Will Purdue Start Slow Again?

[Boiler Buck]

Last year it took Painter awhile to get the team to gel and start playing well. Lots of new pieces. We had new starters and it took awhile for Painter to get the team going and playing well. Consequently the rotation was long and we lost some games we shouldn't.

Some similarities again this year.....This year's bunch will also still need to gel and come together. They too will have to learn to play together. They also will have new starters - likely 2 new starters. Additionally, lots of new pieces to fit in in: Taylor, Swanigan, Cline, Hill & Weatherford. And even though we have more talent, I believe the Boilers will have a tougher schedule next fall than they did in the fall of 2014.

So do you see this team also start slower than expected due to all the new pieces & the tougher schedule, or will the addition of Hill & a top 25 player to a now experienced team really start strong even though the schedule is tougher? Your thoughts.....

 

[boilerdan_45]

Last year it took Painter awhile to get the team to gel and start playing well. Lots of new pieces. We had new starters and it took awhile for Painter to get the team going and playing well. Consequently the rotation was long and we lost some games we shouldn't.

Some similarities again this year.....This year's bunch will also still need to gel and come together. They too will have to learn to play together. They also will have new starters - likely 2 new starters. Additionally, lots of new pieces to fit in in: Taylor, Swanigan, Cline, Hill & Weatherford. And even though we have more talent, I believe the Boilers will have a tougher schedule next fall than they did in the fall of 2014.

So do you see this team also start slower than expected due to all the new pieces & the tougher schedule, or will the addition of Hill & a top 25 player to a now experienced team really start strong even though the schedule is tougher? Your thoughts.....

 

[mathboy]

Last year it took Painter awhile to get the team to gel and start playing well. Lots of new pieces. We had new starters and it took awhile for Painter to get the team going and playing well. Consequently the rotation was long and we lost some games we shouldn't.

Some similarities again this year.....This year's bunch will also still need to gel and come together. They too will have to learn to play together. They also will have new starters - likely 2 new starters. Additionally, lots of new pieces to fit in in: Taylor, Swanigan, Cline, Hill & Weatherford. And even though we have more talent, I believe the Boilers will have a tougher schedule next fall than they did in the fall of 2014.

So do you see this team also start slower than expected due to all the new pieces & the tougher schedule, or will the addition of Hill & a top 25 player to a now experienced team really start strong even though the schedule is tougher? Your thoughts.....

This is a good question. IMHO the answer is no. I think last year we had two factors that slowed our development. First, the very important addition of JO. He had to get integrated at the last moment, arriving late in the practice cycle. Second, we had important freshmen added to the team in Mathias, Edwards, and Haas. Those guys had never played a moment of college basketball before stepping onto Keady court. Both of these factors made for a slow start.

This year, we will need to integrate Hill, who should arrive in plenty of time to play pick up games this summer, and Caleb Swanigan. I expect Caleb to work his way into the starting line up quickly, but we don't have to depend on him to start and produce on day 1. If he does, great! If he struggles, we got it covered.

 

[Kesselschmiede]

Good Lord some just reach for anything to rag on this team about.

Part of the problem last year was the rotations which Painter has learned from so no I don't expect things to be as slow because there is more talent on this team. I mean it's not like last year's team was playing with a lot of inexperienced players or anything ...

 

[pboiler18]

Good Lord some just reach for anything to rag on this team about.

Part of the problem last year was the rotations which Painter has learned from so no I don't expect things to be as slow because there is more talent on this team. I mean it's not like last year's team was playing with a lot of inexperienced players or anything ...

I think a huge difference will be the base line of talent we have on the team. We have basically everybody back AND add some talented newcomers. We could field a competent starting 5 of guys with like 15 years of CBB experience....we couldn't say that last year. THEN we can throw the new guys in the mix and see what happens. Obviously Swanigan and Hill will factor into the rotation early and often, and guys like Cline and Weatherford can get in when and where they fit in....vs. them being pushed to play big minutes early on like Vince and Dakota. Those guys are definitely much better for those minutes....but playing so many new/young guys hurt us a bit early on for sure.

Painter has a lot of pieces and I feel confident he'll find a way to get wins early and often with them. I mean, AJH and CS are so good inside now that you can just turn them loose on lesser teams, let them have their big games and not have to worry about how the guards play....then if the guards play well its an absolute blowout. If not, we just ride the bigs and win comfortably anyhow.

The guards HAVE to take a big step forward this year. RD will HAVE to play the point when CS is at the 4 and Haas/Hammons are at the 5. Mathias will have to both shoot better AND handle it better to keep playing 25 minutes at the 2. Stephens is a huge X factor and if he gets healthy and shoots the 40+% like he did late in the year and that we know he can all year from 3 he'll factor in to some decent minutes too. IF he's not shooting well, Cline could even step up and take minutes from whoever isn't. Lots of options for this team....and the baseline talent is on a quick rise within the program!

 

[hunkgolden]

Last year it took Painter awhile to get the team to gel and start playing well. Lots of new pieces. We had new starters and it took awhile for Painter to get the team going and playing well. Consequently the rotation was long and we lost some games we shouldn't.

Some similarities again this year.....This year's bunch will also still need to gel and come together. They too will have to learn to play together. They also will have new starters - likely 2 new starters. Additionally, lots of new pieces to fit in in: Taylor, Swanigan, Cline, Hill & Weatherford. And even though we have more talent, I believe the Boilers will have a tougher schedule next fall than they did in the fall of 2014.

So do you see this team also start slower than expected due to all the new pieces & the tougher schedule, or will the addition of Hill & a top 25 player to a now experienced team really start strong even though the schedule is tougher? Your thoughts.....

How about we wait till they have their first practice before we decide how they'll play the non conference schedule.

 

[dumpsterFyre]

No. Last year we had 2 returning starters (AJ and Davis) and 1 significant bench contributor (Stephens).

This year, we return 4 starters, and practically the whole bench.

 

[Boiler Buck]

Good Lord some just reach for anything to rag on this team about.

Part of the problem last year was the rotations which Painter has learned from so no I don't expect things to be as slow because there is more talent on this team. I mean it's not like last year's team was playing with a lot of inexperienced players or anything ...

What in the He!! got into your Cheerios this morning? No one is ragging on the team....this is just a discussion board & I proposed a question to discuss.

 

[Kesselschmiede]

What in the He!! got into your Cheerios this morning? No one is ragging on the team....this is just a discussion board & I proposed a question to discuss.

If that is your position on your post fine, but as already pointed out maybe we should wait until the first practice is played before we make comments about the team starting out worse than last year. Especially since comparing last year to this year isn't an equal comparison for a few reasons.

 

[boilerzz]

If that is your position on your post fine, but as already pointed out maybe we should wait until the first practice is played before we make comments about the team starting out worse than last year. Especially since comparing last year to this year isn't an equal comparison for a few reasons.

Yeah, you overreacted to a harmless question. It's a message board and the offseason.

 

[BoilerDeac]

Seemed like the primary reason for the slow-start last year was the fact that Painter was just playing too many guys. When he kept that to 8-9, and guys had a chance to get into a groove/understand what to expect in terms of minutes/rotations, things worked out.

With that being said, I don't expect the slow start this year.

 

[Kesselschmiede]

Yeah, you overreacted to a harmless question. It's a message board and the offseason.

Not really an over reaction when a few on here have a propensity to rag on the team for no reason.I stand by my criticism. Don't like it? I don't care.

 

[boilerzz]

Not really an over reaction when a few on here have a propensity to rag on the team for no reason.I stand by my criticism. Don't like it? I don't care.

Sorry, wrong term then. It wasn't an overreaction so much as you are overly sensitive.

I don't like people who post incessant negativity either. But making it your personal mission to call it out and then doing so on posts that don't warrant it make you no better than them.

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

Seemed like the primary reason for the slow-start last year was the fact that Painter was just playing too many guys. When he kept that to 8-9, and guys had a chance to get into a groove/understand what to expect in terms of minutes/rotations, things worked out.

With that being said, I don't expect the slow start this year.

One other thing about last year in the non-conference...even though CMP talked about the rotational issues, Purdue also just played awful defense and had a ton of TO's in those losses. JMO, I don't think that was solely from playing too many players. We'll see, but I would hope the defense is there from day 1, and the Boilers take better care of the ball. There are certainly some pieces to fit together, and that may take a little time.

CMP got dealt a pretty good hand this year....let's see how he plays it, and let the chips fall where they may. If the team keeps playing like a good part of the latter half of last season.....the rankings and "seeds" will take care of themselves.

Will I be the only one waiting for Hunk's post exhibition Game 2 prediction?

 

[Kesselschmiede]

Sorry, wrong term then. It wasn't an overreaction so much as you are overly sensitive.

I don't like people who post incessant negativity either. But making it your personal mission to call it out and then doing so on posts that don't warrant it make you no better than them.

I'm not overly sensitive nor is it my personal mission so you are quite wrong there, I am just skeptical of posts like these. I have been shot at entirely too many times to give two craps what people on the internet think of me, but I most certainly will either stand by my statement or own up to a wrong if I make one.

But whatever, like I said if you don't like it I don't really care.

 

[Boiler Buck]

One other thing about last year in the non-conference...even though CMP talked about the rotational issues, ........CMP got dealt a pretty good hand this year....let's see how he plays it, and let the chips fall where they may. If the team keeps playing like a good part of the latter half of last season.....the rankings and "seeds" will take care of themselves. Will I be the only one waiting for Hunk's post exhibition Game 2 prediction?

I agree with this. I have extremely high expectations for this team which I think could be Painter's best. I just think it will be interesting how quickly Painter gets them to gel as a unit......because I know he will as 8 out of 10 seasons he has got his team to improve as the year goes on....so history shows me the odds are he will do this again in 2015-16.

And thanks to all those above & below who wanted to discuss on this discussion board a pretty fair question.....after all what else is this site for?

 

[PU52Chevy]

No, we start strong and stay strong....win win win.

Kumbaya....kumbaya......ha ha

All on same team folks......

Season is going to be fun.......

X-Factors are:
1) Taylor- he will be ready
2) Hill- he will be ready and start
3) PJ- will come back from China ready to share starter minutes
4) Stephens- Probably in the gym as we speak.....will have a huge year
5) Smotherman- Always ready and if improved jump shot...look out
6) Swanigan- If he can come in and play solid for a Freshman then icing on cake for us

These we know will be solid:
1) Haas
2) AJH
3) Edwards
4) Davis
5) Mathias

The youngstersWatch and help where they can and be ready)
1) Weatherford
2) Eifert.
3) Cline gets the red-shirt.

Boiler Up!

 

[Kesselschmiede]

I agree with this. I have extremely high expectations for this team which I think could be Painter's best. I just think it will be interesting how quickly Painter gets them to gel as a unit......because I know he will as 8 out of 10 seasons he has got his team to improve as the year goes on....so history shows me the odds are he will do this again in 2015-16.

And thanks to all those above & below who wanted to discuss on this discussion board a pretty fair question.....after all what else is this site for?

I retract what I said before, like I said I admit when I am wrong and me calling out your post was wrong. I could go back and delete it, but that wouldn't be genuine.

 

[BoilerDeac]

No, we start strong and stay strong....win win win.

Kumbaya....kumbaya......ha ha

All on same team folks......

Season is going to be fun.......

X-Factors are:
1) Taylor- he will be ready
2) Hill- he will be ready and start
3) PJ- will come back from China ready to share starter minutes
4) Stephens- Probably in the gym as we speak.....will have a huge year
5) Smotherman- Always ready and if improved jump shot...look out
6) Swanigan- If he can come in and play solid for a Freshman then icing on cake for us

These we know will be solid:
1) Haas
2) AJH
3) Edwards
4) Davis
5) Mathias

The youngstersWatch and help where they can and be ready)
1) Weatherford
2) Eifert.
3) Cline gets the red-shirt.

Boiler Up!

As great of a problem the depth is to have, I would go 9 max in the rotation.

Hammons
Swanigan
Mathias
Davis
Edwards
Hill
Haas
Stephens
Smotherman

I hate to redshirt Cline and not have his shooting ability available off the bench, but a redshirt might be the most realistic option.

 

[Cleanface]

I think we may have some bugs to work out, but we won't start as slow as last year.

Last season 4 of the Top 9/10 players were FR, this year only 1 of the Top 9/10 in Swanigan, and his game is more advanced than any of the 4 FR last season. I think either Cline or Weatherford RS (prob Cline).

 

[BoilerDaddy]

Last year it took Painter awhile to get the team to gel and start playing well. Lots of new pieces. We had new starters and it took awhile for Painter to get the team going and playing well. Consequently the rotation was long and we lost some games we shouldn't.

Some similarities again this year.....This year's bunch will also still need to gel and come together. They too will have to learn to play together. They also will have new starters - likely 2 new starters. Additionally, lots of new pieces to fit in in: Taylor, Swanigan, Cline, Hill & Weatherford. And even though we have more talent, I believe the Boilers will have a tougher schedule next fall than they did in the fall of 2014.

So do you see this team also start slower than expected due to all the new pieces & the tougher schedule, or will the addition of Hill & a top 25 player to a now experienced team really start strong even though the schedule is tougher? Your thoughts.....

Last year's team had never won before. Collectively, they needed to learn how. Next year's team returns a core that was figuring out how to win and that should help early.

That said, I hope the Purdue can continue to grow and improve throughout the season.

 

[Kesselschmiede]

As great of a problem the depth is to have, I would go 9 max in the rotation.

Hammons
Swanigan
Mathias
Davis
Edwards
Hill
Haas
Stephens
Smotherman

I hate to redshirt Cline and not have his shooting ability available off the bench, but a redshirt might be the most realistic option.

Agree and I think we will see games where is shooting will be needed, but red shirting him I think makes sense at this point too. I think Mathias will continue his late season improvements and KS will shake off the injuries and be super deadly from deep.

 

[mathboy]

How about we wait till they have their first practice before we decide how they'll play the non conference schedule.

Will you or anyone else on the board be at that first practice? Just wondering how we will be so much more knowledgeable once this practice takes place. Maybe one of our local members can watch one of the pickup games this summer and give us some insight. Then we can flood the message board with predictions, eh?

Until then, I would agree that most of what we post in this thread is pure speculation based on what we saw last year, and on who we think will improve the greatest. However, no animals or humans are harmed in the process.

I don't think abstaining from these sorts of wild postings causes any problems, so I may respectfully ignore your sage advice about waiting. Of course, that means I might suffer the indignity of being wrong about something, but I don't give a poop if I am.

 

[CRBoiler]

I think we won't have the early season breakdowns as much this year, because we have a level of continuity from the previous season + senior leadership that we have not had for a while... not since Hummel, Jackson, and Smith's senior year. It's gonna be a special season! BTFU!

 

[88btfu92]

I'm not overly sensitive nor is it my personal mission so you are quite wrong there, I am just skeptical of posts like these. I have been shot at entirely too many times to give two craps what people on the internet think of me, but I most certainly will either stand by my statement or own up to a wrong if I make one.

But whatever, like I said if you don't like it I don't really care.

Nobody cares about your posts. Really.

 

[Kesselschmiede]

Nobody cares about your posts. Really.

Clearly you do or you wouldn't of taken the time to quote me and respond like that. But thanks for playing anyway.

Besides, with this new format people can like a post and it looks as though I have 29 of those. Same number as you it appears. So I guess that means if no one likes my posts then no one likes yours either right?

Your response did make me chuckle though. Was it supposed to hurt my feelings?

 

[88btfu92]

Clearly you do or you wouldn't of taken the time to quote me and respond like that. But thanks for playing anyway.

Besides, with this new format people can like a post and it looks as though I have 29 of those. Same number as you it appears. So I guess that means if no one likes my posts then no one likes yours either right?

Your response did make me chuckle though. Was it supposed to hurt my feelings?

Clearly you do or you wouldn't of taken the time to quote me and respond like that. But thanks for playing anyway.

Besides, with this new format people can like a post and it looks as though I have 29 of those. Same number as you it appears. So I guess that means if no one likes my posts then no one likes yours either right?

Your response did make me chuckle though. Was it supposed to hurt my feelings?

Feelings? You are overly sensitive. Point made.

 

[BuilderBob6]

I'm not overly sensitive nor is it my personal mission so you are quite wrong there, I am just skeptical of posts like these. I have been shot at entirely too many times to give two craps what people on the internet think of me, but I most certainly will either stand by my statement or own up to a wrong if I make one.

But whatever, like I said if you don't like it I don't really care.

Buck is a good poster. You should know that.

 

[Kesselschmiede]

Feelings? You are overly sensitive. Point made.

Sarcasm is clearly not one of your strong suits. I mean here you are, getting your panties in a twist over a post that wasn't directed at you to begin with. Welcome to Hypocrite city. Population: You.

I won't keep going back and forth on this anymore because it is a gigantic waste of time,but you're right on one thing, my point was made. Especially when you keep responding about this whole sensitivity topic and I don't.

 

[Kesselschmiede]

Buck is a good poster. You should know that.

And that is why I retracted what I said in another post to him. I don't post here all that often and it's not like I keep a running list of who all the posters on here are, his original post came across to me and a couple others differently and with how things tend to go on this forum, I was skeptical as to the intentions at first. And that is it.

 

[mathboy]

And that is why I retracted what I said in another post to him. I don't post here all that often and it's not like I keep a running list of who all the posters on here are, his original post came across to me and a couple others differently and with how things tend to go on this forum, I was skeptical as to the intentions at first. And that is it.

You guys need to give it a rest. I don't want to read anymore back-and-forth between loyal Boilermaker fans. It's going to be a slow off-season for us basketball fans. Let's try not to nitpick too much. Not everybody is as accurate in their words as they'd like to be. we all write stuff that might come across much differently than intended. We've trolls enough to go after without cutting into our own.

 

[Boiler Buck]

I retract what I said before, like I said I admit when I am wrong and me calling out your post was wrong. I could go back and delete it, but that wouldn't be genuine.

No worries mate...... BTW...I thank you for your service to our country and am humbled that one of our country's heroes comes to our Purdue site. Charge on & Boiler up!

 

[Kesselschmiede]

No worries mate...... BTW...I thank you for your service to our country and am humbled that one of our country's heroes comes to our Purdue site. Charge on & Boiler up!

Now I owe you a beer. I need to take a pic of my weapon sometime.. I have a nice Boiler Up taped on the barrel. That would be a good signature pic.

Anyway, sorry for my misinterpretation. Have a good one.

 

[West James]

One other thing about last year in the non-conference...even though CMP talked about the rotational issues, Purdue also just played awful defense and had a ton of TO's in those losses. JMO, I don't think that was solely from playing too many players. We'll see, but I would hope the defense is there from day 1, and the Boilers take better care of the ball. There are certainly some pieces to fit together, and that may take a little time.

CMP got dealt a pretty good hand this year....let's see how he plays it, and let the chips fall where they may. If the team keeps playing like a good part of the latter half of last season.....the rankings and "seeds" will take care of themselves.

Will I be the only one waiting for Hunk's post exhibition Game 2 prediction?

About last season's early diffaculties/struggles, remember, baslly RD was the only true go to, experienced player Coach Painter could rely on. Early in the pre B1G season, Haas was starting about as many games as Hammons. Early on last season, RD was this team's true savior, & never quit playing or producing like that. We lost many of those early games because of few experienced, proven players/scorers, plenty/too many new faces, whom were relative unknowns, chemistry didn't have time to jell, & Hammans was not the force he was later in the season. I see much better beginnings this season. Find out first who you can count on at the guards spots, get some positive chemistry there, then go from there.

If we are basically injury free, then finish the B1G season any worse than 3rd, I'm disappointed at that point. When will the talent be any better than this season? This team has depth, experience, coaching, a great arena, ravid fan support, & great expectations. Now or never?

 

[purdue4sure]

Last year it took Painter awhile to get the team to gel and start playing well. Lots of new pieces. We had new starters and it took awhile for Painter to get the team going and playing well. Consequently the rotation was long and we lost some games we shouldn't.

Some similarities again this year.....This year's bunch will also still need to gel and come together. They too will have to learn to play together. They also will have new starters - likely 2 new starters. Additionally, lots of new pieces to fit in in: Taylor, Swanigan, Cline, Hill & Weatherford. And even though we have more talent, I believe the Boilers will have a tougher schedule next fall than they did in the fall of 2014.

So do you see this team also start slower than expected due to all the new pieces & the tougher schedule, or will the addition of Hill & a top 25 player to a now experienced team really start strong even though the schedule is tougher? Your thoughts.....

Much, much more experience on this team than on last year's team. I expect them to come into the season running.

 

[FiveWeight]

IMHO: No.

I'm also apparently in the minority thinking Painter wasn't wrong for playing a long roster early in the season. I think he was looking for lineups that would work together with all the new pieces, and testing different players' strengths in different situations. Early in the season they played as predicted, not worse. The fact that they got significantly better by Big Ten season is testament that whatever happened early in the season was for a reason.

This year, the learning/experience curve will be shorter. As mentioned, the two newcomers are 1) a transfer who is arriving in time to become assimilated during pre-season practice, and 2) a future NBA player who should be able to contribute right out of the gate. Even without those two players, Purdue has a very strong team with great chemistry and leadership. They're just icing on the cake and maybe a secret extra weapon.

 

[purdue4sure]

IMHO: No.

I'm also apparently in the minority thinking Painter wasn't wrong for playing a long roster early in the season. I think he was looking for lineups that would work together with all the new pieces, and testing different players' strengths in different situations. Early in the season they played as predicted, not worse. The fact that they got significantly better by Big Ten season is testament that whatever happened early in the season was for a reason.

This year, the learning/experience curve will be shorter. As mentioned, the two newcomers are 1) a transfer who is arriving in time to become assimilated during pre-season practice, and 2) a future NBA player who should be able to contribute right out of the gate. Even without those two players, Purdue has a very strong team with great chemistry and leadership. They're just icing on the cake and maybe a secret extra weapon.

I agree. Last year, with 5 first-year players and 3 sophomores, how could he possibly have known which players would make up the best team by the end of the season?

 

[lbodel]

Last year it took Painter awhile to get the team to gel and start playing well. Lots of new pieces. We had new starters and it took awhile for Painter to get the team going and playing well. Consequently the rotation was long and we lost some games we shouldn't.

Some similarities again this year.....This year's bunch will also still need to gel and come together. They too will have to learn to play together. They also will have new starters - likely 2 new starters. Additionally, lots of new pieces to fit in in: Taylor, Swanigan, Cline, Hill & Weatherford. And even though we have more talent, I believe the Boilers will have a tougher schedule next fall than they did in the fall of 2014.

So do you see this team also start slower than expected due to all the new pieces & the tougher schedule, or will the addition of Hill & a top 25 player to a now experienced team really start strong even though the schedule is tougher? Your thoughts.....

Every year, college basketball teams integrate new players.

But there's obviously varying degrees. Last year, you pretty much had a completely new team playing together - in terms of many new faces, but also some faces that were gone and a different overall attitude of the team.

This year, chances are the attitude is not going to be new, no "bad apples" have been thrown in the trash and you have a lot of guys that did play together well last year coming back.

However, this year's challenges will be different. Painter has a pretty solid rotation coming back - it's how he integrates some new faces. The depth of this team WILL be a blessing and a challenge as you have a lot of options and rotations.

The only point I really want to make though is that you can't just throw ONE issue out and treat it the same. All slow starts are not the same. Last year's slow start transitioned to the conference season was NOT a normal season. Most likely we will not have one of those because those types of seasons are a rarity.

That being said, with the rotation being a big question mark, I certainly would not be surprised if there were some stumbles along the way in the non-conference season. Between new players, new line-up combos, etc. you're bound to. And I can just see some people now waiting to point fingers back to this thread as soon as we lose a game that in our minds we shouldn't.

 

[Cleanface]

Welcome to Hypocrite city. Population: You.

This is why I love internet.