CANCUN, Mexico - Purdue found its offensive rhythm here in Mexico, and because of it, the Boilermakers have a championship in hand.
As we wrote prior to this trip, history won't pay much mind to the championship of the Cancun Challenge, not this season for sure. The story of this season for Purdue was never going to be written in November, nor should it be for any season for anyone.
This Purdue team aspires for bigger things come February and March.
That being said, this was a step along the way, dismantlings of Utah State and Auburn. The Boilermakers were the pero grande - seventh-grade Spanish tells me that means "big dog" - at this event and flexed their muscles accordingly, not unlike last year in Connecticut.
Time will tell what Auburn means. That team is talented, but young ,ragged and prone to playing the game like it's a mixtape. They have the ability to beat some people in the SEC but Kentucky likely isn’t too worried.
But these games were about Purdue and its offensive awakening, to me anyway.
First off, off-season fears about the press have been allayed as convincingly as can be to date. That's not to say a stake has been driven through the heart of that albatross - by the way that would be a terrible thing to do to such an elegant bird - quite yet, but the early returns are overwhelming. Purdue hasn't just handled presses, it's punked them out, basically. It has not been an issue in any way, shape or form. Thus far, at least.
Purdue's problem has lied in the halfcourt, where it's just been sloppy and dealt with little execution stuff. And Isaac Haas' regression to freshman-year form against a tough matchup for him is still fresh in mind so probably tainting my viewpoint on the problem right now. That was the game we talked hypothetically about prior to the season in which Purdue might be better smaller.
Anyway, turnovers. Purdue has to clean them up, but when you look at how Purdue's been turning it over, it seems to be a relatively easy fix. Easier said than done, but Purdue's not turning the ball over because it's not good enough or not poised enough to not turn the ball over. It's just been sloppy, rough around the edges.
If that happens, this is a particularly formidable offensive team, equipped with haymakers around the basket and a litany of shooters, the deepest and best group Matt Painter's had at Purdue. This looks like a combustible shooting team; you saw it twice against Auburn, when the Boilermakers made back-to-back-to-back threes to turn the game on its side. Purdue's never going to shoot 17-of-26 again probably, but the potential for those bursts will always loom.
Carsen Edwards will still have his ups and downs, as freshmen do, but Cancun served as a breakout trip for Dakota Mathias and the second half vs. Auburn may have served as Vincent Edwards' awakening, just when his team needed him. He was the difference in that second half. That says nothing of P.J. Thompson, maybe Purdue's best player in the first half against Auburn, similar to what he did against Florida a year ago. And now Purdue has Ryan Cline back too.
Purdue is a good offensive team and it plays like it. This group carries itself a certain way at that end of the floor and you haven't been able to say that about every Boilermaker team in recent years. Experience matters and this team is not only talented offensively but experienced together and you're starting to see that come to light. Purdue's offensive chemistry seems solid and it seems to be in a rhythm.
That give-and-go from Caleb Swanigan to Vincent Edwards for that dunk was beautiful basketball. Damn near everything Dakota Mathias seems to do at the offensive end is beautiful basketball. Carsen Edwards hitting a sprinting Basil Smotherman full-court was beautiful basketball, and that was two guys who've now played all of four games together.
Conversely, how many instances have there been where Purdue has stood around just trying to force-feed the post? Not many. That's been the tell-tale for Purdue offensively when it's not been so good. It's gone stagnant. At least through five games, that's not happened much, if at all. Bigger tests than Utah State and Auburn lie ahead but that's been significant.
This team has offensive weapons and knows how to play together at that end of the floor. It will need to find that same synergy at the defensive end, but Purdue looks to me ahead of schedule on that front. I saw very little to complain about at that end of the floor in Cancun, except for the fact that dribble penetration is really making the Boilermakers vulnerable to offensive rebounds.
In fact, Dakota Mathias is turning from a defensive survivor into a legitimately good, reliable defender. He's not the most gifted defender physically but he's smart as hell and tries hard and the former matters as much as the latter.
And Carsen Edwards was supposed to struggle on D early in his career, logic said. He's thriving. He was an impact defender in Cancun. He's trending upward in every aspect, which is a very intriguing development for Purdue, becauae his skill set can really complete this team.
Basil Smotherman, in context, is playing well, doing what Purdue needs from him in what is now a critical role given Purdue's depth concerns.
But this team's foundation is Isaac Haas and Caleb Swanigan. People don't give Haas enough credit, even when he's not playing particularly well, for the impact he has on games in so many ways beyond points and rebounds.
Swanigan this season will be one of the best players Painter's coached. I said in our video last night and truly believe that there will come a point where he's getting 15 and 10 rebounds routinely and he'll just blend in because he's so good that will just become his floor. Enjoy him this season, folks.
Purdue is not a finished product as of late November, not by any stretch.
But if there's anything that Cancun illustrated it's that the Boilermakers certainly have a lot going for them.
As we wrote prior to this trip, history won't pay much mind to the championship of the Cancun Challenge, not this season for sure. The story of this season for Purdue was never going to be written in November, nor should it be for any season for anyone.
This Purdue team aspires for bigger things come February and March.
That being said, this was a step along the way, dismantlings of Utah State and Auburn. The Boilermakers were the pero grande - seventh-grade Spanish tells me that means "big dog" - at this event and flexed their muscles accordingly, not unlike last year in Connecticut.
Time will tell what Auburn means. That team is talented, but young ,ragged and prone to playing the game like it's a mixtape. They have the ability to beat some people in the SEC but Kentucky likely isn’t too worried.
But these games were about Purdue and its offensive awakening, to me anyway.
First off, off-season fears about the press have been allayed as convincingly as can be to date. That's not to say a stake has been driven through the heart of that albatross - by the way that would be a terrible thing to do to such an elegant bird - quite yet, but the early returns are overwhelming. Purdue hasn't just handled presses, it's punked them out, basically. It has not been an issue in any way, shape or form. Thus far, at least.
Purdue's problem has lied in the halfcourt, where it's just been sloppy and dealt with little execution stuff. And Isaac Haas' regression to freshman-year form against a tough matchup for him is still fresh in mind so probably tainting my viewpoint on the problem right now. That was the game we talked hypothetically about prior to the season in which Purdue might be better smaller.
Anyway, turnovers. Purdue has to clean them up, but when you look at how Purdue's been turning it over, it seems to be a relatively easy fix. Easier said than done, but Purdue's not turning the ball over because it's not good enough or not poised enough to not turn the ball over. It's just been sloppy, rough around the edges.
If that happens, this is a particularly formidable offensive team, equipped with haymakers around the basket and a litany of shooters, the deepest and best group Matt Painter's had at Purdue. This looks like a combustible shooting team; you saw it twice against Auburn, when the Boilermakers made back-to-back-to-back threes to turn the game on its side. Purdue's never going to shoot 17-of-26 again probably, but the potential for those bursts will always loom.
Carsen Edwards will still have his ups and downs, as freshmen do, but Cancun served as a breakout trip for Dakota Mathias and the second half vs. Auburn may have served as Vincent Edwards' awakening, just when his team needed him. He was the difference in that second half. That says nothing of P.J. Thompson, maybe Purdue's best player in the first half against Auburn, similar to what he did against Florida a year ago. And now Purdue has Ryan Cline back too.
Purdue is a good offensive team and it plays like it. This group carries itself a certain way at that end of the floor and you haven't been able to say that about every Boilermaker team in recent years. Experience matters and this team is not only talented offensively but experienced together and you're starting to see that come to light. Purdue's offensive chemistry seems solid and it seems to be in a rhythm.
That give-and-go from Caleb Swanigan to Vincent Edwards for that dunk was beautiful basketball. Damn near everything Dakota Mathias seems to do at the offensive end is beautiful basketball. Carsen Edwards hitting a sprinting Basil Smotherman full-court was beautiful basketball, and that was two guys who've now played all of four games together.
Conversely, how many instances have there been where Purdue has stood around just trying to force-feed the post? Not many. That's been the tell-tale for Purdue offensively when it's not been so good. It's gone stagnant. At least through five games, that's not happened much, if at all. Bigger tests than Utah State and Auburn lie ahead but that's been significant.
This team has offensive weapons and knows how to play together at that end of the floor. It will need to find that same synergy at the defensive end, but Purdue looks to me ahead of schedule on that front. I saw very little to complain about at that end of the floor in Cancun, except for the fact that dribble penetration is really making the Boilermakers vulnerable to offensive rebounds.
In fact, Dakota Mathias is turning from a defensive survivor into a legitimately good, reliable defender. He's not the most gifted defender physically but he's smart as hell and tries hard and the former matters as much as the latter.
And Carsen Edwards was supposed to struggle on D early in his career, logic said. He's thriving. He was an impact defender in Cancun. He's trending upward in every aspect, which is a very intriguing development for Purdue, becauae his skill set can really complete this team.
Basil Smotherman, in context, is playing well, doing what Purdue needs from him in what is now a critical role given Purdue's depth concerns.
But this team's foundation is Isaac Haas and Caleb Swanigan. People don't give Haas enough credit, even when he's not playing particularly well, for the impact he has on games in so many ways beyond points and rebounds.
Swanigan this season will be one of the best players Painter's coached. I said in our video last night and truly believe that there will come a point where he's getting 15 and 10 rebounds routinely and he'll just blend in because he's so good that will just become his floor. Enjoy him this season, folks.
Purdue is not a finished product as of late November, not by any stretch.
But if there's anything that Cancun illustrated it's that the Boilermakers certainly have a lot going for them.
