Stephens looks GOOD!
- Thread starter joe for prez
- Start date
Please refrain from posting positive statements regarding Stephens on this site. It interferes with the agenda of the clueless haters.
And quite frankly, I'd rather avoid pointing out when he does have good days - because it will just egg the people to post when he does have ONE bad pass all over this board.
Just let it go - he's a good player. He doesn't need to be hyper-analyzed when everyone else gets a pass.
He did look good today and I hope it continues. Unlike you sheep who won't recognize poor play when it happens, I have no agenda and will give him credit when it is due. He's done a great job of playing to his strengths and away from his weaknesses so far. Would love for him to keep playing that way all season.
Tell me why lazy passing isn't fair criticism? Why does that make me hyper-critical?
It was not, "ONE bad pass," but a perceivable trend. Otherwise, why would so many people point it out? Ibodel, are you the only one allowed to be opinionated on this board?
Back to the topic at hand--Kendall's passing was crisp and decisive today and last week. I think he's also out of his shooting slump and will have a great year. Sixth man of the year quality.
It was not, "ONE bad pass," but a perceivable trend. Otherwise, why would so many people point it out? Ibodel, are you the only one allowed to be opinionated on this board?
Back to the topic at hand--Kendall's passing was crisp and decisive today and last week. I think he's also out of his shooting slump and will have a great year. Sixth man of the year quality.
No because it's not rooted in fact. It's no different than the people who say we're horrible at in-bounds play under Painter. Do we have ANY backing that we have more problems with it than any other team? No. It just becomes a "theme" when someone points it out each time. Other teams have issues too, we just don't watch every minute of those teams.
Has Stephens made bad passes? Absolutely and he can trim it down. And considering our team LED the Big Ten in turnovers, I'd say everyone can work on trimming down their turnovers. Do I think HE is just a major problem for us? Absolutely not.
I have never once seen Painter refer to Stephens as having a turnover problem, a bad passer, etc. Thus, to me, it's not worth HARPING on.
Every year this board has to find someone to dump on. Remember when people posted that E'Twaun didn't play with passion? Or that Hammons didn't care, even after games where he was the only Boiler diving on the floor for loose balls? Or that Tacos was using up the scholarship that could have gone to some 5-star stud, even when there were still open scholarships? People draw conclusions based on a lack of facial expressions, body language, or internet rumors. Then, to prove their point, they'll start watching just that player very closely, and when he finally does something wrong, they'll rush to the board and crow about it.
Last year his play was singled out because it deserved it. It was real in spite of what lbodel says and was actually very obvious to those of us who cheer for the team instead of trying to worship an individual player that they hitched their wagon to before he even scored a point at Purdue.
Because those are the only two kinds of people who post on this board?
Last year, what was obvious to those who follow and cheer for Purdue was that Stephens was injured and not playing up to his early season, pre-injury play. In fact, there are recent stories about it. Do you really want to criticize an injured player for not playing as well as he could, and then claim that anyone who disagrees with you is worshipping that player?
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Please find 1 time I just gushed about Stephens. I just think it is ridiculous how people act on here about him. Sorry if I defend someone in a Purdue uniform. Did he have a good year last year? No. But I also know he was playing with an injured hand throughout the Big Ten season - and before his injury he was shooting nearly 50% from 3. Matt Painter has praised him as one of our better interior feeders and has never criticized his turnovers, passing, etc.
But hey, that doesn't fit into your labels of him so please disregard.
Stop sensationalizing. You're the one saying what we can and cannot say on this message board. YOU disergard.
Stephens made poor swing passes during motion. He took for granted that his man would move open and that led to 4 or 5 break away buckets last year. He had a higher turnover rate per minute than both of our Point Guards last year. That is high for a guy who's role is to catch and shoot.
Again, I think his struggles are over and will have an outstanding season. But just because he wears a Purdue uniform does not make him infallible or immune to scrutiny.
I'm not the only one who thinks this issue has been beaten to death and I'm not sensationalizing. The amount of posts about this is over the top. Recently, someone complained about him shooting too many 3s without having seen the game they were complaining about. When I mentioned that the entire team shot a lot, including Swanigan shooting more 3s than shots inside the arc, the response I got was "this topic is only about Stephens". Seems odd you only want to focus on 1 player when the entire team shot a lot of 3s.
I wrote an entire post the other day about how last year, we turned the ball over more than any other team in the conference. Every single player on this roster needed to trim down the number of turnovers they had and having turnovers like that will negate our solid rebounding advantage that we should have each game. But there are a number of guys that had too many turnovers last year, not just one. I'm not sure why just 1 gets called out for it. Particularly when you don't see Painter mentioning it one time. Painter is not exactly shy - if it's a "problem" in his eyes, you're gonna know. Yes, could Stephens had fewer turnovers last year? Absolutely. But do you think Painter spends as much time worrying about it as this forum has? Gonna go with a resounding no on that.
So you're saying we should continue to dwell on last year's mistakes and not move forward with this year's potential for success?
If that's what you think I said, then you did not read my full posts despite quoting me. You are not worth engaging any further.
Kendall a possible 6th man of the year?? I think so, when O is struggling he will be the guy we go to a lot this season.
Sixth man is the perfect role for him and I've been saying that for almost two years now although on the premium board. GBI set expectations way too high for him and most of the fish bought it. He has some big holes in his game but hopefully all the talent around him will allow him to keep playing to his strengths and hide other aspects of his game.
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