Who is our 2nd best perimeter defender?
- Thread starter SnowLeopard
- Start date
I would probably flip 3 and 4 but there is a big drop off between 2 and whoever you want to put at 3.
I agree but Davis and Hill are so good that the drop off doesn't make Edwards and Stephens bad. If I were grading them, I'd go:
Davis - A
Hill - A-
Edwards - B
Stephens - B
Thompson - B-
Mathias - B-
Biggie - C (on the perimeter)
Cline - C-
Davis - A
Hill - A-
Edwards - B
Stephens - B
Thompson - B-
Mathias - B-
Biggie - C (on the perimeter)
Cline - C-
This is one reason I wanted to do the twin towers. I think AJ needs the work, but can enhance is perimeter defense. I think Edwards is playing very well. The big surprise to me is Cline. IMO he is playing hard on D, as is all the players.
Smotherman isn't a very good perimeter defender this year.. I'd say he's non-existent..
I love that we can have this discussion about our best defensive players and so many of them are good. What a change from recent years, since Kramer for the most part. A few years ago the NCAA rule changes were thought to be the death knell of Purdue's trade mark M2M defense. Now, even more rule changes and our perimeter defense seems to be stronger. Of course, having great rim protectors makes up for a lot of sins.
Davis and Hill are consistently good to great. Then just like on offense someone else seems to always step up and have a great defensive game as well. This team is one of the top defensive teams in the country for a reason.
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Boy, I think Kendall is almost becoming 2B. He has improved significantly on that end.
Cool question and some good answers above. I go…
1. Raphael Davis: The best all-around perimeter defender we have. Smart. Fundamentally-sound. Sneaky quick. Hard-nosed. Wish I could clone him so we could always have a RayDay on the team.
2. Johnny Hill: Bulldog on D. What he brings to us on both ends is invaluable, but his defense is where he really shines. A game-changer on that end.
3 (tie). Kendall Stephens: Has become gifted at deflecting the ball and has learned to be quite aggressive. Love his improved D.
3 (tie). Vince Edwards: Outstanding at jumping passing lanes, he's our best anticipator. However, he needs to bring that aggression consistently.
4. PJ Thompson: Deceptively frustrating on-ball defense. He's a good pest.
5. Dakota Matthias: Good positional defender, but needs to be slightly more aggressive.
6. Ryan Cline: Effort is there; quickness will improve with strength and experience.
1. Raphael Davis: The best all-around perimeter defender we have. Smart. Fundamentally-sound. Sneaky quick. Hard-nosed. Wish I could clone him so we could always have a RayDay on the team.
2. Johnny Hill: Bulldog on D. What he brings to us on both ends is invaluable, but his defense is where he really shines. A game-changer on that end.
3 (tie). Kendall Stephens: Has become gifted at deflecting the ball and has learned to be quite aggressive. Love his improved D.
3 (tie). Vince Edwards: Outstanding at jumping passing lanes, he's our best anticipator. However, he needs to bring that aggression consistently.
4. PJ Thompson: Deceptively frustrating on-ball defense. He's a good pest.
5. Dakota Matthias: Good positional defender, but needs to be slightly more aggressive.
6. Ryan Cline: Effort is there; quickness will improve with strength and experience.
Kendall is very solid on D.
How people don't see it is beyond me.
How people don't see it is beyond me.
With Davis graduating, Stephens has a chance to be Purdue's best perimeter defender next year.
That and a 3pt% in touching distance of 40% will get him on an NBA roster
Still a long way for him to go, but he is moving in the right direction
He's a long way from playing in the NBA, but he definitely appears to be making improvements, even within the season.
Fair enough.. Still, it seems as everyone else who replied took it as understood that the topic of conversation is this years team..
No shot at you intended, Zaphod....I get what you meant.
Technically, you could read it either way, but candidly, I liked Chevy's response either way. BS isn't playing this year, but he is still part of the TEAM.....and I'm looking forward to seeing him play next year. Also, I really like how the other Boilers have recognized what BS is doing......and they view it as helping the TEAM and a sacrifice rather than just looking out for himself because of playing time. It's an unusual situation no doubt when an upperclassman sits out other than for injury or a rift with the coach.
And I'd probably put BS third too if we're going by everyone on the roster, including RS's.
I think he has a lot of NBA potential. Great length for a 2 guard. Defense is stepping up a lot. He has the ability to shoot from long, and just needs to be more consistent.
Both Edwards and Stephens get beat off the dribble if they close out hard on the perimeter, honestly I've been kind of impressed with Mathias's defense of late. Also, despite PJ's size he is a good defender, and if it weren't for the fact that some guys can just shoot over him, I think he would be our #3 if he were a couple inches taller. He has quick hands, moves his feet well, overall plays solid, fundamentally sound defense.
Agree about PJ. He made some fantastic run-stopping defensive plays against Pitt and NM.
I'm not sure that Edwards and Stephens getting beat off the dribble is avoidable if they have to close hard against a three point shooter. Neither is extremely quick and they are clearly being coached not to foul in that situation. The nice thing is that they are long and do a nice job bothering shooters. In general, when they are closing hard and giving up a drive, Purdue is dealing with it well in its rotations, rarely giving up high percentage shots.
This team is very different than the Baby Boilers in terms of how it plays defense. It is far more conservative and applies much less pressure. Painter has done a nice job of adapting to personnel and rules changes.
In addition, with either Haas or AJ in the middle, unless there is a clear path to the rim, it is not a sure thing that getting beat off the dribble results in points.
