Wol, I know that you know this roster, so either your post isn’t very well thought out or isn’t very well articulated (the third option is that I’m just not understanding, which is a possibility).
Whether Evan chose Purdue with the intent of coming off the bench or not is a relevant. I personally think he’ll start, but that will only happen if he’s one of the best five. This seems like a year where Matt could try some different starting combinations and any one aside from Carson could find themselves coming off of the bed.
Comparing Haarms minutes to prior centers is irrelevant. Matt would have loved to have played both AJ and Isaac more minutes, but Issac‘s size and AJ‘s conditioning prevented him from doing so. It does not appear that Matt will face either of those issues.
You are correct in that Matt will play freshman, but if no one redshirts, who loses minutes? There are only 200 minutes in a regulation game and you’d have to think that Carsen and Nojel will play as many minutes as they can handle. There just aren’t enough minutes to go around.
a given - this is not a Senior laden team. I'm not so sure that Painter likes the same players this board is in love with. and for that reason, I believe he's going to use a lot of different combinations in the preseason to find that right combination. In doing so, I have to believe he will give out a lot more minutes to bench players early in the season. I believe once the BIG 10 season starts, you will see a set starting line-up and rotation . but before that, I think we could see many variations.
As for minutes given out, I don't believe Edwards or Eastern will play as many minutes early in the season as they will in the second half. I fully expect to see some blow-out games and Painter sitting his known starters rather than padding their stats.
last year was Haas' senior year, and this will be Haarm's second year. I don't expect haarms to play more than an average of 25 minutes. the question is, will Painter give those remaining 15 minutes to Dow, Williams or Evan? or a combination of all three? Will he go with the rim protector in Dow? or will he go small ball with Evan at the 5?
who will start at the 4? I believe Evan will be the starter at the 4 at the beginning of the year, but Williams is also a very talented player. Is Williams talented enough to force his way into gaining starter's minutes? I believe the answer is yes, although I'm not sure if that will happen. Evan is a scorer as is Williams. Will Painter use their offensive scoring talents? or will they take a lesser scoring role?
Wheeler is a wild card. I'd like him to play at the three. But I realize he could play at the 3 or 4. if he plays at the 3, would he start over Cline? if he plays at the 4, would he start over Evan or Williams? is Wheeler a potential starter? or a super utility guy to bring off the bench? Should Wheeler start over Cline? That would be a huge shift in Painter's system. that would indicate he wants more rebounding over perimeter shooting. We shall see.
my track record / opinion on Cline is long and it hasn't changed much. I'm not his #1 fan. I'm also not a fan of the 3 guard system. Cline can shoot. But so can many other Boilers. Will painter keep his offense of spreading the ball around? or will he allow Edwards and Eastern to take more shots? if Eastern and Edwards take more shots, they would come at the expense of Cline. And if Cline isn't going to take many shots, would it be better to replace him with Wheeler? on the other hand, Cline is a known commodity. We may see Cline play fewer minutes in the preseason as painter uses his minutes to evaluate younger players and combinations. And Cline may see greater player time later in the year.
and then you have Hunter and Sasha. both are very talented players. Sasha and Wheeler were invited to play on a USA summer team. Maybe that will shed some light on what position and minutes they will play for Purdue.
I have a lot of confidence in Eastern and Edwards. I'm the guy who said Eastern should start over PJ knowing that PJ was already an experienced and talented player. I had that much confidence in Eastern's talent and work ethic..
and that is the dilemma. This current team has a lot of talent. this team has a lot more talent than many previous teams. I'm just not sure how that talent will play out. Unlike previous years, I'm not sure what the right combination will be. I think we have seen in the past, once Painter finds the combination he likes, he doesn't usually change it much. At this time, Painter has the option of going in several different directions. but to decide which option is best, I believe Painter will give out a lot of minutes early to a lot of different players. As a result, I believe the average minutes in the preseason will differ a lot verses the BIg 10 season.
there's a lot of unanswered questions. but I do believe the talent is there.