I just wanted to say that having been at the past 2 games in person, it has been wonderful to watch Dakota play defense. On TV you don't get to always see the off the ball stuff. He works his butt off on the defensive end and has made himself into a very good defender. I did not see that coming after his first 2 years. Really looking forward to seeing him continue to improve over the next 2.
Dakota Defense
- Thread starter Dryfly88
- Start date
I've called him the most underrated player on the team, but I wonder if he's the most underrated player in the conference as well. He does so many things well without getting much credit.
This is an example of how a team gets better even though it loses important players. How many guys are playing better this season than last? How many by significant amounts? It's fun to watch!
it is much of the joy I get when watching. people lose a certain amount of scoring in a year and the next year other players score more than before. People lose defensive people and the next year...people pick up the slack. people lose a starter to fouls and players play a little harder. This is a "TEAM", not a real athletic team but a team in every sense. They are skilled, unselfish, share common goals and work hard towards those goals. I have no idea what will happen this year relative to the Big, the BTT and the larger tourney at the end of the year. However, I think I'm going to enjoy the efforts of these players and coaches and appreciate many of the finer aspects of basketball and the connections to life in "THE GAME" no matter how far they go.
Other than Biggie, many of the players had some limited opportunities in the Big Leagues and some were never thought to make it. Watching the improvement, watching the team start to jell and be willing to be a difference maker is satisfying to me and I only hope "THEY" gather the accomplishments for all they put in and how far they came in that journey...
Not to drag this into the gutter with coaching talk, but for the people who call out Painter - this is one of many examples of what they are also missing. I don't live in the Midwest and watch a good amount of college basketball on the east coast. There's a lot of good programs that simply do not develop talent very well. They may get four star players, but they play the same throughout their career. The player you get as a freshman is basically the player you get as a senior. The NOTICEABLE strides many of our players make shows that yes, they are working hard (which is also an attribute of coaching - recruiting the right people), but they are also being coached very well.
This is something that cannot be understated and its an important part of success. Not every player is going to develop majorly over their career and some may take longer than others, but when you look at so many of our individual players over the years that have gotten so much better - AND you notice them as a team get better over the course of the year - it's a strong testament to coaching.
PJT is a prime example of a player who was so unheralded when he came to Purdue and has turned in to a player who, right now, is playing at a level that puts him in talks to be considered for an All Big Ten Conference level.
I have a friend that has a nephew that got a sniff from Purdue and Iowa that played some AAU with PJ..is friends with PJ. He now plays for IUPUI. The uncle said when PJ was offered that he was a great kid, really good shooter but couldn't see him in the Big getting any court time. PJ is a great kid. PJ is a very good shooter (worry about his low pocket if guarded but he seems to understand when he has the separation) and has turned into a very good team PG...and I purposely emphasized "team" as opposed to individual abilities.
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