Trying to give impressions on a team when seeing them once playing against each other can be misleading due to the players knowing each other better than the other team knows them and knowing the playing structure for the team allowing players to cheat a little. That said I went to the second scrimmage to 1) see John Hill and he didn't play. 2) Watch biggie play and see if he surprises 3)see how much more athletic Vince was 4) watch Ryan cline play and see if he is quick enough as a freshman to play 5)Watch Jacqui Taylor 6) Watch Grant Weatherford play and see if he can play this year. So temper everything based upon a single intra-squad scrimmage as rarely does one game tell the story
Teams played man and zone switching players for all three scrimmages. There is a lot that can be said and so I'll condense this. Hill didn't play, but Biggie exceeded my expectations...not in stats (which must be good), but in things that can carry over every game. I expected him to be a board man due to the attention AJ and Haas would gather, but he doesn't need it. He is already very mature in that aspect. I cannot recall another Purdue player in the last 20 years that was aggressive going to the offensive glass as Biggie. The last player was Ian Stanback that had that offensive board mentality. I expected Biggie to be a good passer, but his vision is better than I thought. He will be a handful at the high post as he draws contact and shields the ball. Internal passing with Biggie at a high post will be solid as well as getting some outlets. He did commit a couple of cheap fouls, but his board aggressiveness and vision will be there every game. He is going to make Purdue very lethal inside. Impressive for a kid that hasn't played a college game. Purdue fans are going to like him and I never did think he was a one and done, but I'm going to shut my mouth to see him play some more because I was very impressed with him ...again one game
Vince, is quicker and more athletic...no question. I never paid attention to see if he was dropping the ball from the pocket and slowing down his shot, but his shot in structure play did not seem that much quicker to me. However, he was more aggressive with the ball and took the ball on a break in traffic and flushed it. He is quicker with the ball in driving and shooting. Yes, this very skilled player is now more athletic. In warm ups I thought he was too passive and might get him off to a slow start, but he played well and made a nice tip with his left hand on a hustle play. Vince and Biggie are two 6'8" and 6'9" players that are more skilled than many players their size. Both can do a lot of things and both will be match-up problems for other teams in man. Both will help with presses and both can play the high post...although I think Vince will be out on a wing more. Purdue fans...these guys may not be the most flashy players, but make no mistake...BOTH are good!
Ryan Cline...fared better than I thought he might with quickness. There were times I thought red-shirt Kendall and play Cline! I think he may have went 4/4 on the 3 ball in one stretch. This kid is a machine in that outside of nerves, his mechanics are so good that I don't think he will be quite as streaky as Kendall and could very easily come off the bench and hit shots cold. He will get some pub with his shooting. Part of me says how good could he be with a red-shirt and another part of me still sees Kendall a little streaky and he may be needed. FWIW...Dakota never shot much I don't think. He was solid, took good shots and handled PJ's pressure fine (Hill was out). Smart player that I do think has a little quicker stroke than last year. Always a place for heady players like Dakota...another passer. Two or three years ago Purdue was a lousy passing team...and I think all good teams pass the ball well. Purdue has a few passers on this team.
Jacquil Taylor 6'10" is rusty from injuries and red-shirt last year. I know he has the right attitude and I see sufficient athleticism to be a good player, but he is a little raw right now. He won't surprise me to become a pretty good player before he leaves Purdue though as he has 4 years to get it together and he knows it. Kid is a Boiler and we will know more about him in a couple of years. I don't see him getting a lot of time this year...when the Big starts anyhow.
Grant Weatherford was a person I never watched in high school and so I didn't know much about him other than what I read. Will he ever be a major offensive threat? IF not, maybe there is no reason to red-shirt him? He can help this team if the team is not needing him to score and just needs him to wear on a player for five minutes. Five minutes of fatigue and harassment of another player may be the difference in a ball game.
There were other things, but that was my interest. I do NOT fear a zone or man played against Purdue. Again biggie is a magnet on the boards and draws contact almost every time he touches the ball. The inner passing was pretty good! The unknown to me other than what Hill brings (and he didn't play) is how Purdue 1) handles pressure and 2) gets in a scoring threat with plenty of clock. Purdue cannot simulate that quickness in a scrimmage. It can be simulated in practice with extra players. However, other teams cannot simulate the size of Purdue...EVER! This team can be good, but there is so much depth it will be hard for early season jell due to so many players fighting for time. I left on a positive note. I think Purdue fans are going to see a good team. Turnovers will get better
http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools...16/misc_non_event/16-mbb-scrimmagestats02.pdf