One of the things I'm most disappointed with is the lack of pt for Scott and Smotherman. These were two guys who are good athletes with solid basketball potential who never see the floor. I'm sorry but there's just no way Thompson is better than Scott. I've seen both with my own eyes. Scott makes mistakes but at least he also has big-play potential at both ends. Thompson seems to accrue just as many bad turnovers and rarely makes positive contributions against big ten teams. As for Smotherman, he's the other side of the coin to Mathias. You have to figure in a game where Purdue struggles to rebound and stop the dribble that the most athletic player on the team would get a shot at fixing those categories.
For all the talk of "getting older" as a team Painter won't be aiding that strategy if Scott or Smotherman or both transfer after this season. Who can blame them? They've got way too much potential to constantly ride the pine especially for a team that's not having much success. John Octeus isn't getting a sixth year and another Octeus just isn't going to fall out of the sky. If Scott transfers and Purdue plays some combo of Thompson, Weatherford, Mathias and Edwards at the point next year, well, then Purdue will probably lose a lot of games.
For all the talk of "getting older" as a team Painter won't be aiding that strategy if Scott or Smotherman or both transfer after this season. Who can blame them? They've got way too much potential to constantly ride the pine especially for a team that's not having much success. John Octeus isn't getting a sixth year and another Octeus just isn't going to fall out of the sky. If Scott transfers and Purdue plays some combo of Thompson, Weatherford, Mathias and Edwards at the point next year, well, then Purdue will probably lose a lot of games.
