Purdue bball 2016/17: Navigating razor thin depth

[FirstDownB]

Superstition has stopped me from posting this before now, but with the SBTRSC (Sole Big Ten Regular Season Championship) in hand, I'll throw caution to the wind..

This team has been very fortunate this year to have accomplished what it has with essentially 8 scholarship players available. The front court had little depth to start the season, and with Basil tapping out, I thought that would be the last straw. Any injury, extended illness, suspension, whatever would have been a back breaker. True, losing JT prior to the season sucked, but to get through the past month or so with all 8 guys healthy has been very fortunate.
And although staying healthy may require some luck, props to trainers, staff, and the players themselves for doing their part.

While luck may be thanked for the health issue, to me the most improbable part of making this 8 man team work is how well they have stayed out of foul trouble. And it is not by chance - Biggie and others have done a masterful job of playing within the 5 foul limit, even when the opponent is going after them trying to create foul trouble. You can see game after game the line is walked between aggressiveness and over-aggressiveness, smart fouls and dumb fouls.

Navigating this issue of depth has been perhaps the most impressive accomplishment of this team and coaching staff this year.

 

[boiler_pride]

Maybe related - but I wonder if Painter changed how "hard" we practiced throughout the season. I felt like in some of the past seasons, our guys would look out of gas late February and early March (and we'd have more injuries) but that hasn't happened in the last few years.

 

[FirstDownB]

Maybe related - but I wonder if Painter changed how "hard" we practiced throughout the season. I felt like in some of the past seasons, our guys would look out of gas late February and early March (and we'd have more injuries) but that hasn't happened in the last few years.

Perhaps. Does make you wonder what minor injuries guys are playing through. Haven't heard much on that end lately. Hopefully the 4 days off between IU and NW and the 4 between NW and BTT will help with some of that.

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

Superstition has stopped me from posting this before now, but with the SBTRSC (Sole Big Ten Regular Season Championship) in hand, I'll throw caution to the wind..

This team has been very fortunate this year to have accomplished what it has with essentially 8 scholarship players available. The front court had little depth to start the season, and with Basil tapping out, I thought that would be the last straw. Any injury, extended illness, suspension, whatever would have been a back breaker. True, losing JT prior to the season sucked, but to get through the past month or so with all 8 guys healthy has been very fortunate.
And although staying healthy may require some luck, props to trainers, staff, and the players themselves for doing their part.

While luck may be thanked for the health issue, to me the most improbable part of making this 8 man team work is how well they have stayed out of foul trouble. And it is not by chance - Biggie and others have done a masterful job of playing within the 5 foul limit, even when the opponent is going after them trying to create foul trouble. You can see game after game the line is walked between aggressiveness and over-aggressiveness, smart fouls and dumb fouls.

Navigating this issue of depth has been perhaps the most impressive accomplishment of this team and coaching staff this year.

Interesting points, FDB. Although there may have been a little more foul "avoidance" than some of us would like to see, I do think there has been a remarkably lower number of silly fouls this year than any season I can remember in recent memory. That's not factoring in the sometimes head-scratching "Lumberjack - Timmmburrrr" fouls assessed against IH this year. CS played with some foul trouble against Villanova, so I think if it happens to show up in a tournament game, I think he can handle it.

Seems like Vincent, Carsen, Isacc Haas, and Spike were the only publicized injury situations this year....with Spike's being the most severe to keep him out a while. Hey, you need some of that.....we all know Purdue's been on the wrong side of that equation before. Wishing for continued good fortune on that front.