Sasha Stefanovic comitts to Purdue

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

I'd say Cline has made himself into a passable defender, and Mathias has made himself into a great defender (didn't you hear Jockitch jizzing over him through the whole broadcast?)

said DM could be Big Ten DPOY

 

[Cevol03]

said DM could be Big Ten DPOY

DM has made big improvements on defense but that comment from Dakich was ridiculous

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

DM has made big improvements on defense but that comment from Dakich was ridiculous

He was probably over-selling it to be candid. I think a lot of the post-season conference awards will be interesting.....might see more than usual differences between the coaches and media. DM at a minimum should get "consideration" for 3rd team all-conference IMO.

 

[lbodel]

He was probably over-selling it to be candid. I think a lot of the post-season conference awards will be interesting.....might see more than usual differences between the coaches and media. DM at a minimum should get "consideration" for 3rd team all-conference IMO.

Mathias made some great defensive plays today (and some on the amazing Melo...).

It may seem ridiculous to us, but not sure who would be the clear leader for it?

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

Mathias made some great defensive plays today (and some on the amazing Melo...).

It may seem ridiculous to us, but not sure who would be the clear leader for it?

Ibodel,

I don't know if there is a clear leader....no-one jumps out at me off the top of my head....Anunoby unfortunately went down....he would have been a contender for it. There's plenty of solid defenders, though. Happ was all-defense last year, so I guess he would be the front-runner right now, I suppose.

 

[Dakota Girl]

Every team needs a player or two like Mathias, Cline, PJ, Sasha, Ryne Smith, etc. The problem is when we have several those guys at the same time that play significant minutes, we will struggle against teams with athletic guards like we have against Louisville, Minny, UALR, etc. Then when we lose these games, we get a bunch of "Fire Painter" threads where folks incorrectly blame scheme and in-game coaching for issues that are really caused by personnel limitations. Hopefully this dynamic will change with a backcourt of Eastern and Edwards. But CMP does seems to be doubling down a bit on the highly skilled, unathletic shooting guard types in the last several years. Teams that advance in March generally have dynamic athletes at the guard position - and we wonder why we struggle to make deep tourney runs.

Don't forget Wheeler is athletic and the JUCO 4 is athletic as well. For that matter Haarms is athletic for a 7'2" guy. Not sure why you see Sasha as a problem in terms of team athleticism.

 

[BoilerAndy]

Not to throw a wet blanket on this commitment, but if he's such a good get, why were not other high majors after him? We were his best offer by a long shot. Maybe Painter's putting together a team where a spot up 3 pt shooter is needed but why can't we get a good 3 pt shooter who can also create their own shot and score in the lane?

Did you read the article?

 

[BoilerAndy]

Interestingly in the article he says:
Stefanovic is careful about what he says, calling his top four choices Valparaiso, Evansville, Loyola and Northern Iowa. "My heart is with those four schools," he said.

And then.....commits to Purdue. Shows how crazy recruiting is....

Looks like he was being careful because he did not have an offer from the school he really wanted to attend.

http://www.jconline.com/story/sport.../sasha-stefanovic-commits-to-purdue/97446266/

 

[nagemj02]

It's hard to tell who the best defender is in the B1G: I think Reggie Lynch of Minnesota leads the B1G in blocks per game but it also seems like he fouls out of every game! I don't know how Ethan Happ averages as many steals per game as he does at his size: I assume that he's a very high IQ player that anticipates well.

I think shortening the shot-clock from 35 to 30 seconds prior to the start of last season has made more of a difference than some people have realized. Scoring has been up with teams across the board (B1G and nationally) last season and this season and that seems to be having a kind of effect where the real standout defenders aren't as clear-cut as they were just a few seasons ago.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

said DM could be Big Ten DPOY

It made me wonder if DM underwent plastic surgery to make himself look like Aaron Craft!

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

It made me wonder if DM underwent plastic surgery to make himself look like Aaron Craft!

Up there on the all-time opponent "pesky" defenders....he rarely let up, if at all.

 

[daisyrail1619]

Sasha so far is more athletic than Mathias, he can speed up. But we need to build him into a D instead of an O. He needs time to improve. From what I know of this guy, his family originally from Russia, his father was a pro in Russia. About his college choice, I'd say if Purdue gives him an offer he would immediately take it no matter what. His older brother graduated from Purdue and his family is crazy with Purdue MBB. Dakota was not proven to be like a good defender when we were recruiting him, players like Dakota and Sasha need time to build up skills, they have potentials to be unexpectedly great, it's only about time.