Benet plays tonight against the #1 seed Bolingbrook in their regional. Benet lost in the state finals last year to Owen Freeman's Moline team.
I think there's even one more, or maybe he almost went to Iowa, but I didn't remember the names other than Freeman off the top of my head.
Yeah they mention at least once on the broadcast they played together in HS (Harding and Freeman)
I believe Harding was Mr. Basketball in the state too
So in essence he is watching MSU twice?
Izzo going to even be at MSU in 2026?!
I know Painter doesn't recruit saying negative things about other coaches but if he did, I would splice all the videos of him saying "I got to go back and figure out how to get Xavier Booker more minutes". Then show it to them and say replace Booker with your name....close the video of JJJ crying on the bench when they got bounced a few years ago in the tourney and show his stat line from that game....it is criminal how Izzo can't figure out how to use talented kids
Kind of like IU. They always have talent but they have been bad for a while.
Many knuckleheads have been clamoring for paint to give more mins to Colvin an heide.
True but neither was ranked as high as Booker. Plus Sissoko, Kohler and the other big (don’t remember his name) stink.
the kid doesn't stink but do you think he's been playing good this month?
He does except when he doesn’t. Maddy stinks except when he is in the bench. Kohler and Cooper show flashes but nothing compared to Fletch when he is on.
I think he’s struggled with his shot but otherwise played ok.
I wish he was consistently scoring 27 points every game. What's wrong with him?
Look at his numbers across the season. Turnovers and points are not consistent. It's no secret he passes up shots he should take. Also, watch his defense. Some games he's on, some he's off. Really bad defensive game most recently against UM.
He’s produced in every game this year, maybe not in every category but he’s always been a catalyst when he’s out there.
This is a decent breakdown, but this was earlier in the season. Wish they did a breakdown of some of the bigger games he’s had.
I’ve seen this kid play in three big games this year. Dude had at least 30 against Curie (the number 2 ranked team in Illinois) in a double overtime loss. He almost pulled this one off single-handedly. Then I saw him play against Normal Community (top 10 team in Illinois); he had to have around 30 points this game also, but this is where his playmaking ability really stood out to me. If his teammates would’ve made some shots, they would’ve blew Normal out the gym and he for sure would have finished with 10+ assist to go along with his 30 points. Luckily, Benet ended up winning because he got to the free-throw line with a few seconds left in the game. This was an epic one. Finally, I caught his last game versus Bolingbrook in the playoffs earlier this week. Benet got blown out, but this kid was the best player on the court easily. Think he had around 27 points in this game. Benet got into it deep hole by the half, and just could not dig themselves out. The kid was playing well, but again his teammates just weren’t hitting shots. Just one of those nights. All in all, the kid isn’t perfect because he’s obviously a sophomore, but I’ll tell you something; when it’s all said, and done; I could see him being a top 10 player in the country. You just can’t find that size, high-level shot making ability, and passing ability
Good post. I think he just needs to see a few go in and get into his rhythm come tourney time. He has shown the potential to light it up and he has the ability. Hoping that the next few he finds it and carries it into the tourney.
He’s had some slip-ups this year, but he’s putting up Magic Johnson numbers so I forgive him. He’s more than a catalyst out there. He’s completely dictating his game plan depending on what defenses are doing. His lay-ups and pop up jumpers have been a very nice addition to his game. He’s is a stud.
The problem is that when Braden has a game that isn't as good as usual he is still the most important player not named Zach. Any error he has is easily seen whereas a poor screen, poor cut, over helping, not helping enough, failure to board enough in others is rarely seen. Those things are not as easily seen as a pass that got intercepted that can be due to something other than a pass at times. He is such a key to the success who probably has the most pressure within a "team" that we just need an excellent game from him every time out and yet he too is human...
It’s beginning to look like a trend when Loyer struggles offensively later in the season. I just don’t have the confidence some have that he will break out for more than one game. Most certainly hope to be wrong.
Not sure how it qualifies as a trend. He's in his 2nd year, so we only have 2 data points to work with. And he was only 1 of 2 players who showed up in the NCAA tournament game last year.
I think after almost 50% of your basketball career at Purdue you can establish a trend.
Having monitored and modeled trends my entire career, this definition doesn't hold. And it implies that his 3rd and 4th year will be progressively worse.
15 points, 5-9 shooting overall, 4-6 from 3 point last night.
