That was the last stat I saw, may have changed slightly, but wow, that tells it all. Very fun to watch.
31 assists 6 turnovers
- Thread starter Dan'l Boone
- Start date
Yes it was.
That sweet pass by Cline to Biggie really seemed to light the team up as the close game turned ugly very quickly after that. Beatty had foul trouble at the same time. But I think that play was comparable to getting your first hit in a football game. It shook the nerves off.
Cline also surprised with his defense. He had at least 2 steals. Edwards is in noticeably better shape. How many fast breaks was he leading? Seemed for a stretch he was everywhere on the court.
10 minutes into the game, we were up 4. Five minutes later, we were up 20.
Official stats say Cline had 1 steal. Don't be extreme fanboy "look how amazing this freshman we've never seen against legit competition performed against a team we've never heard of" guy.
Yes, I'm still salty about the Basil redshirt. I need to see Cline and Kendall doing half of what he could on defense and rebounding before I recover.
This was the first time I had seen any of the freshmen play. While Cline might not have been credited 2 steals, he caused at least two steals. My comment was due to a preconceived notion (valid or not) that most "shooters" are not big on playing defense. I am big on effort and the effort was there from every player who got on the court. Considering it was an exhibition game, that in itself makes me happy. Admittedly, I am drinking the Kool-Aid directly from the pitcher right now.
I watched Cline closely in the second half. He got beat badly two or three times by his man. Has a ways to go in terms of defense. Still, he is a smart player with obvious gifts that could be very useful this season.
Cline started the second half in Sundays game. He was rewarded for his effort in the first half. That is saying a lot for a freshman on a team as deep as this one. He plays HARD, passes very well and always MOVES on offense-no standing around. His defense will get better. The kid has all the tools to be a great player for Purdue.
Cline, Mathias, Edwards, and Biggie are the best passers on this team and have great court vision. If Kendall could only focus and quit making stupid passes he would see the floor much more. I was hoping his decision making would improve but appeared in one game that it hasn't. That is why he will likely not be a starting option unless one of the starters can't play. I think Cline really will put the pressure on kendall by the end of the season for playing time as Cline improves. And he will, you can tell he is that type of player. He reminds me a lot of Hummel as a frosh just a little smaller.
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Watched the replay Monday. The team looks very interesting. Lots of missed open shots, missed passes, and missed assignments, but head-and-shoulders better than last year at this time. You can see flashes of real power now.
Biggie is going to be a load to handle for any team, and what I really liked about his game is that he works to make everyone else better. The number of assists was spectacular, especially for how early we are at the beginning of the year.
Edwards impressed the heck out of me. He might be one of the best players in the BIG this year. Flat out can play at a high level. He has really developed.
The long range shooting was off. Stephens, Cline and Mathias need to get their stroke. I think it will come, with all three breaking out of their slump at the same time. God help the opponent when they do.
Haas - much more mobile and in the flow of the game. Last year he was pretty much an immobile post around which the other players circled. Now he is in the movement, MIssed some bunnies, but still a huge improvement.
Overall guard play, I give it a B-. Shooting poor, passing good-to-great, especially entry passes to the posts. They seemed to have a plan each time they brought the ball down the court. The offense flowed very well for how early in the sweason this was.
Biggie is going to be a load to handle for any team, and what I really liked about his game is that he works to make everyone else better. The number of assists was spectacular, especially for how early we are at the beginning of the year.
Edwards impressed the heck out of me. He might be one of the best players in the BIG this year. Flat out can play at a high level. He has really developed.
The long range shooting was off. Stephens, Cline and Mathias need to get their stroke. I think it will come, with all three breaking out of their slump at the same time. God help the opponent when they do.
Haas - much more mobile and in the flow of the game. Last year he was pretty much an immobile post around which the other players circled. Now he is in the movement, MIssed some bunnies, but still a huge improvement.
Overall guard play, I give it a B-. Shooting poor, passing good-to-great, especially entry passes to the posts. They seemed to have a plan each time they brought the ball down the court. The offense flowed very well for how early in the sweason this was.
Mathias shot 2 for 5 from 3, he was fine. Cline was nervous it looked like and Stephens didn't have it but tried very hard to find it...Stephens missed a few open looks that he has to start knocking down for us to be where we want to be. If we can shoot closer to 40% than 30% we will be set.
kendall's passing is too passive and laid back...as is his general play. We shall see how he progresses
I still think (and maybe it's "wishful" thinking on my part) it's a confidence issue and also getting used to being healthy.
But as you wrote......we shall see. He'll certainly have the opportunity, and the Boilers are positioned much better to take full advantage of it if/when it happens.
At times, it seems like he's been here a lot longer......he's only played half his collegiate career so far.
Regarding Stephens, I also was disappointed with his decision making, including sloppy passes & shooting too quickly a couple times without being squared up or giving the big guys a glance. A shot in the paint that has a 60-70% chance of going in is a better choice than a rushed off-balance 3 with a 20-30% chance. It's fun to see those shots fall, but they're not a good choice early in the clock when there is time to find a better look. However, I am hopeful this is the year Stephens becomes more aware of these problems and makes an effort to do better.
As far as who I trust at SG, that is Dakota right now. He makes good decisions, and IMO the offense just seems to flow better with him out there. Stephens is longer on D and probably has a more "pure" stroke, but Dakota's distributing and better decision-making makes him the top choice among the 2's (other than Ray) to me. Cline seems like he could grow to become a similar type of player, but he has a ways to go, especially on D.
As far as who I trust at SG, that is Dakota right now. He makes good decisions, and IMO the offense just seems to flow better with him out there. Stephens is longer on D and probably has a more "pure" stroke, but Dakota's distributing and better decision-making makes him the top choice among the 2's (other than Ray) to me. Cline seems like he could grow to become a similar type of player, but he has a ways to go, especially on D.
Cline started the 2nd half because Davis was hobbled in the first half. Painter said in press conference that Cline started because Ray was still recovering. He said if Ray had been good to go, Cline would have not started the 2nd half.
Big fan of Cline tho. Thought he did a great job of doing everything other than shooting. Just didn't have it that night.
I still think the best place for Stephens is backing up Edwards. Stephens is long enough and quick enough to guard the 3, and has developed solid penetration moves. He's just not consistent enough, IMO, to be a primary shooter at the 2.
Right now, after watching the exhibition, I personally favor the following lineup:
C - AJ, Haas, Biggie
PF - Biggie, Edwards (or Taylor???)
WF - Edwards, Stephens, Ray
2G - Ray, Mathias (Cline - jury still out)
PG - Hill, PJ, Ray
At the 2, we start Ray - but if the opposing 2 is not a major threat, we play a lot of Mathias. If the opposing 3 is a major threat, and Stephens is having trouble defending and/or shooting as a backup, we have Ray back up Edwards at the 3. In short, we play Ray anywhere on the perimeter where we need to shut down a major threat, including at the point. Of course, if Ray hits around 40% from the 3, then we keep Ray on the floor till his legs fall off!
JMHOAU
Right now, after watching the exhibition, I personally favor the following lineup:
C - AJ, Haas, Biggie
PF - Biggie, Edwards (or Taylor???)
WF - Edwards, Stephens, Ray
2G - Ray, Mathias (Cline - jury still out)
PG - Hill, PJ, Ray
At the 2, we start Ray - but if the opposing 2 is not a major threat, we play a lot of Mathias. If the opposing 3 is a major threat, and Stephens is having trouble defending and/or shooting as a backup, we have Ray back up Edwards at the 3. In short, we play Ray anywhere on the perimeter where we need to shut down a major threat, including at the point. Of course, if Ray hits around 40% from the 3, then we keep Ray on the floor till his legs fall off!
JMHOAU
[QUOTE="Haas - much more mobile and in the flow of the game. Last year he was pretty much an immobile post around which the other players circled. Now he is in the movement, MIssed some bunnies, but still a huge improvement.[/QUOTE]
Something else I was watching particularly for wrt to Haas was his moves to the hoop. And I was very pleased at how many times he established position and then was able to turn and shoot without having to take the ball down or power dribble like he did in the intrasquad game and most of the time last year. If he can keep that up his TOs should be dramatically lower this year.
Something else I was watching particularly for wrt to Haas was his moves to the hoop. And I was very pleased at how many times he established position and then was able to turn and shoot without having to take the ball down or power dribble like he did in the intrasquad game and most of the time last year. If he can keep that up his TOs should be dramatically lower this year.
31 assisted baskets is awesome and shows that Purdue is sharing the ball well, but I have to ask whether 2 unassisted baskets is too few. Is it concerning at all that Purdue had so few drives for scores? (Drives to the hoop often draw help and lead to fouls, offensive rebounds, and high percentage plays, in general). I'm wondering if Purdue was missing a dimension that will make it easier to defend by stronger opponents. Maybe it doesn't matter, since Purdue was playing to its strengths and was so effective attacking with the pass.
There were quite a few freethrows taken because of drives that resulted in fouls. Ray, Vince and even Biggie attacked the basket pretty well.
Good to hear. I don't remember a lot of drives, but Purdue certainly attacked the basket with the pass, which really is even better. There's probably no assisted basket percentage that is too high as long as a team is getting to the rim and the line.
There wasn't a ton because as you say, we use the pass to get the defensive balance we like to attack which I prefer over the IU run into the defense and try to get them on a bad rotation. We proved last season that a sound defensive team can negate that by not collapsing and staying in the passing lanes.
But Kendall has a nice drive I recall and Dakota as well where he hit a pull up midrange jumper.
The one that stands out to me the most other then Rays dunk, is when the offense seemed to struggle against a zone and Hill took it right into the gap.
I think we have enough guys who can get to the rim of the opportunity arises. But of course it's not a strategy we rely on.
ya know a couple of years ago it was the offense...Terone on a drive...Ronnie on a drive...Purdue had no perimeter game. the offense reads and reacts to the defense. Naturally, driving is an aggressive move that you always want to some degree, but if it is not needed...no problem. Purdue dominated the inside adn had many wide open jumpers and as you say Purdue has people capable of putting it on the floor. When a team plays tight and the bigs are played behind, we will see more drives. PJ is the only one that is at a huge disadvantage. Not worried.
Again, that team wasn't much but what I was most surprised with other than missing some jumpers was that with the less contact emphasis Purdue never got whistled for many...course they never drove much either. I want to see Purdue slowly improve the offense and start to see them handle zone presses that eat some clock with a team that can also deny inside for the "first post" anyway. I want to see the reset with post emphasis and the clock left...
I really like Matt as a coach, but I don't like his or Gene's approach to zones. The other team played a 1-2-2 and 1-3-1 and Purdue seems to run Kendall along the baseline as the designated shooter and it is too slow. I'm just a firm believer in gaps. That said, the college game has bigger bodies and so some things may not work as well, but I sure would rather see an even front against an odd front and attacking gaps with emphasis to get the ball around the FT line and looking at 45 degree angles as an awareness
I grew up believing if assist/turnovers was a 2/1 ratio or better, you probably won the game. High assist numbers mean you are passing the ball, getting everyone involved in touches, and generally playing as a team. We saw much improvement last year. Compared to 3-4 years ago, the contrast is stark.
Doubt we will have 30 assists very often as the competition improves, but if these guys like each other and play as a team with the talent we have...expectations will continue to rise.
BTW: Good crowd for the exhibition, but I will be disappointed if we don't sell out every game. These guys deserve our support.
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