My Condensed Notes for Sharon Versyp Show 2/4/2020

[DocRon]

Sharon Versyp Show for Tuesday 2/4/2020 (with Tim Newton)
Condensed Notes. Parentheses are my input.
(Notes do not necessarily reflect my opinion)

1. Tim: Talking here about the last two weeks. Starting with the game at Nebraska that you won 76-68. It was right after you lost to Minnesota and everyone was down. But you started by getting way ahead and probably played the best 15 mins I saw all season.
2. Coach: Definitely. Nebraska is long but not exceptionally athletic. We pressed on any dead balls and made field goals. We were chasing Whitish (guard 5’9” senior) and keeping Cain (center 6’5” junior) away from the basket. We went with a different line-up with Harris coming off the bench for the first time this year and when she came in she just played with different energy and athleticism. She was 8/8 FG in the first half. Sometimes shuffling things around shakes things up. But you never know if you have a great first 15 mins how long you can sustain that.
3. Tim: We know that at Nebraska no lead is safe when you play them there. You were ahead by 21 pts in the first half but they actually took the lead (4 pts with 4 1/2 mins left in the 4th Q). But even more impressive than the big lead was that with the huge crowds screaming and all the energy for Nebraska in the 4th Q our team kept their composure and scored 11 straight pts.
4. Coach: Yeah, that is very typical of Nebraska and we saw that in our film studies. They roar back. But we called a time out and then scored on 5 of our last 6 possessions while holding them. Oden was tremendous - such a great pull-up JS. She can see things better than smaller guards. We ran her at the point and she made great passes. Hardin made two great 3pt shots. Everyone did great.
5. TIm: The big dagger was when you were up 4 with less than 2 mins to play. It was still a 2 possession game. Harris was doubled and found Hardin and she put it up without any hesitation and it looked good all the way. Coach: Hardin had a lot of confidence. She is one of our best communicators. She let them know she was ready to shoot and Harris saw her and kicked it out. It was players making plays and executing.
6. Tim: I think Nebraska is really hard to beat at their arena - not just having to be 10 points better to win on their court like we talk about but more like 15. Coach: Yes, they are really hard to beat there and I am so proud of our team for the way they held together.
7. Tim: After the Wednesday Nebraska game you came home on Sunday and beat Penn State 81-68. Kind of a game that you were ahead most of the game and shot 56% from the field. Coach: If you are shooting the ball well good things happen. Penn State was more of a team trying to break you down, 1 on 1 team. McDaniel (guard 5’10” junior) is pretty special. She scored “all their points for them” (35 of their 68). We tried zone and man-to-man. They are speedy and can break you down. But we were scoring points.
8. Tim: You tried everything on McDaniel but if you got in her face she put it on the deck and if you backed off she would step back and put it through. She scored 35 but I can’t say she was poorly defended. She was just in the zone. Coach: She was. She broke us down. You don’t want her to get in the zone early. But as long as we could keep her as the only one scoring and accept that she will get her points, we could still win if we hit our shots.
9. Tim: Oden had a great afternoon with a career high 28 pts but also a career high 8 assists and she was really unstoppable. Coach: She was. We love those assists. She is starting to play unbelievably. She is starting to carry this team defensively, offensively and rebounding. She is one of the top 15 off rebounders in the B1G - like 8 or 9. That is pretty impressive for her size. She is playing 1 through 4 because of our injuries. She is playing in rhythm and really special.
10. Tim: She also has that range you don’t see much anymore. She doesn't only hit 3PTs and under the basket but mid-range. She is as good at 10-15 ft shots as I have seen here at Purdue. Coach: Yeah, she is one of the best pull-up JS as I have seen. It is like a layup for her. She is really smart and knows how to use her body. She can get fouled. “I am impressed especially right now as she is playing at another level.”
11. Tim: You went back on the road on Thursday Jan 30 to MSU winning 76-66. They’ve had some injury problems but have played very, very well at home this year. Coach: Yes, they really have only lost one game (Northwestern) at home despite their injuries to the post. They are still getting a lot out of their post players now. They have shooters around them. They can play a hybrid and are real physical. We concentrated on keeping McCutcheon (guard 5’5” senior) from shooting 3PTers. We played mostly man to man. And you’ve got to score because they can play D.
12. Coach: We were 1/12 to start out the game. We missed like 4 bunnies down low. The score was 2-12 and I called a timeout. But it didn’t feel like 2-12. I never felt like “Oh my God, we’re out of it.” We got some stops and finally got in the flow. Tim: In the first 7 mins of the game you shot 11% and then in the last 33 mins you shot 62%.
13. Coach: Yes, when you first play a team it is adjusting at first. And if you have layups you have to score on those. Having a lead at the half was big. We got some inside/outside going. The tide really changed in the second half.
14. Tim: McLaughlin was really special in the second half - especially in the 4th Q. She hit 4 3PTers in the 4th Q. She had 24 pts for the game and a lot of those shots were behind the men’s line with hands in her face. Coach: Yes, she was in the zone. Once a player gets hitting their shots they are hard to stop. In the 3rd Q we played better D and got to the FT line and hit layups. McCutcheon cooled off and Ozmant (guard/forward 6’1” sophomore) has those long arms and she was tough. But McLaughlin was really patient - she just sat there dribbling or set screens and as soon as they backed off she started hitting her 3PTers and got in the zone. She read the D great and they didn’t speed her up.
15. Tim: On Monday night you came home to take on IU. The crowd was tremendous. And give IU credit, they brought 4 busloads of fans up. I don’t think that has ever happened before. It was like an NCAA tournament game atmosphere. Coach: It was amazing and I thank all the marketing and goldmine and everyone. It was so much louder with the student section. It was a great environment.
16. Coach: Obviously we always want to beat Indiana. But they were a really good BB team Monday night. They had been struggling a little bit lately but Monday they were in the zone. Berger (guard 6’0” sophomore) was 1/11 for like 4 games in a row but Monday she came out hot and she was elevating over Harris and others and was hard to stop. When those first couple of shots went she became hard to stop. Tim: She is hard to stop because of her height as a guard - kind of like Madison Layden who is coming in next year for you.
17. Coach: We played man, we played zone and triangle and 2 and nothing really stopped her. Tim: And Ali Patberg (guard 5’11” RS junior) is their emotional leader. She was terrific and close to a triple double Monday night. Coach: She is. She has the toughness and gets them going. But for her to have 9 RB’s just shows that we can do all these things but it doesn’t matter if you don’t box out. Their guards crash the boards and ours are not used to that. We chased them all over. We held them without a FG for 5 mins in the second half and got within six but then they got a couple of off RB’s and it was hard to come back.
18. Tim: Oden continued on her hot streak scoring 24 pts so she scored 74 pts in your last 3 games. Coach: And she is on both ends of the floor. One of our top rebounders - four of them offensive. Almost our best RBer. Steal and breakaway. She did everything on both ends of the floor. She is trying to carry us right now.
19. Tim: She is a senior and has that urgency now when she plays. Coach: She does. She is a great leader, brings the team together, constantly motivates, constantly coaching and teaching. We didn’t play poorly Monday night but IU played better. But we can control boxing our, we can control our FTs. We have not missed 7 FTs in a long time.
20. Tim: Due to the anticipated weather conditions we are leaving a little early Wednesday and will actually practice in Ann Arbor for our Thursday night game against Michigan. It is an early game at 6PM.
21. Tim: We should mention that Oden has moved herself into the top 10 all-time Purdue WBB scorers. MaChelle Joseph is #1 (2405 pts), Shereka Wright is #2 and she is going into the Purdue Athletic Hall of Fame in a few weeks. Stephanie White is #3, Katie Gearlds #4, Katie Douglas #5, Brittany Rayburn #6, Purdue’s 1st All-American Joy Holmes is #7, Courtney Moses is #8 and Dominique Oden is #9 and Jannon Roland is now #10. With 8 more points Dominique will move past Moses. We knew she had potential when she came in but I don’t think any of us, looking at her coming in, thought she would end up being a top ten scorer at Purdue.
22. Coach: Yes, none of us saw her being so multi-dimensional and able to score in such a variety of ways. You have to play as a freshman to do that and she did. She has turned it on at times but not like now with all the other things she does. But I am extremely impressed. Tim: She may actually pass Joy Holmes and maybe, with a good run, even pass Rayburn.
23. Coach: They’ve all been such good students. Rayburn is a doctor now. But Dominique is amazing. Tim: We are all a product of our upbringing and looking at everything she had to go through as a child and the responsibility of what she had to deal with at an early age and you can see evidence of her maturity more and more as she is now a senior.
24. Coach: You see athletes and so often there is a back story of why they are doing well. Things don’t always come easy. Of all our seniors - and they will all be missed - but she will probably be the one who has most exceeded my expectations.
25. Tim: Looking at the latest RPI you have 4 B1G teams in the top 16 of the RPI. Monday night you had the first NCAA seeds if the season ended now. Maryland would be a #2 seed and Northwestern and Iowa would be #4 seeded. That is nothing but good for the Big Ten. Coach: Yeah, and I think IU is right on that cusp. It depends on what they do. The plan has been for the B1G to get 2-4 in the top 16 so that is good. Now we are rated the second strongest conference (behind the PAC 12) and we would potentially get 9 in the tournament although I think it will be 8.
26. Coach: Someone said that there were only 2 or 3 teams in the top 20. Well there’s 4 teams because you have to look at the RPI. The top 25 teams are so political. But if you go by the RPI, which is what they do for the bracketology, it shows the B1G has 4 teams in the top 16, which is really impressive.
27. Tim: The Boilermakers right now are #33 in the RPI and 6-5 in the conference right in the middle of the standings. The next 7 games are very important for B1G tournament seedings but you also want to improve your RPI and get all the momentum you can for that March run. Coach: Absolutely. And every game is tough. I think there will be a logjam in the middle from 3 through 9.
28. Tim: On Thursday there is not just our game with Michigan but Maryland at IU. If IU beats them that will really scramble the top of the league standings. Coach: Yes, and Iowa plays Nebraska where Nebraska has already beaten them. And Iowa comes here. Every game will be big. And Rutgers goes to Maryland on Sunday. You have to take care of your own business. If you go 9-9 in the league you may be tied for 5th. There is that much parity and we just have to take care of ourselves.
29. Tim: Both of the teams this week are one-timers which makes them really important in terms of tie-breakers. First at Michigan and they rebound as well as anyone in the conference. Coach: Yes, they are the top rebounding team in the conference. Naz Hillman (forward 6’1” sophomore) is the best rebounder in the B1G and they are relentless as a team on the boards. They do a great job of moving the BB around and are very active on D. They will trap 1-2-2 full court. They will pressure you and make you feel uncomfortable. Play majority man but a little zone. They will double Harris. We will have to pass to the open man and hit our shots. They play well at home and played Iowa really well this last week.
30. Tim: And they also had an injury a couple weeks ago losing Robins (forward 6’1” senior) for the season but they seem to have adjusted. Coach: Yeah, they are adapting and Johnson (guard/forward 6’0” senior) is the one who has done some great things rebounding and she sets up Rauch (guard 5’8” sophomore) who is their good 3PT shooter. They are getting experienced and adjusting.
31. Tim: Then on Sunday you take on Iowa and contender for B1G POY Kathleen Doyle (guard 5’9” senior). Coach: Yes, she is extremely physical. Shooting the 3 ball better than she has. She is a great 1 on 1 player. Iowa will spread you out and shoot 3PT shots. But Doyle dictates their offense. They will play a triangle and 2 quite a bit and zone a lot with man to man only 10% or so.
32. Tim: It is always a special game when you have the pink-zone game and survivors come out. It is very emotional since we have all been affected by cancer. Coach: Yes, cancer has affected everyone. We need a big crowd. Iowa always says we have a big crowd for them.
33. Coach: Their team and Coach Bluder has done such a good job. They lost three seniors last year and yet they are playing very well. She really knows what she is doing. Tim: Good luck - we will see you Thursday night.

 

[WaltV]

Thanks!!! Appreciated, DocRon!! They are more optimistic than I am. We'll see!!

 

[Russ Ford]

I wonder why Hardin plays ahead of Whilby. To me Whilby is more athletic, a better shooter and just as good if not better defensively.

 

[illiniboiler]

Lose to Iowa Sunday and this is prob an NIT team at best.

 

[DocRon]

I wonder why Hardin plays ahead of Whilby. To me Whilby is more athletic, a better shooter and just as good if not better defensively.

I thought last night (vs Michigan) was the worst game Hardin had played in a long time. Whilby, on the other hand, was very good but one must remember she was like 2 for 20 or some outrageous number before last night’s game. And she tends to get out of control. Her charging fouls are ridiculous. Still, she has a lot of gung-ho for when the rest of the team looks like they are asleep.

What I wonder is what has happened to Traylor? Early this season she looked like she was going to be such a force and now she has faded into the background. Depressing.

And in her after-game talk with Tim, Coach referenced Woltman not being available. Does anyone know why? She has not played for two games now.

Boy did Michigan kill us on the glass, even with Diagne having a career game. Farquhar's loss continues to haunt us.

Still only losing by 3 with McLaughlin & Oden combining for such awful shooting nights (5/20 between them, which won't happen often) is mildly encouraging. (Very mildly)
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