You are giving him credit that he even knows where he went to HS yet alone watched his play. Just another hot take from him with no basis. Give me some basis of the opinion. That’s what these forums are about right?
The basis of my opinion is based on two things. Past history of Painter’s decisions. And that the opinions of people whose job it is to rate and scout players know what they are doing and talking about.
How many times have people here said Painter values defense over 3 point shooting when it comes to giving playing time? I have heard and read zip about this player’s ability to play defense. No analyst talks about and no fan talks about it. All the fans ever talk about is his 3 point shooting ability. Without the ability to play defense, he will never play for Purdue.
I also value the opinions of coaches, scouts and analysts when they rate a player. I look at offers. To me, if a player doesn’t receive an offer from a certain coach, that player must not be up to the standards of that coach. Coaches just don’t give out scholarships to anybody . Even legacy players need to have some type of talent to receive an offer.
And the people who rate players do so as a profession. It is their job to watch players and to also watch film of players. They know the fundamentals of the game and are objective. They can identify flaws in a player’s game as well as identify their talent and future potential. They may miss on a couple of players, but given the amount of ratings/reviews they provide, they are usually very accurate!
are Catchings or Harris or Burgess any good? The experts whose job it is to rate players seem to think so. Fans who see their ratings seem to think so. If a fan loves a player because of his rating, isn’t it also logical for a fan to believe a player with a 4 or 5 star rating is better than a player with a 3 star rating?
The guard who went to UCONN was a much higher rated guard coming out of high school than Smith. Purdue fans love Smith. But the truth is the guard who went to UCONN was actually the better guard. And all of the rating services predicted it. The people who get paid to predict the future success were accurate .
I’ve seen a few players actually play. I’ve also been to a few AAU and college games. But that is not my job. When I hire a plumber or guy to fix my air conditioner or my roof, I am dependent on reviews and I also expect them to know what they are doing. I don’t question their ability to do their job. And I don’t try to do their job for them. I’ve hired a few plumbers who had no clue what they were doing and I’ve had a few auto mechanics who were also clueless. But the vast majority of professionals knew what they were doing. Can I build a bridge? No! I trust those whose job it is to build the bridge for me.
That brings me to this forum. I don’t profess to be an expert. What I do profess is that I agree with the national experts who rate players rather than the people who are posters here who claim to be experts! Given a choice, I will accept the opinion of a person who has no bias. Than one who claims to be a die hard Boiler fan.
Let’s consider Sisley and Harrelson. are they as good as posters here say they are? Or should I agree with the ratings that people who rate players say about them?
Now to Benton. NBA scouts haven’t really raved about Smith. So I believe he and Loyer will remain another two years. I don’t share the confidence of other Purdue posters that Harris or Myles will leave early for the NBA either. I have to believe Harris and Myles will both start before Benton does. I also believe Heide and Catchings will.
Maybe I should clarify my statement that Benton will never start as long as Harris, Myles, Catchings and Heide are playing for Purdue. With today’s portal, they could all leave for more money just like Strong and Dickinson and Domask and Jones left their schools. It seems today that players are saying they are loyal and then leaving. Who predicted Dickinson would leave Michigan for Kansas? Maybe Smith will leave for Kansas. What would never happen 4 years ago is a possibility today.
However, when you have 6 recruits in one class and several who play the same position, it doesn’t require an expert to say someone will never start. Will Burgess start over Catchings? Will Jacobson start over Berg?
Don’t forget! We still have to consider we are 1 over our scholarship limit. That means one player somebody had high hopes for will not even be on our team when the season starts.
And let’s look to the future! I have to believe Painter will sign a 4/5 star guard in 2 years. And I believe that 4/5 guard will start as a freshman over a 3 star guard who’s been here for 2 years. Isn’t that what Smith and Loyer did over Hunter and IT? Doesn’t anybody envision that as a possibility?
