If you were able to keep the sweat out of your eyes Saturday afternoon in Mackey Arena, you saw a Purdue team that is very much rough around the edges, understandable for a new-look, young team practicing now weeks ahead of when it ordinarily would.
No, Saturday's split-squad scrimmage was no thing of beauty, but a means to an end. Italy will make Purdue better, and its threshold for improvement from then on out should be significant. Last time Purdue was this young was 2007 and remember how bad that team looked at times early in what turned out to be a tremendous season.
These pre-Italy practices, Saturday's scrimmage included, though, gave us an extensive look at a team that has a long way to go, but also has shown a great deal of promise, to me anyway.
Some thoughts …
A year ago, Purdue got back to the NCAA Tournament on the back of its decision-making and perimeter shooting offensively; this year's will inevitably have to play through some mistakes with a rookie point guard and is looking for somebody other than D.J. Byrd who'll make shots.
Ronnie Johnson is going to be a tremendous player at Purdue, maybe sooner rather than later, but playing point guard in college isn't all that unlike playing quarterback in football, and how many true freshman quarterbacks do you see playing?
In practice, Johnson still throws the occasional over-his-head pass into traffic, the sort of pass he could get away with throwing to Patrick Ingram against Center Grove that isn't worth the risk at this level.
He'll learn ? fast, probably ? but while he does, there will be turnovers and there will be hitches in the offense. And it's not just the point guard. Lewis Jackson was obviously critical in keeping Purdue mostly mistake-free last season ? in a turnover sense ? but Robbie Hummel and Ryne Smith were big parts of that as well.
Speaking of, with Hummel and Smith gone, the Boilermakers' three-headed shooting monster from last season is down to one, with only Byrd remaining.
Byrd has been shooting the hell out of the ball this summer, but if he's all by himself out there in that sense, good luck finding anywhere near the number of good looks he got as a junior.
Purdue's other guards simply have to be able to make shots. I don't mean be 40-percent guys, but just be threats.
This roster all of a sudden is so much more penetration-able than it was last season, but at the expense of shooting. Terone Johnson and Anthony Johnson are better as drivers as they are as perimeter shooters, and the same can certainly be said for Rapheal Davis. If nothing else, if they're not credible shooters, it will make their ability to get much done off the dribble all the more difficult and Purdue will get zoned left and right.
But it's hard to look at A.J. Hammons and not see a guy who's going to be an immediate impact player. We don't know yet how much inexperience will limit him early on and we don't know yet if he'll be able to play without fouling too much, but the 7-footer looks like a game-changer.
He gives Purdue a presence inside now, something it didn't have last year, someone who impacts the game just by standing there. Purdue was uncharacteristically bad on defense through much of last year; its lack of an interior presence defensively had every bit as much to do with that as its inability to contain the dribble.
Provided Hammons doesn't turn into a pumpkin between now and October, he'll give Purdue that presence.
And anyone who was in Mackey Arena Saturday saw what looked like a much-improved Sandi Marcius, though he has been something of a workout warrior in his career, a guy who can open eyes in practice, then not quite have it translate to game days. But he played well in the postseason last year and is now very much experienced. You saw him Saturday making athletic plays in part because experience has cut down on his paralysis by analysis.
If Marcius does look anything like he did Saturday when the season rolls around and if Hammons is what he seems to be, there's no question that puts Travis Carroll in a situation where he's going to have to scratch and claw for minutes. Purdue has never had this sort of competition in the post under Matt Painter.
Carroll is Purdue's best passing and shooting big man, though Hammons is no slouch in either sense. But his effort has to get him more rebounds. It just has to.
Donnie Hale and Jacob Lawson remain unknowns. They're athletic as hell, but they have to play hard and be physical. And know what they're doing. Both have a long way to go.
It was unfortunate that Italy is going to turn out to pretty much be a wash for Jay Simpson. No one needed all this practice and all this conditioning work more than he did.
He is as skilled and naturally talented a player as Purdue has on its roster, but to be an impact player this season, he'd need to acclimate quickly. Italy gave him an opportunity to do that. By no fault of his own, that opportunity was negated by injury.
If Purdue has to play small to score this year, a distinct possibility, Simpson's skill set ? his ability to handle the ball, pass and shoot, at least at previous levels ? might have been something the Boilermakers could use at the 5 position here and there.
It's not too late for Simpson, obviously, but he really could have used this time.
He's in good shape physically, though missing some early practices with the hand injury certainly didn't help. To me, he's looked much better in practice shooting the ball, both from long range and the foul line, though you didn't necessarily see that on Saturday.
Things are going to change for him now. He's not going to be guarded by centers anymore. But to me, he looks more than equipped to take that next step and become a really good player for Purdue after showing flashes at the end of last season.
As valuable as Jackson, Smith and Hummel were defensively, Jackson was constantly banged up and Smith and Hummel weren't the quickest guys in the world. That said, their experience can't be replaced.
But with any young team, things aren't always as they seem to be on paper. Matt Painter and his staff are going to have their hands full getting this group ready.
But, like Terone Johnson did earlier in his career, he has to A) learn how to play without the ball after dominating it in high school and B) make enough shots to set up his penetration.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2012. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
Check out GoldandBlack.com on
This post was edited on 8/7 10:10 AM by Brian_GoldandBlack.com
