Boilermakers Next Year

[mathboy]

Sometimes the combination of kids on the coourt and on the bench just doen't add up to a good team. We saw this last year for the MBB team. There was talent, but just not enough, and it didn't blend well together with the right talent in the right spots to support an overall winning team. It happens. I see plenty of positive things this year, but they haven't translated into wins. The team continues to fight and put forth effort, but they seem to be beaten down right now.

Yes, I think the coach has much to do with this and should be held responsible. That comes with the job, and is not the reason for this post. This stuff happens to ALL programs. This year the prenial powers in the BIG, Purdue, PSU, and MSU are fighting it out for last place. What the ... ? Injuries, transfers, kids that don't make the effort. All programs run into bad combinations. The idea is to keep the damage limited to a single season.

So... How will we look next year? Is this a one year bump or will we struggle next year too?

Losing Clemons and Bays will be a negagtive impact, no doubt. So what is to off set their loss? Is there enough talent red-shirting, sitting on the bench, or currently on injured reserve to fill those shoes? Which freshmen will start or have impact? My suspicion is that we will see Tiara Murphy in play for a starting role almost immediately. But hey, what do I know? I thought Miss Morre would be an impact player along the lines of Manual.

Can we find someone who can consistently shoot from outside? We desperately need a couple dead-eye shooters to open the game up and score some points.

 

[illiniboiler]

In this disappointing worst season in 3 decades, next year is all we've got and it is quite a puzzle. For those who are calling for Versyp's head, you might as well stop. There is no way they are going to fire a coach of her tenure with her record off one bad year. If we are terrible next year, maybe so. The fan base will maintain (tho it is down this year) another year before we began to lose them. Sad too that a not so long ago national program may well be last in the BT this year. Unthinkable not so long ago. But the why of that has been hashed to death.
Next Year:
Front Line: Losing Bays and Clemens is really big. Thornton, who we cannot expect much from, Bodnar and Kiesler (both unknowns) and Horrocks who has a long way to go but is young will all compete for these spots. McBride and Moore, more unknowns. Lots of bodies. Coach V's job is to coach them into an effective unit.
BackCourt: Wilson and Morrisette have a lot of experience, but can we expect them to give us the kind of scoring we expected this year? That, more than any other factor, affected this team. It would be foolish to expect it to change radically, but if it does that will make this team considerably better. Perry is becoming a star and will be a key piece of the offense. Hamby just does not have it, although she gives it her all. Keys is promising and should get more minutes. Cooper and Murphy are unknowns, with Murphy having the most buzz.
What we have here is a major coaching project from chemistry, to rotations, to the enthusiasm that good teams have. It is very much on Coach V and it will be interesting to see how this whole situation transpires. The Purdue WBB is at a crossroads.
Looking at the league, there is a lot of good coaching and recruiting going on. Not expecting a lot of drop off. Even perennially weak Indiana has a bevy of frosh and sophs who are showing marked improvement. And Minn returns their All-Conference player. In other words, with Maryland and Rutgers still good, it is harder than ever to be in the top rung, especially with a team that has so many variables. Will be interesting to see what transpires, but, frankly, gone are the national aspirations (at least for now) that defined this program for so long.

 

[WaltV]

Very reasonable post.
One thing I would suggest is that a team does not have to have two post players starting. Many good teams, probably most, do not. Based on what appears to be the strength of the players on next year's team, I would think playing just one post would be very reasonable. I am not sure if Coach V. plays an offense that is suitable for her players or forces her players to play a preconceived offense, regardless of their skills.

 

[mathboy]

I agree that the offense looks to be wrong somehow. We appear very stilted, almost mechanical in running the plays. We do not look smooth in our actions. The players seen to be looking hard at each pass, almost telegraphing them. So far, I have chaulked this up to inexperience at guard, plus not having that dead-eye long range shooter - so we must pass inside to get points. There is a lot of looking for that inside pass instead of the quick score from the outside. It makes the game hard to watch, but it may be the only way this team can score consistently.

 

[jwbbfan]

I agree that this is the worst year for Purdue WBB in a long long while BUT so were the last two years for the MBB team. We put up with two horrendous years from the guys and many called for Painters head. I don't see much difference here except to wonder about the recruits coming in the next two years. The guys will return to national prominence...so can the women with the right recruits.

 

[Dan'l Boone]

Big, big difference. The men's team was plagued by a handful of selfish, me-first players. They were not doing what the coach wanted them to do. The coach cut out the cancer and the team is playing like a team again. Don't get me wrong, it was the coach's fault as he was the one that recruited them. Fortunately, he recognized his mistake and corrected it.

The women are getting blown out and getting worse each game. Do they have a handful of cancerous players on the team causing them to not do what the coach wants? I get no indication of that from anyone. This entire team is full of poor fundamentals. Poor passing, poor dribbling, poor FG shooting, poor FT shooting, too many unforced turnovers, and nothing resembling an offensive scheme. If this was an isolated recent case, it would be different. This appears to me to be a several year trend rearing it's ugly head. My granddaughter's high school team plays better basketball.

Next year's talent may put a Band-Aid on the problem. The cure is a new coaching staff.