Question: With all the new players coming in will Purdue change its defense at all?
Answer: Well, every team is different but I wouldn't anticipate there being any wholesale, big-picture changes. Purdue seems pretty committed to what it's doing at that end of the floor right now and coaches would tell you it just needs to be better at it.
Obviously, Purdue used to be a pretty high-pressure team that tried to force mistakes, and ideally turnovers. They really aimed to be hard to play against. They certainly intend to be hard to play against now, but Matt Painter's really bought into the analytics-driven view that the name of the game is keeping the ball out of the paint — containment and such.
That's kind of the way college basketball's gone, too, so Purdue's kind of riding a wave in that sense, and doing so with some additional concerns that align with that style. Playing with massive centers at a time when the game's gotten smaller and smaller and more matchup-drive, there's trade-off there, and Purdue's had to configure its ball-screen coverages accordingly. It used to be pretty proactive in using its 5 men to hedge screens, which lined up well with JaJuan Johhnson in partilcular's strengths, but really starting with Isaac Haas — maybe A.J. Hammons, I don't remember — they had to move more toward drop coverage.
With Zach Edey, that's not changing, but one modest tweak could come with Caleb Furst playing center when Edey's out of the game. I think that's the direction they need to go in both to maximize Furst's value and strengths as a player, but also both to give him more favorable matchups at both ends of the floor and take away his biggest matchup vulnerability guarding away from the basket. Furst is more mobile than any center Purdue's had probably since Johnson (maybe Matt Haarms), and at the very least that may allow Purdue to give different defensive looks. It never really could do that when it always had two giants splitting center minutes.
Outside of that, there's a pretty big piece of all this that remains TBD. Purdue needs to add a point guard, and that's obviously a really important position for them defensively.
One major concern, I'd think, will be youth. Youth is rarely helpful defensively and at minimum, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are two freshmen who are going to have to play, and the defensive adjustment for both of them could be considerable.
Smith's aggressiveness can very easily go from his strength at the high school level to something he must rein in at the college level, or else reach fouls will fouls will haunt him. Especially when he's young, Loyer may be that guy offenses seek out in switches, because his need for size and strength will be pretty apparent to the naked eye. He'll have potential to be a good team defender, I think, because he's so smart and anticipates things — at least he has at the levels I've seen him play at — but if people get him on islands, that's why Purdue has built so much help into its defensive system.
A few guys are going to have to take steps.
Brandon Newman's path to the sort of role he's sticking around for lies more at the defensive end than the offensive end, I think Painter would tell you. His time is now in that regard.
Ethan Morton was excellent defensively this past season, but now he may be that guy who's carrying those matchups from the opening jump, the guy that other teams' best wings are preparing to play against.
Couple things that can really make Purdue better beyond just the sum of the parts.
1. Last year's team didn't buy into defense soon enough. It was way better the final few weeks of the season, but it should have happened way sooner. It did not. That team was conditioned to want to outscore people, and I think Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams could have set better tones defensively all season with better focus and more consistency there. Someone on this team needs to do that. This is traditional Purdue basketball culture that they have to get back to.
2. The turnover thing shaped Purdue's season. If Purdue gets that straightened out, it will be a better defensive team. That point has been beaten to death, but it's important enough to bear repeating.
Answer: Well, every team is different but I wouldn't anticipate there being any wholesale, big-picture changes. Purdue seems pretty committed to what it's doing at that end of the floor right now and coaches would tell you it just needs to be better at it.
Obviously, Purdue used to be a pretty high-pressure team that tried to force mistakes, and ideally turnovers. They really aimed to be hard to play against. They certainly intend to be hard to play against now, but Matt Painter's really bought into the analytics-driven view that the name of the game is keeping the ball out of the paint — containment and such.
That's kind of the way college basketball's gone, too, so Purdue's kind of riding a wave in that sense, and doing so with some additional concerns that align with that style. Playing with massive centers at a time when the game's gotten smaller and smaller and more matchup-drive, there's trade-off there, and Purdue's had to configure its ball-screen coverages accordingly. It used to be pretty proactive in using its 5 men to hedge screens, which lined up well with JaJuan Johhnson in partilcular's strengths, but really starting with Isaac Haas — maybe A.J. Hammons, I don't remember — they had to move more toward drop coverage.
With Zach Edey, that's not changing, but one modest tweak could come with Caleb Furst playing center when Edey's out of the game. I think that's the direction they need to go in both to maximize Furst's value and strengths as a player, but also both to give him more favorable matchups at both ends of the floor and take away his biggest matchup vulnerability guarding away from the basket. Furst is more mobile than any center Purdue's had probably since Johnson (maybe Matt Haarms), and at the very least that may allow Purdue to give different defensive looks. It never really could do that when it always had two giants splitting center minutes.
Outside of that, there's a pretty big piece of all this that remains TBD. Purdue needs to add a point guard, and that's obviously a really important position for them defensively.
One major concern, I'd think, will be youth. Youth is rarely helpful defensively and at minimum, Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are two freshmen who are going to have to play, and the defensive adjustment for both of them could be considerable.
Smith's aggressiveness can very easily go from his strength at the high school level to something he must rein in at the college level, or else reach fouls will fouls will haunt him. Especially when he's young, Loyer may be that guy offenses seek out in switches, because his need for size and strength will be pretty apparent to the naked eye. He'll have potential to be a good team defender, I think, because he's so smart and anticipates things — at least he has at the levels I've seen him play at — but if people get him on islands, that's why Purdue has built so much help into its defensive system.
A few guys are going to have to take steps.
Brandon Newman's path to the sort of role he's sticking around for lies more at the defensive end than the offensive end, I think Painter would tell you. His time is now in that regard.
Ethan Morton was excellent defensively this past season, but now he may be that guy who's carrying those matchups from the opening jump, the guy that other teams' best wings are preparing to play against.
Couple things that can really make Purdue better beyond just the sum of the parts.
1. Last year's team didn't buy into defense soon enough. It was way better the final few weeks of the season, but it should have happened way sooner. It did not. That team was conditioned to want to outscore people, and I think Jaden Ivey and Trevion Williams could have set better tones defensively all season with better focus and more consistency there. Someone on this team needs to do that. This is traditional Purdue basketball culture that they have to get back to.
2. The turnover thing shaped Purdue's season. If Purdue gets that straightened out, it will be a better defensive team. That point has been beaten to death, but it's important enough to bear repeating.
