Andreona Keys might get only one or two repetitions at point guard per game, perhaps a few minutes at most, but if she does, the junior wing says she’ll be ready.
She’s practiced there frequently over the years, sort of as an emergency third-stringer. But that emergency might be realized now. Purdue has only senior Ashley Morrissette — and she’s a natural shooting guard — as an experienced option now that backup Tiara Murphy is out for the season with a knee injury. Freshman Miracle Gray plays the 1, but is developing; she has played only 14 minutes in four games this season.
“I’m ready for it,” said Keys, whose Boilermakers (6-4) play at Ball State (5-2) at 7 p.m. Thursday in Muncie. “Point guard is a challenge but getting those reps starting my freshman year is going to help out. I’m more comfortable doing it.”
It won’t fall only on Keys. Morrissette, Purdue’s leader in points and assists, is averaging 33.2 minutes per game. In Tuesday’s win over Central Michigan, the Boilermakers’ first since Murphy was injured, Morrissette played all but two minutes. She’s played less than 30 only once, when she had foul trouble in the season opener.
But the Boilermakers are likely to use a committee, perhaps Keys at points, or maybe Gray — under the right circumstances — or another. It could be Bridget Perry or Dominique McBryde bringing the ball up, because their defenders, a wing or a post, are unlikely to pressure the dribble.
“So our point guards don’t have to bring it up the whole court,” Coach Sharon Versyp said. “If someone presses us, we can still get it to our 4s and clear it out, then get it back to our point guards. You’ll start seeing that a little bit as we continue down the road.”
But Keys is ready if needed. The multifaceted junior is averaging 8.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, plus has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, although only slightly.
“I don’t know all the plays at that position, but just knowing a couple of them, just having those down it just helps out to get in to that automatically,” Keys said.
“When I’m the point, our pace is a lot slower. I’m not pushing the ball but I’m more so just setting us up to execute an offense. I think it calms everybody down; I can go down and set something up, move the ball and try to execute.”
Keys’ minutes can’t increase much, as she’s already averaging nearly 30 per game. But perhaps others’ can. Lamina Cooper, for instance, won’t play at the point, but as others shift responsibility, the freshman could see more time at the wing. She played the most minutes of her young career vs. CMU Tuesday, logging 18, while scoring seven points and grabbing a career-high five rebounds.
“Each person has to step up their game because we lost two players, two of our big players that we were really keying on this year,” Keys said, referring center Bree Horrocks (knee), as well. “The leaders have to step up, the freshmen have an even bigger role than what they had before. Everyone needs to bring that extra and we’ll be fine.”
