Anyone attend the 10/21 scrimmage?

[northside100]

I saw a bunch of Twitter (X) highlights but wasn’t able to attend. My understanding of the two biggest takeaways was that 1) Morton looked sensational playing in the backcourt with the ball in his hands and 2) Colvin struggled a bit (looking like a freshman).

I don’t know if either of those will subsist but interesting. We’ll know more next week, would be great to hear of that’s consistent with what any attendees saw.

 

[RDGBoiler92]

I did attend dont know if I would say Morton looked sensational but it did seem like he might be the backup at point but got burnt by smith several times in the last game when the starters were flexing their muscle in the last minutes. Colvin did seem to have an off day but he has a lot of potential and hopefully can be brought along slowly. All in all id say we were pretty deep didn't notice a big drop-off in talent between teams. Boiler up ready for this season!

 

[Hausta01]

Read a tweet or an X or whatever from Brian Neubert that Morton looked like a totally different player from last year

 

[tjreese]

I saw a bunch of Twitter (X) highlights but wasn’t able to attend. My understanding of the two biggest takeaways was that 1) Morton looked sensational playing in the backcourt with the ball in his hands and 2) Colvin struggled a bit (looking like a freshman).

I don’t know if either of those will subsist but interesting. We’ll know more next week, would be great to hear of that’s consistent with what any attendees saw.

What I wrote elsewhere for my $.01

First it was great from a social perspective as I got to speak to 5 parents of players (2 parents of the wbb), one parent of a coach, a grandpa and great grandpa and grandma of a player. My wife says I would call her on the phone as she was walking around the concourse telling her to come back to the seats and watch her purse, because I see another person I wanted to talk with. So, it was nice to get into that basketball mood...and it felt good!!!!

I never kept score and can't recall who played with who which segment. I'll read all the other comments when I'm finished since I may forget some things now that I'm home. My thoughts are trying to get a bit on a few I was interested in seeing...and an uncle to a player asked if I could give him a scouting report and so I wanted to see him, but I wanted to view the team from a mile high as well as a bit of "general" focus on a few players.

First Zach is leaner and although I don't recall his improved quickness on D he dove once and you could tell he was quicker. That said it appeared to be that Purdue was playing at a faster pace than last year. In the first segment there were a lot of quick cuts and lane penetration and Zach fumbled a couple of times and missed some shots he will make. As in the past, the quickness on D around Zach caused him some issues, but he and Purdue will be better at the end of the year experiencing more of this inside Purdue practice than Zach having the lane and the rest behind the arc that Purdue likes to play, but the smaller scrappy teams have also given Purdue some trouble in the past.

I should preface all I'm about to say in that one viewing and one intrasquad scrimmage can give a lot of false readings. It seems Myles is a bit slower player and that could be due to a lot of things...one being quick inside structure (he is probably used to having the ball a lot of the time), but today he will need some time. Brian and Cam seemed a bit ahead on the 3, but I lean to Brian. Brian got a nice pass from Zach as he dove to the basket for two and Cam drove baseline once and dunked it from the other side of the rim. The segment they had Brian and Cam on the same team with Ethan playing PG they had Brian at the 2 and Cam at the 3 which goes along with the physical parts of Brian at the 3 and Cam at the 4, but in an intrasquad game players may play out of position. It did tell me what we suspect and that is Brian is a bit more perimeter oriented than Cam as far as handling the ball and defending more on the perimeter. Both will get some minutes, but if today was a sign of the future...Ethan will have a lot to say about playing time. Ethan showed today he belonged and if today is a representation...will get more minutes than many figured.

Braden is still a pass first player even though they want him to shoot more...and I expect him to shoot more, but he is sooooo good running the team. Still gets up in the air a bit too much, but we all know he will get plenty of minutes. Trey in warmups went 0/10 on FTs. However, unlike last year where the ball went off the back of the rim, now it hits the front. Must of been aware of his misses in the past. I know he hit a FT in the game and another went off the back of the rim. During warmups Trey did knock down a decent amount of 3s. I can't recall a high low between him and Zach, but can recall him driving the ball from the arc to the rim making a bucket and drawing a foul. Today, everything you read about Trey seems supported. He is going to get many minutes it appears at the 4. I can't recall any defensive issues with Trey at the 4, but again I'm trying to see too many players at a time.

Caleb is such an athlete. I think he had a strong flush, but was somewhat quiet much of the game. Berg is coming along. I think there is reason to believe he will contribute...just not this year. He moves pretty well and maybe got a nice dunk? Mason looks good shooting other than jumping forward a bit, but he missed a few and maybe made one...two??? He did put the ball on the court and drove into the lane and I think gave it up. It was good to see the fours put the ball on the court a bit.

As I said Ethan was solid today. Lance, he shot well today even though his off hand goes forward quite a bit giving the appearance of some what two handed, but I love his D. He is going to help Purdue ...especially if he can shoot like he did. He went coast to coast in about 4 seconds and just barely had the ball roll off the rim. He is going to play a lot and "maybe" most and at least "some" of that lot is with Braden, but Braden still runs the offense. Fletch was solid driving and shooting.

"IF" today is an accurate representation of the season. Braden, Lance, Fletcher, Ethan, Trey and Zach are going to absorb a lot of minutes. Arkansas will be a good opening game. They appear to be an old team. I had to write down some thoughts before I started reading and forgot a few more things...

 

[northside100]

What I wrote elsewhere for my $.01

First it was great from a social perspective as I got to speak to 5 parents of players (2 parents of the wbb), one parent of a coach, a grandpa and great grandpa and grandma of a player. My wife says I would call her on the phone as she was walking around the concourse telling her to come back to the seats and watch her purse, because I see another person I wanted to talk with. So, it was nice to get into that basketball mood...and it felt good!!!!

I never kept score and can't recall who played with who which segment. I'll read all the other comments when I'm finished since I may forget some things now that I'm home. My thoughts are trying to get a bit on a few I was interested in seeing...and an uncle to a player asked if I could give him a scouting report and so I wanted to see him, but I wanted to view the team from a mile high as well as a bit of "general" focus on a few players.

First Zach is leaner and although I don't recall his improved quickness on D he dove once and you could tell he was quicker. That said it appeared to be that Purdue was playing at a faster pace than last year. In the first segment there were a lot of quick cuts and lane penetration and Zach fumbled a couple of times and missed some shots he will make. As in the past, the quickness on D around Zach caused him some issues, but he and Purdue will be better at the end of the year experiencing more of this inside Purdue practice than Zach having the lane and the rest behind the arc that Purdue likes to play, but the smaller scrappy teams have also given Purdue some trouble in the past.

I should preface all I'm about to say in that one viewing and one intrasquad scrimmage can give a lot of false readings. It seems Myles is a bit slower player and that could be due to a lot of things...one being quick inside structure (he is probably used to having the ball a lot of the time), but today he will need some time. Brian and Cam seemed a bit ahead on the 3, but I lean to Brian. Brian got a nice pass from Zach as he dove to the basket for two and Cam drove baseline once and dunked it from the other side of the rim. The segment they had Brian and Cam on the same team with Ethan playing PG they had Brian at the 2 and Cam at the 3 which goes along with the physical parts of Brian at the 3 and Cam at the 4, but in an intrasquad game players may play out of position. It did tell me what we suspect and that is Brian is a bit more perimeter oriented than Cam as far as handling the ball and defending more on the perimeter. Both will get some minutes, but if today was a sign of the future...Ethan will have a lot to say about playing time. Ethan showed today he belonged and if today is a representation...will get more minutes than many figured.

Braden is still a pass first player even though they want him to shoot more...and I expect him to shoot more, but he is sooooo good running the team. Still gets up in the air a bit too much, but we all know he will get plenty of minutes. Trey in warmups went 0/10 on FTs. However, unlike last year where the ball went off the back of the rim, now it hits the front. Must of been aware of his misses in the past. I know he hit a FT in the game and another went off the back of the rim. During warmups Trey did knock down a decent amount of 3s. I can't recall a high low between him and Zach, but can recall him driving the ball from the arc to the rim making a bucket and drawing a foul. Today, everything you read about Trey seems supported. He is going to get many minutes it appears at the 4. I can't recall any defensive issues with Trey at the 4, but again I'm trying to see too many players at a time.

Caleb is such an athlete. I think he had a strong flush, but was somewhat quiet much of the game. Berg is coming along. I think there is reason to believe he will contribute...just not this year. He moves pretty well and maybe got a nice dunk? Mason looks good shooting other than jumping forward a bit, but he missed a few and maybe made one...two??? He did put the ball on the court and drove into the lane and I think gave it up. It was good to see the fours put the ball on the court a bit.

As I said Ethan was solid today. Lance, he shot well today even though his off hand goes forward quite a bit giving the appearance of some what two handed, but I love his D. He is going to help Purdue ...especially if he can shoot like he did. He went coast to coast in about 4 seconds and just barely had the ball roll off the rim. He is going to play a lot and "maybe" most and at least "some" of that lot is with Braden, but Braden still runs the offense. Fletch was solid driving and shooting.

"IF" today is an accurate representation of the season. Braden, Lance, Fletcher, Ethan, Trey and Zach are going to absorb a lot of minutes. Arkansas will be a good opening game. They appear to be an old team. I had to write down some thoughts before I started reading and forgot a few more things...

Really good stuff, thanks for sharing.

Did anything strike you as interesting from any of those conversations with player and coach relatives that you can share?

 

[northside100]

I did attend dont know if I would say Morton looked sensational but it did seem like he might be the backup at point but got burnt by smith several times in the last game when the starters were flexing their muscle in the last minutes. Colvin did seem to have an off day but he has a lot of potential and hopefully can be brought along slowly. All in all id say we were pretty deep didn't notice a big drop-off in talent between teams. Boiler up ready for this season!

Good stuff. If Ethan has to guard someone like Braden we're in trouble. I'd imagine if he plays some backup PG they'd have Jones guarding the other team's 1.

 

[RDGBoiler92]

Good stuff. If Ethan has to guard someone like Braden we're in trouble. I'd imagine if he plays some backup PG they'd have Jones guarding the other team's 1.

Im assuming from lineups that smith and Lance start in the backcourt maybe with loyer trey and the zachen in the middle will be fun to watch it play out

 

[Nappanee]

Scrimmage Stats

 

[tjreese]

Really good stuff, thanks for sharing.

Did anything strike you as interesting from any of those conversations with player and coach relatives that you can share?

One parent said he wanted to watch his son sign some autographs...said you know they don't teach cursive any more. I try not to put a parent into answering anything other than their own son or daughter. The last thing they would want would be to tell me something and then have me blab it on a public site "IF" that had that could be construed not healthy. Spoke a bit about Austin Parkinson and how well he was doing coaching. Said I saw Jane a couple of years ago at a football game, but haven't seen Bruce for maybe 5 or 6 years or longer. It's probably obvious I like talking basketball, but some of these people make me feel younger. One I've coached, that one and another I've coached against and the other I played some against. One I learned his dad has some liver issues and his dad wanted me to join him and Larry Angle years ago coaching and so for me there are some memories, but it takes me back to when I was younger and the older we get the future gets shorter and the memories get longer. The women's parents I've known for quite a few years as well. The father actually taught my daughter AP Biology years ago. We talked about the seating and he said in the girls games he goes a bit higher so he can stretch his legs. He is 6'9"

 

[Do Dah Day]

... it takes me back to when I was younger and the older we get the future gets shorter and the memories get longer.

Damn you ... just stop referencing "the older we get!" Hell, when I was younger than 55, I never imagined I'd grow up to the age I am.

 

[ImRonBurgandy?]

Re Heide: Seems like he's a really good rebounder.

 

[Schmedly_Whiplash]

Re Heide: Seems like he's a really good rebounder.

He had a game high 12 in the first scrimmage. If he looked good in that regard again, I'd say we have a trend.

 

[SCBoiler1]

Looking at the stats is a little depressing. 26% three-point shooting with the only newcomer making a significant impact being Jones.

We were really good last year so I'm not saying the following to be negative, but our fortunes may come down to improved play from key players from last year's team versus help from new talent. In other words, I'm still not convinced that the influx and emergence of Colvin, Heide, Waddell, Berg and Jones is going to be an improvement over the loss of Jenkins and a senior Newman. May not matter and we still may have a great year but it wouldn't be difficult to imagine a stat line from Newman or Jenkins would be an improvement over the performances put in by our younger guys yesterday.

 

[Gemini95]

This all looks and sounds way too much like last year for my liking. Not seeing where shooting and athletic ism are improved enough to seriously compete in March. We shall see.

 

[Schmedly_Whiplash]

This all looks and sounds way too much like last year for my liking. Not seeing where shooting and athletic ism are improved enough to seriously compete in March. We shall see.

And you are talking way too much like last year is this year. Players DO typically get better from year to year.
We started a FRESHMEN BACKCOURT last season as a Top 10 team............ they are going to be better. Probably WAY better.
You don't think a loss like that is motivating?????
You don't look at Lance Jones and Cam Heide and see "athlete"??
You don't see a lean TKR moving a whole lot better? Ethan and Brian Waddell looking VERY fit?
A freshman (Colvin) that could be an X factor and very hard to match up with.
Honestly don't see how ANYONE could look at this team and fear the same outcome.
My god, the NPOY came BACK for his senior season and stated it was to exorcise the Purdue demons of the past.
Might be time for a trip to Optometrist.

 

[SCBoiler1]

And you are talking way too much like last year is this year. Players DO typically get better from year to year.
We started a FRESHMEN BACKCOURT last season as a Top 10 team............ they are going to be better. Probably WAY better.
You don't think a loss like that is motivating?????
You don't look at Lance Jones and Cam Heide and see "athlete"??
You don't see a lean TKR moving a whole lot better? Ethan and Brian Waddell looking VERY fit?
A freshman (Colvin) that could be an X factor and very hard to match up with.
Honestly don't see how ANYONE could look at this team and fear the same outcome.
My god, the NPOY came BACK for his senior season and stated it was to exorcise the Purdue demons of the past.
Might be time for a trip to Optometrist.

There is no reason to think we won't be at least as good as last year, but at this point we're included in everyone's top 5, so anything less than a FF this year will be a disappointment. That's the debate. I'm confident we'll be really good. The question is will we be great and get to the FF.

Just to make an additional comment to add some controversy. We could have a better team this year but a worse record. Our B1G schedule was really soft last year in what turned out to be a pretty week conference.

 

[Gemini95]

And you are talking way too much like last year is this year. Players DO typically get better from year to year.
We started a FRESHMEN BACKCOURT last season as a Top 10 team............ they are going to be better. Probably WAY better.
You don't think a loss like that is motivating?????
You don't look at Lance Jones and Cam Heide and see "athlete"??
You don't see a lean TKR moving a whole lot better? Ethan and Brian Waddell looking VERY fit?
A freshman (Colvin) that could be an X factor and very hard to match up with.
Honestly don't see how ANYONE could look at this team and fear the same outcome.
My god, the NPOY came BACK for his senior season and stated it was to exorcise the Purdue demons of the past.
Might be time for a trip to Optometrist.

Lotta coulds and shoulds in there. Yes I generally expect guys to get better from year to year, but have seen way too many instances where that simply isn't the case. Some guys even get worse. Incremental improvements from a few guys isn't taking the team to new heights. Adding athletes is great, if they can play and contribute at both ends. And I'm going to need a LOT more evidence that shooting is improved. Otherwise you are looking at a literal replay of last year, no matter how good Zach is.
Sorry my optometrist deals in more than just old gold and black colored glasses.

 

[northside100]

Lotta coulds and shoulds in there. Yes I generally expect guys to get better from year to year, but have seen way too many instances where that simply isn't the case. Some guys even get worse. Incremental improvements from a few guys isn't taking the team to new heights. Adding athletes is great, if they can play and contribute at both ends. And I'm going to need a LOT more evidence that shooting is improved. Otherwise you are looking at a literal replay of last year, no matter how good Zach is.
Sorry my optometrist deals in more than just old gold and black colored glasses.

You're emotionally scarred, we get it, most of us are too

Nothing is going to 'prove' it to you because you're trying to protect yourself by managing expectations, which is obviously your prerogative.

 

[northside100]

our fortunes may come down to improved play from key players from last year's team versus help from new talent.

I tend to agree with this. I hold out hope that one of the new guys or TKR breaks out but to me that’s probably gravy.

 

[tjreese]

Looking at the stats is a little depressing. 26% three-point shooting with the only newcomer making a significant impact being Jones.

We were really good last year so I'm not saying the following to be negative, but our fortunes may come down to improved play from key players from last year's team versus help from new talent. In other words, I'm still not convinced that the influx and emergence of Colvin, Heide, Waddell, Berg and Jones is going to be an improvement over the loss of Jenkins and a senior Newman. May not matter and we still may have a great year but it wouldn't be difficult to imagine a stat line from Newman or Jenkins would be an improvement over the performances put in by our younger guys yesterday.

It's so hard to make a comparison from one year to the next, but I think the D may be a bit better than last year at this time. Could be my imagination, but seemed on the perimeter the D was getting into the body a bit more and there were active hands inside and out. Again, could be my imagination??? Also think Lance will contribute. He has quickness and active hands and "desires" to be good on D. So far he has shot well and hope that is legit.

 

[Gemini95]

You're emotionally scarred, we get it, most of us are too

Nothing is going to 'prove' it to you because you're trying to protect yourself by managing expectations, which is obviously your prerogative.

I "manage my expectations" to match the evidence provided, not in any effort to "protect myself". At this time, based on limited evidence provided so far, I am tempering my expectations for this team. I'm not sure what "proof" you think you have seen to suggest otherwise but you are free to believe in things like theoretical positive regression and guaranteed year over year improvement if you wish.

 

[Dryfly88]

There is no reason to think we won't be at least as good as last year, but at this point we're included in everyone's top 5, so anything less than a FF this year will be a disappointment. That's the debate. I'm confident we'll be really good. The question is will we be great and get to the FF.

Just to make an additional comment to add some controversy. We could have a better team this year but a worse record. Our B1G schedule was really soft last year in what turned out to be a pretty week conference.

This is very accurate. B1G was awful last year. We were the best of a very bad conference. I'm hoping we can be the best of a much improved conference. I don't think the conference will be much better top to bottom, but may be better at the very top.

 

[northside100]

This is very accurate. B1G was awful last year. We were the best of a very bad conference. I'm hoping we can be the best of a much improved conference. I don't think the conference will be much better top to bottom, but may be better at the very top.

The top of the Big Ten was bad last year, meaning it was Purdue and no one else. I wouldn't describe the conference overall as bad, they had ten teams in the top 50, so it was deep but profoundly mediocre as the closest team to Purdue was 31st in NET rankings but there were seven Big Ten schools between 31 and 40.

I'm not sold on MSU but agree with you that I suspect that that top of the conference will be better.

 

[northside100]

I "manage my expectations" to match the evidence provided, not in any effort to "protect myself". At this time, based on limited evidence provided so far, I am tempering my expectations for this team. I'm not sure what "proof" you think you have seen to suggest otherwise but you are free to believe in things like theoretical positive regression and guaranteed year over year improvement if you wish.

I completely understand. Again, I said nothing is going to prove it because there is no proof until the season plays out. I may have misinterpreted your post but if you're not expecting guys like Braden and Fletcher to get better you're absolutely hedging because the majority of freshmen improve in year two.

If you're simply stating that there's a chance that won't occur I agree with you, but the overwhelming likelihood is that if this team stays healthy they will be better than they were last year and significantly better than they were at the end of last year.

 

[Gemini95]

I completely understand. Again, I said nothing is going to prove it because there is no proof until the season plays out. I may have misinterpreted your post but if you're not expecting guys like Braden and Fletcher to get better you're absolutely hedging because the majority of freshmen improve in year two.

If you're simply stating that there's a chance that won't occur I agree with you, but the overwhelming likelihood is that if this team stays healthy they will be better than they were last year and significantly better than they were at the end of last year.

I dont think its a lock that they make a huge improvement. Every program is littered with guys who the fans were sure were going to improve and never really did. That said, I do think its likely they improve but I'm not convinced any one player or the team as a whole will be significantly better. Yet. As I said above though, we don't have a lot of evidence to go off yet.

 

[Dryfly88]

The top of the Big Ten was bad last year, meaning it was Purdue and no one else. I wouldn't describe the conference overall as bad, they had ten teams in the top 50, so it was deep but profoundly mediocre as the closest team to Purdue was 31st in NET rankings but there were seven Big Ten schools between 31 and 40.

I'm not sold on MSU but agree with you that I suspect that that top of the conference will be better.

B1G almost always has "high rankings" but it think it is most often inflated. The conference as a whole is overrated most years IMO. I will admit I love PU and I hate our conference. I understand I'm probably part of a very small group on here, but I'm very negative of the B1G and it's preparation for the tournament. Too may rock fights and too little speed.

 

[northside100]

B1G almost always has "high rankings" but it think it is most often inflated. The conference as a whole is overrated most years IMO. I will admit I love PU and I hate our conference. I understand I'm probably part of a very small group on here, but I'm very negative of the B1G and it's preparation for the tournament. Too may rock fights and too little speed.

Yeah, I don't know what the basis would be for 'inflated rankings'. I do agree that the conference doesn't tend to attract a ton of elite recruits and obviously the results in the NCAAT support your view, at least at the high end (making it to the FF and beyond).

 

[northside100]

I dont think its a lock that they make a huge improvement. Every program is littered with guys who the fans were sure were going to improve and never really did. That said, I do think its likely they improve but I'm not convinced any one player or the team as a whole will be significantly better. Yet. As I said above though, we don't have a lot of evidence to go off yet.

Agree that nothing is a lock and understand why you wouldn't be convinced of anything. Zero evidence to go off of, only historical trends that indicate that material improvement is likely, although far from guaranteed. Even if the team is better there's certainly no guarantee that translates to a FF or better.

 

[tjreese]

The top of the Big Ten was bad last year, meaning it was Purdue and no one else. I wouldn't describe the conference overall as bad, they had ten teams in the top 50, so it was deep but profoundly mediocre as the closest team to Purdue was 31st in NET rankings but there were seven Big Ten schools between 31 and 40.

I'm not sold on MSU but agree with you that I suspect that that top of the conference will be better.

I can't recall how the Big did preseason against a lot of teams. Were all those teams bad or did the Big get beat in a lot of those games, because if they didn't (and they may have?) on what criteria would I use to erase a lot of games that the Big won..."IF" they did? I don't honestly recall. Not asking anyone to look it up, but I just can't recall myself.

 

[Schmedly_Whiplash]

Lotta coulds and shoulds in there. Yes I generally expect guys to get better from year to year, but have seen way too many instances where that simply isn't the case. Some guys even get worse. Incremental improvements from a few guys isn't taking the team to new heights. Adding athletes is great, if they can play and contribute at both ends. And I'm going to need a LOT more evidence that shooting is improved. Otherwise you are looking at a literal replay of last year, no matter how good Zach is.
Sorry my optometrist deals in more than just old gold and black colored glasses.

Ok Francis, you got an interesting take. Too bad you won't be around to enjoy a great year.

 

[Schmedly_Whiplash]

This is very accurate. B1G was awful last year. We were the best of a very bad conference. I'm hoping we can be the best of a much improved conference. I don't think the conference will be much better top to bottom, but may be better at the very top.

Big 10 will be much better top to bottom. Almost everyone has been recruiting well. There were 4 or 5 Big 10 in the first top 20 preseason poll I saw.

 

[ToddFosterakadirty]

Lotta coulds and shoulds in there. Yes I generally expect guys to get better from year to year, but have seen way too many instances where that simply isn't the case. Some guys even get worse. Incremental improvements from a few guys isn't taking the team to new heights. Adding athletes is great, if they can play and contribute at both ends. And I'm going to need a LOT more evidence that shooting is improved. Otherwise you are looking at a literal replay of last year, no matter how good Zach is.
Sorry my optometrist deals in more than just old gold and black colored glasses.

You act like it was a bad year last year. It was a great year just a bad ending. It wouldn't have been such a bad loss if we hadn't of earned a one seed. We were a preseason unranked team that beat some good teams, won the Big by 3 games,, then won the Big tournament. I would love to have those things happen again just change what happened in the tournament.

 

[DwaynePurvis00]

You act like it was a bad year last year. It was a great year just a bad ending. It wouldn't have been such a bad loss if we hadn't of earned a one seed. We were a preseason unranked team that beat some good teams, won the Big by 3 games,, then won the Big tournament. I would love to have those things happen again just change what happened in the tournament.

Right? It almost would have been better to lose to Rutgers in the BTT, get the 2 seed and lose to a 15 haha. But yeah, the overachieving season will forever be overshadowed by the worst loss in ncaa history. But it’s ok, I’m sure the guys will be even hungrier this year. Plus…I’m ready to get hurt again, so let’s do this 😂

 

[BoilerDaddy]

I dont think its a lock that they make a huge improvement. Every program is littered with guys who the fans were sure were going to improve and never really did. That said, I do think its likely they improve but I'm not convinced any one player or the team as a whole will be significantly better. Yet. As I said above though, we don't have a lot of evidence to go off yet.

It never is a lock that a team, and especially a very successful team, makes a huge improvement.

 

[northside100]

I can't recall how the Big did preseason against a lot of teams. Were all those teams bad or did the Big get beat in a lot of those games, because if they didn't (and they may have?) on what criteria would I use to erase a lot of games that the Big won..."IF" they did? I don't honestly recall. Not asking anyone to look it up, but I just can't recall myself.

I don’t recall the specifics, but it wasn’t great. No one besides Purdue really rose in the ranking or sniffed the top 10 and by week 12 Purdue was the only ranked team.

 

[Gemini95]

Ok Francis, you got an interesting take. Too bad you won't be around to enjoy a great year.

Wut

 

[Thadoc1]

From watching the scrimmage, jones will make a big difference this year....Morton being more of a combo guard will allow us to play Jones with smith and loyer more....smith and loyer are good, steady players, jones gives us that athleticism we've needed in the backcourt last year, he's quick, a good defender, decent shooter, can get to the rim....we had no one like him last year....I think Morton can back up smith this year, freeing up jones to be more of a 3....that will be the biggest change this year....I'm still hopeful for heide at the 4....think they'll play him there when the tkr experiment doesn't work and we need shooters at the 4....lots of depth and our worst player right now is our most talented....Colvin....D
definitely a better team this year than last....

 

[New Pal Boiler]

You're emotionally scarred, we get it, most of us are too

Nothing is going to 'prove' it to you because you're trying to protect yourself by managing expectations, which is obviously your prerogative.

Honestly, we won’t know until March if we’ve gotten better where we need to improve the most: in between the ears.

 

[Boiler Buck]

This all looks and sounds way too much like last year for my liking. Not seeing where shooting and athletic ism are improved enough to seriously compete in March. We shall see.

Sample size?
How about you wait & call this a few games into the year? Right now we have 1 practice scrimmage, maybe a few scrimmages against Euro scrags....and players still figuring out their roles. You could be right, or wrong? But I would suggest some patience.

 

[SCBoiler1]

I dont think its a lock that they make a huge improvement. Every program is littered with guys who the fans were sure were going to improve and never really did. That said, I do think its likely they improve but I'm not convinced any one player or the team as a whole will be significantly better. Yet. As I said above though, we don't have a lot of evidence to go off yet.

I think Painter agrees with you. We have all our starters (for most of the year) and 7 rotational players back. We won the B1G and received a 1 seed. If Painter thought all it took was for each guy to get marginally better, wouldn't he just leave the lineup and rotation alone? He could simply plug and play the same starting lineup and give Jones and one of the wings backup minutes. Posters seem to think Jones is a significant upgrade over Jenkins and if everyone is going to improve it doesn't seem like there would be a need for any significant changes.

Reading the tea leaves that doesn't seem to be where Painter's head is at. I'm not sure we'd be hearing all the talk about getting TKR more minutes, Morton moving into a different role and more athleticism at the wing if he was going to keep the status quo and hope everyone just plays better.