Western Illinois v. Purdue Game Thread

[Boiler Wolf]

Thought the game start time was 6 central. Got home from work early at 6:10 and was surprised to see the game in the 2nd half.

However, what I did see is that IH could get position closer to the basket than he could against ND. When he posts up that close, hard to stop him. He still has no shot past 5 feet. I was trying to think of another college player like that and thought of Shaq when he was at LSU. In fact, I don't think Shaq had many shots beyond 5 feet in the pros. Difference is IH hits his throws, so "hack a Hass" isn't an option for the opponent.

It was mostly garbage time when I tuned in, but even so, I was disappointed in the play of Carsen. Was really looking for his shot both outside and in drives, and forced a lot. I hear others say we need him in the game because he is the only one that can create his shot. Probably true, but when he does he needs to make them. Expected more from him against this level of competition. Hopefully just an off night and a learning experience. You could tell when he got to the line that he wasn't that happy either and seemed frustrated. Only hit about half of his free throws too. Meanwhile I thought PJ had another solid game. Vince was the good Vince and Biggie was a beast.

Only saw the last 15 minutes, so I could be wrong in my observations.

 

[mathboy]

Thought the game start time was 6 central. Got home from work early at 6:10 and was surprised to see the game in the 2nd half.

However, what I did see is that IH could get position closer to the basket than he could against ND. When he posts up that close, hard to stop him. He still has no shot past 5 feet. I was trying to think of another college player like that and thought of Shaq when he was at LSU. In fact, I don't think Shaq had many shots beyond 5 feet in the pros. Difference is IH hits his throws, so "hack a Hass" isn't an option for the opponent.

It was mostly garbage time when I tuned in, but even so, I was disappointed in the play of Carsen. Was really looking for his shot both outside and in drives, and forced a lot. I hear others say we need him in the game because he is the only one that can create his shot. Probably true, but when he does he needs to make them. Expected more from him against this level of competition. Hopefully just an off night and a learning experience. You could tell when he got to the line that he wasn't that happy either and seemed frustrated. Only hit about half of his free throws too. Meanwhile I thought PJ had another solid game. Vince was the good Vince and Biggie was a beast.

Only saw the last 15 minutes, so I could be wrong in my observations.

I would be careful drawing any conclusions based on this game. First of all, any single game is too small a sample size. Second, this game went into slack play as we pulled ahead by 15 points. Players started to experiment. Thirdly, I also agree that Carson had a bad game offensively - he was a terror defensively though. It was a Meh-game. Wait until we are up against some BIG teams before making any judgements.

 

[JohnnyDoeBoiler]

I would be careful drawing any conclusions based on this game. First of all, any single game is too small a sample size. Second, this game went into slack play as we pulled ahead by 15 points. Players started to experiment. Thirdly, I also agree that Carson had a bad game offensively - he was a terror defensively though. It was a Meh-game. Wait until we are up against some BIG teams before making any judgements.

I am waiting to pass judgement after the game on Wednesday. No matter what teams you play, playing three games in 5 days is grueling. Going to really test the freshman's mental and physical endurance and a great time to do it as conference play starts up. I think getting Carsen and the team to Spain has been instrumental in Carsen's development this early. He does a great job on the defensive end but his real improvement can come in off-ball defense (when he is more than one pass away). If you want to watch a great off ball defender, watch Mathias. He put on a clinic early on in the game in off ball defense and denial defense.