Note: To look back on summer workouts and ahead to fall practice, GoldandBlack.com is taking a player-by-play look at the Purdue basketball team's 10 scholarship players this week. We're going in alphabetical order. Up: Kendall Stephens
There's not a player on Purdue's roster more poised, in my opinion, to make a significant jump than Kendall Stephens.
For one thing, he's healthy. He didn't have a healthy off-season last year as he was still shaking off the effects of shoulder surgery.
Now that that's long behind him along with the troublesome groin issues that plagued him most of this past season, one would think this could have been a very productive summer for him.
He looks it, bigger and stronger and more confident and aggressive. Again, we're basing this off a couple workouts, nothing terribly formal, so we'll see, but such improvement would stand to reason, especially when you factor in experience.
Stephens is never going to develop any parts of his game so far that they trump his shooting as his strength, but he will be a more well-rounded player as a sophomore.
You saw flashes last season - a drive for an and-one in crunch time at West Virginia, some pump-and-drive jumpers from the wing off the window, a nice take against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament - of him being a more complete offensive player. You'll see more this season, as Stephens should be stronger, faster and better able to attack and absorb all that comes with it.
He'll be better on defense because of added strength, but again, he is one of the players Purdue undoubtedly had in mind when it started looking at zone. He's never going to be Ron Artest or whatever his name is now.
Stephens earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team last season on the back of his shooting. He can be a game-changer from long distance.
One would think/hope he'll be just as potent this season, but more efficient.
Purdue wants Stephens to let it fly, to be aggressive, but within reason, and "within reason" was something Stephens now must grasp. He chucked more than a few last season.
The good news here is that the shots Stephens made last season came off the shots he should be taking; the ones he shouldn't take were mostly misses.
So if Stephens takes that game in which he went 3-of-10 last season, speaking hypothetically, and trims three iffy attempts off the top, there's a good chance that 3-of-10 becomes 3-of-7 and before long, that 37-percent shooting moves into the 40s.
Nothing's guaranteed here: Stephens is a pretty laid-back personality. That can't seep into the work he puts in. There's no reason to think it has or will, just saying it can't if he's going to be as good as he can be. He can probably be as good as he wants to be, quite honestly.
He can be very good, maybe someone who's going to play basketball for money for a very long time.
Maybe the breakout is this season.
Purdue needs him to score - a lot, probably - as a nice complement to A.J. Hammons' presence inside, but also to impact games with the threat he poses. Everyone on this team is going to need to move the ball around. Stephens will get it back when he passes up the occasional less-than-perfect look. Defenses are going to focus more on Stephens now and that's going to be a challenge. He's going to have to be physically and mentally tough on a lot of nights.
But here's guessing you're going to see a stronger, tougher, more mature player and an improved one at that simply by virtue of healthy and experience.
We'll see how good.
There's not a player on Purdue's roster more poised, in my opinion, to make a significant jump than Kendall Stephens.
For one thing, he's healthy. He didn't have a healthy off-season last year as he was still shaking off the effects of shoulder surgery.
Now that that's long behind him along with the troublesome groin issues that plagued him most of this past season, one would think this could have been a very productive summer for him.
He looks it, bigger and stronger and more confident and aggressive. Again, we're basing this off a couple workouts, nothing terribly formal, so we'll see, but such improvement would stand to reason, especially when you factor in experience.
Stephens is never going to develop any parts of his game so far that they trump his shooting as his strength, but he will be a more well-rounded player as a sophomore.
You saw flashes last season - a drive for an and-one in crunch time at West Virginia, some pump-and-drive jumpers from the wing off the window, a nice take against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament - of him being a more complete offensive player. You'll see more this season, as Stephens should be stronger, faster and better able to attack and absorb all that comes with it.
He'll be better on defense because of added strength, but again, he is one of the players Purdue undoubtedly had in mind when it started looking at zone. He's never going to be Ron Artest or whatever his name is now.
Stephens earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman team last season on the back of his shooting. He can be a game-changer from long distance.
One would think/hope he'll be just as potent this season, but more efficient.
Purdue wants Stephens to let it fly, to be aggressive, but within reason, and "within reason" was something Stephens now must grasp. He chucked more than a few last season.
The good news here is that the shots Stephens made last season came off the shots he should be taking; the ones he shouldn't take were mostly misses.
So if Stephens takes that game in which he went 3-of-10 last season, speaking hypothetically, and trims three iffy attempts off the top, there's a good chance that 3-of-10 becomes 3-of-7 and before long, that 37-percent shooting moves into the 40s.
Nothing's guaranteed here: Stephens is a pretty laid-back personality. That can't seep into the work he puts in. There's no reason to think it has or will, just saying it can't if he's going to be as good as he can be. He can probably be as good as he wants to be, quite honestly.
He can be very good, maybe someone who's going to play basketball for money for a very long time.
Maybe the breakout is this season.
Purdue needs him to score - a lot, probably - as a nice complement to A.J. Hammons' presence inside, but also to impact games with the threat he poses. Everyone on this team is going to need to move the ball around. Stephens will get it back when he passes up the occasional less-than-perfect look. Defenses are going to focus more on Stephens now and that's going to be a challenge. He's going to have to be physically and mentally tough on a lot of nights.
But here's guessing you're going to see a stronger, tougher, more mature player and an improved one at that simply by virtue of healthy and experience.
We'll see how good.
