I think that Hunter takes a spot and becomes one of the stars of this team
Hunter certainly has the ability to be a star. He struggled early on, but you could absolutely see his potential. He certainly will make a jump this year.
Nojel is the only lock. Wheeler is close behind him mainly due to lack of depth/experience at the 4 but to say Nojel isn’t with only IT coming in and a shooting guard in EH Who played out of necessity at point , is kinda crazy to say Nojel isn’t a starter barring injury
I think Nojel and Wheeler are the locks. Nojel is the best defender by far and will look completely different on offense with the majority of the shots from last year leaving in Cline/Carsen.
Wheeler is a lock as well. He was the backup 4 last year and the guy ahead of him is gone. Not to mention, Gillis and Tre are all that is behind him. If Dow/Eb are serviceable in backing up the 5, and Tre continues to slim down to where he can guard the 4, then (and only then), Wheeler will be challenged as a starter. Even then, I think it would be lineup dependent and matchup dependent. I also think Wheeler very easily could lead the team in scoring. I am a little hesitant with hoping this because if he leaves early, Purdue would be hurting the following year. Wheeler is long, athletic, and he can shoot.
Haarms is about as close to a lock as you can get as well. Williams, in theory, could pass him, but Purdue would be better if Williams can play the 4/5 and Williams is the only threat to Haarms as a starter. If Williams can get to where he can play 25-30 minutes every game, Purdue will be scary good.
Who do I expect at the 2-3?
Proctor and Sasha make the most sense to me given what they can do and how they would fit. If Newman is ready, I would say move him over Sasha.
I think Hunter will be the first guard off the bench as he can play 1-3 and I think he will really shine. I would love to see him play with Nojel as he wouldn’t be the primary ball handler and could play off the ball.
I think Purdue is going to “come out of nowhere” again (TIC considering they have been in at least the sweet 16 and at least a 5 seed in the last 3 years). They have way too much talent. But they will have to get the roster figured out again and figure out how to play in their new roles/expectations. I would say another top 3 in the Big and another Sweet 16 is in order. Depending on how they come together, they certainly have the talent to overachieve and make another deep run as well as adding another Big championship.
I see some old school in you and like that. Keep those fakes in a drive a bit of 45 degrees so you are moving the d sideways AND back a bit. Seriously, I appreciate you supplying this and you are about to experience something you have never experienced when Mackey shines the love on you in the greatest place to play a game ever...known to get to 122 decibels during the game! Best wishes...
