Our best player needs to be our best player. Period.

[lbodel]

Particularly offensively. And it SCREAMS it in the Iowa game....

-AJ was 3-7, 10 points (3 shots in the first half, 4 in the second). 3 of his 4 shots in the second half were around or under the 4 minute mark. So from the beginning of the second half to 4 minutes left - 16 minutes of playing time - he took 1 shot (anyone know what happened in that stretch?).

-4 players took more shots than AJ (Vince - 14, Thompson - 10, Cline - 9, Swanigan - 9).

Obviously in PJ's case, he was having a good game. Ryan Cline and Caleb Swanigan? Were a combined 4-18.

Iowa's best players? Uthoff took the most shots - 13. Jok took the second most - 12.

Our biggest (literally and figuratively) asset CANNOT be 5th on the team in shot attempts and we expect things to be successful.

We don't need to play the "try to go inside every single possession" game, but Hammons has GOT to be more involved. And if you look at our big men combined - Hammons and Haas combined to take 8 shots in 33 minutes.

Some of this is absolutely on AJ. He's a senior. I know he's not a dominant personality, but he's GOT to step up to the plate and dominate. He can't be fading away against guys smaller than him, he can't politely position himself in the paint and not yell for the ball, etc.

But his teammates also have to look for him. Against Michigan, I was pumped to see the inside/out game being played with Hammons and Haas. Against Iowa, we didn't even try to give him the ball. It's great that a guy like PJ was feeling it (and this is absolutely not a "just PJ" thing), but you can't run down the court and jack a shot and expect that to translate into success for an entire game. Run your offense - if you don't get a good look for an entry, then fine.

Both Iowa games were great examples - he was not involved in either of the first halves. Obviously both were decent halves for Purdue, but there was a problem brewing in that we did not establish an inside game. When you get AJ into a rhythm, he's not easy to stop. So it's great you are hitting outside, but you cannot abandon your bread and butter in the process. You don't want your inside game to be all you have, but you also cannot afford for your best asset to be nonexistent either.

If you look at our losses, AJ has shot:

@ Iowa - 7 shots (5th most on the team)
@ Illinois - 5 shots (6th most on the team)
vs. Iowa - 6 shots (5th most on the team)
vs. Butler - 6 shots (4th most on the team)

Our better wins?

vs. Ohio State - 13 shots (1st on the team)
vs. Michigan - 10 shots (1st on the team)
vs. Wisconsin - 14 shots (1st on the team)
vs. Vanderbilt - 16 shots (1st on the team)
@ Pitt - 15 shots (1st on the team)

Anyone notice a trend!?

 

[CRBoiler]

Good post. Probably not quite as simple as that, but I agree we've built the team around the center position, and so that position needs to get FGA's.

 

[TC4THREE]

Unfortunately, the center position is the easiest to take away if the opposition isn't worried about other players beating you. That's what other teams are doing. Telling Vince Edwards to come and beat them. Daring Raphael Davis to beat them. Inviting Mathias and Cline to beat them from deep. Asking if our point guards and Swanigan to put up 15-20 pts consistently. We just don't do it against better teams.

 

[lbodel]

Good post. Probably not quite as simple as that, but I agree we've built the team around the center position, and so that position needs to get FGA's.

Of course it's easier said than done. But I'd also say that defensively, really only Butler presented a challenging defensive strategy. Against Iowa the first game, we were 8-10 between Haas/Hammons. We should have eaten them up inside. And on top of that, AJ has 4 years of experience and should be able to "figure out" most of what is thrown at him to his advantage.

Secondly, some of it has nothing to do with AJ. I like what Swanigan brings, but he's just not good enough at this point to be our leading shooter - and he's shot more than any player on the team. Swanigan needs to be shooting about 5-6 times a game, and if he's doing well - go for it. However, he's been shooting way too much at times (and the real problem being too many of them bad shots). Against Iowa, 2-9; against Ohio State, 2-10. Swanigan is a GREAT asset to this team and I don't really want to see his minutes cut, he just needs to take smarter shots - and we've seen that from him in some games.

And I think overall, our team just needs to take smarter shots. It's great if we are shooting 3s well. But we need to be establishing an inside game every single game, not just some of the games. We've now seen it happen twice against Iowa - shot from 3 at a great rate each game in the first half, but didn't establish any inside game. So when we went cold, we ran into problems. We certainly won't beat a team as good as Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, etc. if we don't establish an inside game. And quite frankly, against any Big Ten team it could be a struggle if we don't.

 

[lbodel]

Unfortunately, the center position is the easiest to take away if the opposition isn't worried about other players beating you. That's what other teams are doing. Telling Vince Edwards to come and beat them. Daring Raphael Davis to beat them. Inviting Mathias and Cline to beat them from deep. Asking if our point guards and Swanigan to put up 15-20 pts consistently. We just don't do it against better teams.

I understand what you're saying, but we're not even forcing teams to do that. We weren't looking for AJ on Saturday - period. AJ/Haas combined to be 8-10 against Iowa in the first meeting. AJ is a senior - this isn't the first time he's seen a double team. The problem is if you don't get him involved, he starts to get passive. And quite frankly, once he's passive it's over.

 

[boiler-deuce]

I guess my problem with the responses to a stellar post by lbodel is the ease that others think taking AJ out of our game plan is for opponents. And, I've seen this mentioned before. And, just why is that? We've told ourselves we've recruited the best shooters in the Midwest for 3 years now. Our PG has shown the ability to be a threat. Makes no sense. And even moreso, why do we have a problem imposing our will on other teams in that way for the big games? Why don't we see other teams being forced out of their normal patterns? Why are there so many excuses for our teams ineptitude or failure to adapt, adjust and/or devise something remotely new during the game or halftime? MOVE!!! MOVE!!! Really? lbodel is right...AJ is our best player and should be a huge part of every game, and if some coach decides to neutralize him...it's his job to find a way for his best player to succeed. Even in a loss...the game should go through AJ. For crying out loud, I see very little screening. This offense is has the appearance of just basic pass, pass...weave..weave...and either the post opens up, or we see a long distance shot. Painter must do better than that.

 

[lbodel]

I guess my problem with the responses to a stellar post by lbodel is the ease that others think taking AJ out of our game plan is for opponents. And, I've seen this mentioned before. And, just why is that? We've told ourselves we've recruited the best shooters in the Midwest for 3 years now. Our PG has shown the ability to be a threat. Makes no sense. And even moreso, why do we have a problem imposing our will on other teams in that way for the big games? Why don't we see other teams being forced out of their normal patterns? Why are there so many excuses for our teams ineptitude or failure to adapt, adjust and/or devise something remotely new during the game or halftime? MOVE!!! MOVE!!! Really? lbodel is right...AJ is our best player and should be a huge part of every game, and if some coach decides to neutralize him...it's his job to find a way for his best player to succeed. Even in a loss...the game should go through AJ. For crying out loud, I see very little screening. This offense is has the appearance of just basic pass, pass...weave..weave...and either the post opens up, or we see a long distance shot. Painter must do better than that.

I don't think Painter doesn't know this. It seems like every play that is drawn up by him - does involve the big guy, whether it is Haas or Hammons.

I think there's a couple problems...

1. Our backcourt gets distracted/antsy. Keep in mind, Hill is a first year player, PJ is a true sophomore, Dakota is a sophomore, Ryan Cline is a true freshman, etc. On top of that, Edwards is a sophomore and Swanigan is a true freshman. While this isn't a complete excuse, I think Octeus had more consistent focus of running the offense. I know that many people think of Stephens as only a shooter, but he is actually one of our better interior post feeders.

2. AJ. AJ is guilty of disappearing in games too. Remember the theme last year was which AJ is going to show up? He was judged game by game based on his emotion - whether he was going to be "into" the game or not. It was also a point that if he's going to be "into" a game, he needs to be involved early. And quite frankly, I think he thrived on that. Now people just expect him to be great, there isn't pressure on him, etc. As I mentioned, AJ is a senior now. He may not be the "leader" type, but he can't be passive. And I really like AJ, but it's frustrating (and we've discussed this for years). Quite frankly, I'd be really hesitant if I were an NBA team to take him knowing how many games there are in the NBA. The consistency is better, but it's still not where it can be.

Hopefully AJ can turn it up just as his teammates need to as well.

 

[rjmpu82]

I don't buy into the notion that some say this a an average team. We are playing like an average team. Our defense and rebounding are good enough to win if not all games. Turnovers and lack of offense are killing us. We don't play inside out very well. Every point can't come from the paint. We have to have our shooters in the right spot and ready to shoot and not hesitate. Fear of missing is the greatest detriment to any shooter.