Leading up to the season, we're going to do a little spiel on each of Purdue's scholarship players, as kind of a preview mechanism for the season to come. We will go alphabetically.
Please understand that this is based largely on personal opinion.
Today: Guard Dakota Mathias
About: Mathias emerged from the Shooting Guard Hunger Games mid-last season after being frustrated earlier by his minutes, then shook off another illness, before finishing the season playing at the highest level of his career to this point.
He was really, really good on offense to close his junior season, better on defense than he's been and now poised, one would think, to pick up right where he left off now that he's a junior. Consistent minutes - and big ones - probably lie ahead, which should be a welcomed sight for him. He averaged 18.6 in Big Ten play last year.
But in those minutes in conference play, he upped his field goal percentage to nearly 49 percent and shot 42 percent from three-point range despite falling ill midseason. And had P.J. Thompson not broken the school's single-season assist-to-turnover ratio record, Mathias would hold it.
He is Purdue's best all-around offensive player in the backcourt when taking into his account his passing, IQ, decision-making and ball-handling on top of his shooting and he should be more empowered and confident than he's ever been at Purdue. Oh, and he's Purdue's most proven "clutch" (if that's a real thing) player, considering the shots he made against Florida, at Wisconsin and against Maryland and Michigan State a year ago.
Defensively, he's never going to be Ron Artest, but he's improved, tries hard, has the smarts to be more effective than he should be physically and is one of the players who might benefit from tweaks to Purdue's scheme if they stick. This lane-protection model Purdue's working in preseason practices should theoretically alleviate some pressure against the dribble on players like Mathias, Ryan Cline and Caleb Swanigan.
It will be a novelty for Mathias to open a season healthy, which he's on pace to do right now provided me writing this doesn't immediately cause a piano on his head. We'll keep you posted.
Projected Role: Barring anything unforeseen, Mathias will be Purdue's starting shooting guard and will not have a cap on his minutes like he did a year ago, especially the first half of the season. Ryan Cline and Carsen Edwards will each get significant minutes in a similar role, but Purdue is going to have so many more three-guard lineups on the floor this season that there should be plenty of minutes to go around for all of them.
This will be an emphasis on Mathias' conditioning, too. He's logged big minutes in his career before. Now, Purdue will need him to every night. Shouldn't be an issue, provided he stays healthy.
What To Expect: Confidence. That's a central theme around a bunch of Purdue players this season and should apply to Mathias, too. Confidence has never been an issue, per se, but the convergence of confidence and opportunity could transform to start this season.
He's not yet started a season strong at Purdue, but health issues have certainly contributed to that.
At the end of last season, Mathias was really asserting himself on offense and it clearly made Purdue better. That should be his new normal and a consistent thing for Purdue.
Prior Purdue Player Previews (say that 10 times fast): Spike Albrecht | Ryan Cline | Vincent Edwards | Isaac Haas
Please understand that this is based largely on personal opinion.
Today: Guard Dakota Mathias
About: Mathias emerged from the Shooting Guard Hunger Games mid-last season after being frustrated earlier by his minutes, then shook off another illness, before finishing the season playing at the highest level of his career to this point.
He was really, really good on offense to close his junior season, better on defense than he's been and now poised, one would think, to pick up right where he left off now that he's a junior. Consistent minutes - and big ones - probably lie ahead, which should be a welcomed sight for him. He averaged 18.6 in Big Ten play last year.
But in those minutes in conference play, he upped his field goal percentage to nearly 49 percent and shot 42 percent from three-point range despite falling ill midseason. And had P.J. Thompson not broken the school's single-season assist-to-turnover ratio record, Mathias would hold it.
He is Purdue's best all-around offensive player in the backcourt when taking into his account his passing, IQ, decision-making and ball-handling on top of his shooting and he should be more empowered and confident than he's ever been at Purdue. Oh, and he's Purdue's most proven "clutch" (if that's a real thing) player, considering the shots he made against Florida, at Wisconsin and against Maryland and Michigan State a year ago.
Defensively, he's never going to be Ron Artest, but he's improved, tries hard, has the smarts to be more effective than he should be physically and is one of the players who might benefit from tweaks to Purdue's scheme if they stick. This lane-protection model Purdue's working in preseason practices should theoretically alleviate some pressure against the dribble on players like Mathias, Ryan Cline and Caleb Swanigan.
It will be a novelty for Mathias to open a season healthy, which he's on pace to do right now provided me writing this doesn't immediately cause a piano on his head. We'll keep you posted.
Projected Role: Barring anything unforeseen, Mathias will be Purdue's starting shooting guard and will not have a cap on his minutes like he did a year ago, especially the first half of the season. Ryan Cline and Carsen Edwards will each get significant minutes in a similar role, but Purdue is going to have so many more three-guard lineups on the floor this season that there should be plenty of minutes to go around for all of them.
This will be an emphasis on Mathias' conditioning, too. He's logged big minutes in his career before. Now, Purdue will need him to every night. Shouldn't be an issue, provided he stays healthy.
What To Expect: Confidence. That's a central theme around a bunch of Purdue players this season and should apply to Mathias, too. Confidence has never been an issue, per se, but the convergence of confidence and opportunity could transform to start this season.
He's not yet started a season strong at Purdue, but health issues have certainly contributed to that.
At the end of last season, Mathias was really asserting himself on offense and it clearly made Purdue better. That should be his new normal and a consistent thing for Purdue.
Prior Purdue Player Previews (say that 10 times fast): Spike Albrecht | Ryan Cline | Vincent Edwards | Isaac Haas
