I don't really want to transcribe anything right now, so just going to do a little roundup on some opinions about players I saw this past weekend, between Normal and Indy.
This is opinion/analysis.
Bradley-Bourbonnaise (again, sounds like something you'd smother a brisket sandwich with) got worked over pretty good in the two games I saw Friday, and that was because its guards were overwhelmed by more athletic teams who pressured them, so Freeman, to me, gets a bit of a pass on the results of those games, but with that said you always expect a Big Ten-bound (most likely) big man to impact games significantly, and his impact was relatively modest. The second game was much better than the first.
He is a legit 6-10, I think, and very long and bouncy and seems like he can do some things dribbling the ball and shooting the ball, but based off two games, he sure looks to me like he's more athlete than player at this stage, similar to what Meyers Leonard was at the same age. Not sure that's a great comp, because Leonard was bigger and so damn explosive, but the trajectory may be comparable.
Just telling you more of the same here, but I thought Saturday was a breakout kind of deal for the 2023 prospect.
Colvin is a good player, but he's a better athlete than he is a player still and that's a credit to his athleticism more than it is an indictment of his game. This showing on Saturday legitimized him as a high-major guy, as just a 15-year-old. He was already clearly a high-major athlete, but the way he shot the ball and on a couple occasions scored one on one was a real eye-opener.
I'll keep reminding you that this was a different setting for Colvin, because this was a cream-of-the-crop sort of deal for a player who plays off circuit and for a smaller high school.
Moving forward, he's going to have to be able to show he can be a winning piece on a good team as opposed to the centerpiece of every team he's ever played on. I thought it was big-time for him to get on the same team as Braden Smith, who is your classic make-others-better point guard. Colvin will be more of a finisher than facilitator at the next level, so putting him on the wing alongside a pass-first guard, I thought, was going to be very relevant context.
How much that had to do with Colvin's big day Saturday, I don't know, but Colvin was really good playing with and against the best competition he perhaps has seen all in one building and for a 15-year-old with a sky-high athletic ceiling, that represented a true breakout performance, IMO.
Smith was really good on Saturday and has been really good this spring and summer since that one weekend where I didn't think he played all that great right before he committed to Purdue. That was the Midwest Mania event put on by Nike people.
He is the consummate pass-first point guard, very Lewis Jackson-ish in his mentality and plays so fast that he really puts pressure on defenses. His intensity and competitiveness really show up on both offense and defense.
There were a few moments on Saturday of him getting a little casual with the ball, but I think his valuation of assists over his own shots drove him even more than usual at Ben Davis. He does sometimes drive with what Matt Painter would call "predetermined thought" and can get in trouble that way when he runs into traffic and superior height and length, but such things are natural sometimes for guys who are trying to make plays for other people. It's also part of the occupational risk of being relatively small.
He is a bit of a dribbler, more than probably any point guard Purdue has signed since Jackson, and will need to be more of a less-is-more ball-mover and decision-maker at the next level, but he seems to have all the makings of being a rock-steady winning piece for the Boilermakers who'll bring a competitiveness and offensive mentality that could make him a bit of a tone-setter.
IMO his success at the next level depends most on two things: His decision-making and ability to take care of the ball and his ability to make the open threes that come his way through offensive ball movement. Which brings me back to the model I'd hold him to: PJ Thompson.
Long story short: I think Purdue was right about this one.
Can't tell you much more than I've told you a hundred times: If there's a better shooter in the country in his class, I'd like to see him.
Loyer missed some shots on Saturday, and I actually thought at the time he wasn't playing well, then I edited the video last night and realized that I am just so surprised when he misses that I outsize every miss in my mind.
That's the standard he's sort of established.
Beyond the shooting, you can count on one hand the number of guys Purdue has recruited over the years who know how to play like Loyer does. I'm thinking the list is Hummel, PJ Thompson, Dakota Mathias, Ryan Cline. I can't count Grady Eifert because they didn't sign him, per se. Might put Vince Edwards on there, too.
Loyer's going to make Purdue a better offensive team from Day 1.
This is opinion/analysis.
Bradley-Bourbonnaise (again, sounds like something you'd smother a brisket sandwich with) got worked over pretty good in the two games I saw Friday, and that was because its guards were overwhelmed by more athletic teams who pressured them, so Freeman, to me, gets a bit of a pass on the results of those games, but with that said you always expect a Big Ten-bound (most likely) big man to impact games significantly, and his impact was relatively modest. The second game was much better than the first.
He is a legit 6-10, I think, and very long and bouncy and seems like he can do some things dribbling the ball and shooting the ball, but based off two games, he sure looks to me like he's more athlete than player at this stage, similar to what Meyers Leonard was at the same age. Not sure that's a great comp, because Leonard was bigger and so damn explosive, but the trajectory may be comparable.
Just telling you more of the same here, but I thought Saturday was a breakout kind of deal for the 2023 prospect.
Colvin is a good player, but he's a better athlete than he is a player still and that's a credit to his athleticism more than it is an indictment of his game. This showing on Saturday legitimized him as a high-major guy, as just a 15-year-old. He was already clearly a high-major athlete, but the way he shot the ball and on a couple occasions scored one on one was a real eye-opener.
I'll keep reminding you that this was a different setting for Colvin, because this was a cream-of-the-crop sort of deal for a player who plays off circuit and for a smaller high school.
Moving forward, he's going to have to be able to show he can be a winning piece on a good team as opposed to the centerpiece of every team he's ever played on. I thought it was big-time for him to get on the same team as Braden Smith, who is your classic make-others-better point guard. Colvin will be more of a finisher than facilitator at the next level, so putting him on the wing alongside a pass-first guard, I thought, was going to be very relevant context.
How much that had to do with Colvin's big day Saturday, I don't know, but Colvin was really good playing with and against the best competition he perhaps has seen all in one building and for a 15-year-old with a sky-high athletic ceiling, that represented a true breakout performance, IMO.
Smith was really good on Saturday and has been really good this spring and summer since that one weekend where I didn't think he played all that great right before he committed to Purdue. That was the Midwest Mania event put on by Nike people.
He is the consummate pass-first point guard, very Lewis Jackson-ish in his mentality and plays so fast that he really puts pressure on defenses. His intensity and competitiveness really show up on both offense and defense.
There were a few moments on Saturday of him getting a little casual with the ball, but I think his valuation of assists over his own shots drove him even more than usual at Ben Davis. He does sometimes drive with what Matt Painter would call "predetermined thought" and can get in trouble that way when he runs into traffic and superior height and length, but such things are natural sometimes for guys who are trying to make plays for other people. It's also part of the occupational risk of being relatively small.
He is a bit of a dribbler, more than probably any point guard Purdue has signed since Jackson, and will need to be more of a less-is-more ball-mover and decision-maker at the next level, but he seems to have all the makings of being a rock-steady winning piece for the Boilermakers who'll bring a competitiveness and offensive mentality that could make him a bit of a tone-setter.
IMO his success at the next level depends most on two things: His decision-making and ability to take care of the ball and his ability to make the open threes that come his way through offensive ball movement. Which brings me back to the model I'd hold him to: PJ Thompson.
Long story short: I think Purdue was right about this one.
Can't tell you much more than I've told you a hundred times: If there's a better shooter in the country in his class, I'd like to see him.
Loyer missed some shots on Saturday, and I actually thought at the time he wasn't playing well, then I edited the video last night and realized that I am just so surprised when he misses that I outsize every miss in my mind.
That's the standard he's sort of established.
Beyond the shooting, you can count on one hand the number of guys Purdue has recruited over the years who know how to play like Loyer does. I'm thinking the list is Hummel, PJ Thompson, Dakota Mathias, Ryan Cline. I can't count Grady Eifert because they didn't sign him, per se. Might put Vince Edwards on there, too.
Loyer's going to make Purdue a better offensive team from Day 1.
