobbling together post-game analysis pieces trying desperately to not write the exact same thing over and over and over again.
The good news tonight is that it is the first game, so it's all new, the challenge now being to not empty every chamber right out of the gate.
Also important note, please make sure you check out the video blog after each game, too. It'll be up faster and will free me of the obligation to write the Old Testament here after every single game.
On to the Indianapolis game it was definitely an exhibition game, everything to be tempered by the fact that this is a brand-new team and does not have A.J. Hammons, probably its most influential player. He changes things at both ends of the floor.
I don't want to call Purdue a "young" team. It's a "new" team, yes. Very much so. But the Boilermakers have three true freshmen. They'll all play, but it's not like last year where not only did freshmen play, but they practically ran the team because of the positions of importance they played.
Purdue is a new team, nearly half its roster turned over from the end of last season.
The Boilermakers looked no better against the dribble than last season for much of the first half tonight, certainly not good. But temper it some with the fact that these tiny programs play really small and spread the floor; these are very anti-Big Ten matchups so many not reflective of how the Boilermakers might fare against teams of a more similar roster complexion.
And not having Hammons changes everything; it really does. All those buckets in the lane, you have to figure Hammons impacts at least half of them in some capacity, whether it's altering or blocking the shot or scaring off the would-be penetrator.
Travis Carroll and Jay Simpson were fine tonight in his absence, but neither provide his sort of presence.
Nevertheless, the defense in terms of simply keeping the dribble contained has to improve.
But that's what exhibition games are for. Uncover deficiencies. Expose them.
Offensively, not having Hammons again is a factor, but I thought two-dozen threes - for a team that'll shoot better, but certainly won't be a shooting team this season - was a bit much. That said, Purdue wants, and should want, Kendall Stephens firing at will and it said something about his demeanor as just a freshman that he was willing to do that right away. Sometimes, puppies like him are passive, afraid to take bad ones. Sterling Carter may have to rein it in at some point, but confidence is clearly no issue for him.
Otherwise, Purdue took a lot of threes but will need to be a team that goes quality over quantity. Shooting in bulk would not be a good idea for this group.
Again, hard to judge without Hammons manning the interior.
Simpson was good, though. He broke out the Olajuwon for us in Saturday's scrimmage with his little Dream Shake move, so this time he went Patrick Ewing with the feathery little fall-away jumper out of the post. He can do a lot of different things, man, that's for sure. He made some great passes that set up buckets for others.
(UPDATE: I'm now being told Mackey Arena will be locked up here in about a few minutes Watch the video. Gotta get on the road. Sorry.)
The good news tonight is that it is the first game, so it's all new, the challenge now being to not empty every chamber right out of the gate.
Also important note, please make sure you check out the video blog after each game, too. It'll be up faster and will free me of the obligation to write the Old Testament here after every single game.
On to the Indianapolis game it was definitely an exhibition game, everything to be tempered by the fact that this is a brand-new team and does not have A.J. Hammons, probably its most influential player. He changes things at both ends of the floor.
I don't want to call Purdue a "young" team. It's a "new" team, yes. Very much so. But the Boilermakers have three true freshmen. They'll all play, but it's not like last year where not only did freshmen play, but they practically ran the team because of the positions of importance they played.
Purdue is a new team, nearly half its roster turned over from the end of last season.
The Boilermakers looked no better against the dribble than last season for much of the first half tonight, certainly not good. But temper it some with the fact that these tiny programs play really small and spread the floor; these are very anti-Big Ten matchups so many not reflective of how the Boilermakers might fare against teams of a more similar roster complexion.
And not having Hammons changes everything; it really does. All those buckets in the lane, you have to figure Hammons impacts at least half of them in some capacity, whether it's altering or blocking the shot or scaring off the would-be penetrator.
Travis Carroll and Jay Simpson were fine tonight in his absence, but neither provide his sort of presence.
Nevertheless, the defense in terms of simply keeping the dribble contained has to improve.
But that's what exhibition games are for. Uncover deficiencies. Expose them.
Offensively, not having Hammons again is a factor, but I thought two-dozen threes - for a team that'll shoot better, but certainly won't be a shooting team this season - was a bit much. That said, Purdue wants, and should want, Kendall Stephens firing at will and it said something about his demeanor as just a freshman that he was willing to do that right away. Sometimes, puppies like him are passive, afraid to take bad ones. Sterling Carter may have to rein it in at some point, but confidence is clearly no issue for him.
Otherwise, Purdue took a lot of threes but will need to be a team that goes quality over quantity. Shooting in bulk would not be a good idea for this group.
Again, hard to judge without Hammons manning the interior.
Simpson was good, though. He broke out the Olajuwon for us in Saturday's scrimmage with his little Dream Shake move, so this time he went Patrick Ewing with the feathery little fall-away jumper out of the post. He can do a lot of different things, man, that's for sure. He made some great passes that set up buckets for others.
(UPDATE: I'm now being told Mackey Arena will be locked up here in about a few minutes Watch the video. Gotta get on the road. Sorry.)
