We will be fine at the point...

[*4purdue*]

we have 3'quality pg's IMO. Hill will probably start with PJ getting equal minutes. The way Mathias played, I wouldn't be suprised if CMP starts him at the point either. It's going to be a great season, now let's get AJ back and we will be really dominant.

 

[BoilerNGold013]

People are so scared about Mathias vs. the dreaded "press" I think if he really had too, he would have no more problem than Hill or Thompson would. I think when he is healthy, Mathias is a very good athlete and of course very smart which are the two things you need to be when breaking a press.

 

[tjreese]

People are so scared about Mathias vs. the dreaded "press" I think if he really had too, he would have no more problem than Hill or Thompson would. I think when he is healthy, Mathias is a very good athlete and of course very smart which are the two things you need to be when breaking a press.

Those are real important to break a zone press...not so much against man press IMO. Dakota can do okay on offense, but I'm not sure he can guard the 1 and if he doesn't who does? Davis will be on 2's and 3's. Now it is possible to play Dakota and PJ and let Dakota with his height actually handle the ball against a zone in the half and PJ go to a wing and PJ guard the 1 on the other end. Not sure where HIll plays if not PG...unless it is "situational D" and just looking to stop guards on the other team. I certainly need to see more of them, but I think they can be good

 

[proudopete]

we have 3'quality pg's IMO. Hill will probably start with PJ getting equal minutes. The way Mathias played, I wouldn't be suprised if CMP starts him at the point either. It's going to be a great season, now let's get AJ back and we will be really dominant.

I didn't see much separation between the two. Hill was better defensively but PJ had his moments as well.
PJ hit a 3 but Hill broke the zone with a nice drive and floater.
The best part to me was neither one stood out and pretty much seemed invisible which to was a good thing.

I think the jury is still out and situations could be the deciding factor as they both played solid against the competition we faced tonight.

I agree on Mathias somewhat but I am even more sold on Edwards in that position after seeing him tonight. Not as a point guard but as a point forward.
I think he can bring the ball up as well as anyone else we have if not even better.

Edwards and whichever shooter is the hottest, I hope it's Stephens but wouldn't mind Dakota, with Ray, Biggie and AJ, and I think right there is your powerhouse 5.

Each player in that group is a threat on both ends of the floor and gives us plenty of threat from deep if teams want to pack it in on our bigs.

Can't wait for Friday.

 

[BoilerNGold013]

Just a note about PJ, in shoot-around he looked like Rick Mount. PJ missed like only 2 or 3 shots from behind the arc the whole time! I was stunned. I certainly think he can be a threat this year from the offensive end. Also, Hill's shot didn't look as bad as I thought it would. Its a little funky but I honestly like it way more than Octeus' shot and think Hill could be serviceable from behind the arc if teams play way off of him.

 

[BoilerNGold013]

Those are real important to break a zone press...not so much against man press IMO. Dakota can do okay on offense, but I'm not sure he can guard the 1 and if he doesn't who does? Davis will be on 2's and 3's. Now it is possible to play Dakota and PJ and let Dakota with his height actually handle the ball against a zone in the half and PJ go to a wing and PJ guard the 1 on the other end. Not sure where HIll plays if not PG...unless it is "situational D" and just looking to stop guards on the other team. I certainly need to see more of them, but I think they can be good

See thats the thing. Guarding the 1 spot isn't that big of a deal with the talent we have on the back end. Lets take a hypothetical. Say when the team plays in Bloomington this year Mathias is out there with Vince, Ray, Biggie, and Haas/Hammons. I would feel fine putting him on Boo-Boo b/c I think Mathias can guard him tight enough to keep him off of the 3-point line and if he gets beat, let the trees take care of the support. As long as the defense is rotating well, I would be fine having Mathias at the 1 for extended periods.

 

[FinallyABoilerFinal4]

"If you have two starting quarterbacks, you don't have one."

If you have 3 good point guards, you don't have one great one. It doesn't matter who starts at point. The 3 candidates are completely different, but pretty much equal. It's a funny thing, I saw enough stud plays from P.J. last year to be excited about him starting this year. Then Hill was signed. Then the Mathias talk started. Now, I'm not especially excited about any of them and just want Vince, Raph, Biggie, and Bigger to be handling the ball as much as possible.

 

[tjreese]

See thats the thing. Guarding the 1 spot isn't that big of a deal with the talent we have on the back end. Lets take a hypothetical. Say when the team plays in Bloomington this year Mathias is out there with Vince, Ray, Biggie, and Haas/Hammons. I would feel fine putting him on Boo-Boo b/c I think Mathias can guard him tight enough to keep him off of the 3-point line and if he gets beat, let the trees take care of the support. As long as the defense is rotating well, I would be fine having Mathias at the 1 for extended periods.

if you are playing players that don't have an in-between game, you can do that. Good players have in between games...or Matt loosen up on the perimeter D if Dakota was to guard the pg. Don't get me wrong...Dakota could guard that position in the half court, but Matt would need to alter his approach and I don't see that happening unless it is a very positive on the offensive end. Also, understand that every time you lose a player on D and someone helps, you are probably in bad rebounding position and are more likely to leave a player open. Wisconsin is very much a positional D, which Purdue could do, but Matt prefers pressure....AND depth may be huge for Purdue this year. Defense is set by the pg position. Melo Trimble, would get his shoulders behind Dakota and pull up...so would Russell (last year at OSU) and I think we can see the same thing out of Carson in a couple of years for Purdue. Years ago before the 3 pt line THE N-BETWEEN GAME WAS THE GAME. Many players are missing that now. The 3 pt line has taken a lot of skill out of the game for high school players..a lot of youngsters don't really know the game in high school now...

Course the game has an offensive lean today and that does favor Dakota...

 

[purdue4sure]

"If you have two starting quarterbacks, you don't have one."

If you have 3 good point guards, you don't have one great one. It doesn't matter who starts at point. The 3 candidates are completely different, but pretty much equal. It's a funny thing, I saw enough stud plays from P.J. last year to be excited about him starting this year. Then Hill was signed. Then the Mathias talk started. Now, I'm not especially excited about any of them and just want Vince, Raph, Biggie, and Bigger to be handling the ball as much as possible.

yaaaaawwwnnn...

 

[JBoiler14]

I am in the start PJ bandwagon. I think he can be enough of a pest on D, and not turn the ball over/hit open shots on offense to be what this team needs

 

[lbodel]

I am in the start PJ bandwagon. I think he can be enough of a pest on D, and not turn the ball over/hit open shots on offense to be what this team needs

I think in many cases, given the differences between Hill and PJ, you'll see it on a match-up basis a lot. Both will still play, but some times PJ does not match up as well because of his size, etc.

 

[FinallyABoilerFinal4]

Does not matter one ounce who starts. Hill is the best defender. PJ is the best scorer. Dakota is the best decision maker. Your choice is just personal preference.

 

[Dryfly88]

Too small of sample size to say for sure. If I had to assign minutes I would go 25 to Hill and 15 to PJ. As others have said they bring different strengths to the table. I just personally like the length on defense that Hill has over PJ. I will be very happy to say I'm wrong as the season progresses.

 

[DG10]

we have 3'quality pg's IMO. Hill will probably start with PJ getting equal minutes. The way Mathias played, I wouldn't be suprised if CMP starts him at the point either. It's going to be a great season, now let's get AJ back and we will be really dominant.

I don't disagree with the notion/assertion that Purdue will be "fine" at the PG...just disappointing that they could be great if they were more than fine at that particular position, particularly given that it was a known issue going into each of the past two seasons.

 

[*4purdue*]

I don't disagree with the notion/assertion that Purdue will be "fine" at the PG...just disappointing that they could be great if they were more than fine at that particular position, particularly given that it was a known issue going into each of the past two seasons.

I think this team is going to be great. We are solid at every position, including the point. In CMP's system, the point has never been the star. They just need to play D & get the ball to the Swanigan, AJ, Haas & Edwards. I think with what we have between the 3 playing that spot, this is going to be a great team.

 

[DG10]

I think this team is going to be great. We are solid at every position, including the point. In CMP's system, the point has never been the star. They just need to play D & get the ball to the Swanigan, AJ, Haas & Edwards. I think with what we have between the 3 playing that spot, this is going to be a great team.

This team has the potential to be really good, if not great...had they had a legitimate PG, the potential for greatness would be more likely...Octeus on this team is the difference between a solid Sweet 16 caliber team and a legitimate FF team.

Their primary role is what you had suggested with respect to playing D and getting the ball to the bigs, but someone like Octeus had that same primary role, but made the team that much better in that he did more than that...he was a leader at both ends...he was a threat on the offensive end and one of the best on the team at the other end...and he was a tremendous rebounder as well.

In addition, this team lacks some genuine athleticism and speed, something else that Octeus provided and that another really good PG could/would have as well.

 

[BoilerDaddy]

This team has the potential to be really good, if not great...had they had a legitimate PG, the potential for greatness would be more likely...Octeus on this team is the difference between a solid Sweet 16 caliber team and a legitimate FF team.

Their primary role is what you had suggested with respect to playing D and getting the ball to the bigs, but someone like Octeus had that same primary role, but made the team that much better in that he did more than that...he was a leader at both ends...he was a threat on the offensive end and one of the best on the team at the other end...and he was a tremendous rebounder as well.

In addition, this team lacks some genuine athleticism and speed, something else that Octeus provided and that another really good PG could/would have as well.

It's just one scrimmage, but Hill looked quick and athletic to me. Several of the guys looked like they've improved their athleticism. Purdue won't be mistaken for IU this season, but they have better athleticism than last season, IMO.

 

[BoilerDaddy]

It's just one scrimmage, but Hill looked quick and athletic to me. Several of the guys looked like they've improved their athleticism. Purdue won't be mistaken for IU this season, but they have better athleticism than last season, IMO.

I will caveat what I just said by saying that Purdue is intentionally trading some athleticism for size with Biggie, but I like the athleticism of Edwards, Davis, and Hill on the perimeter.

 

[JohnHoosierr]

Will we be "fine" at pg? Sure. But it is still the weakness of this team. That and probably 3pt shooting.