[Purdue (3/19/21)]

Great win. And well deserved. The coaching staff had a phenomenal game plan, players executed it well, shot the ball lights out and hustled their ass off. Just wanted it more 

[Playing Purdue]

On 3/14/2021 at 9:38 PM, BoilerMKT said:

Greetings, Mean Green.  Boilermaker here.  Congrats on winning your conference!  Thought I would stop by and familiarize you with the team you will be facing in the first round.  I hope you will provide the same in return.

Starters:

• Trevion Williams--6'10", 265, junior.  Trevion made first-team all-B1G, averaging about 16 and 9.  He is mostly a back-to-the-basket player with a quick first step and a wide variety of post-moves.  Loves the jump hook over his left shoulder, but also likes to spin and hit the reverse layup.  He is an elite rebounder and an elite passer for a big man.  Very patient with double teams.  He is an average at best defender and occasionally takes dumb fouls.  He is a very below average free throw shooter despite having what looks like good form.  Was backup center on the '19 Elite Eight team.
• Mason Gillis--6'6", 230, redshirt freshman.  Glue guy.  Always seems to be around the ball.  Most of his points come on putbacks or dives to the basket.  Is a capable three-point shooter but not a volume one.  Excellent free-throw shooter and makes them when it counts.
•  Jaden Ivey--6'4", 200, freshman.  Future NBA player.  Elite athlete.  Got off to a slow start this year due to a foot injury but has really come on the last two months.  Averaging 14 over the last dozen games.  Great at attacking the basket and finishing.  Is an improving 3-pt shooter and has been about 85% at the line on high volume over those same twelve games.  Also a very good on-ball defender.  He makes multiple plays per game that we haven't seen at Purdue since probably Glenn Robinson.
•  Sasha Stefanovic--6'5", 200, junior.  Our best 3-point shooter and best post-feeder, which is very important in our offense.  Can be stifled by really good defenders, but the attention he draws opens things up for others.  Is capable of putting on the deck and finishing, but that's usually a last option.  Average one-on-one defender, but is very important in the team defense concept.  Backup 2 on the Elite Eight Team.
•  Eric Hunter, Jr.--6'4", 170, junior.  Our best perimeter defender, having shut down some of the B1G's elite scorers.  Generally a good decision-maker at the point.  Is a very capable but often inconsistent scorer who is most comfortable in the mid-range pull-up game.  Backup point on the Elite Eight Team.

Bench:

•  Zach Edey--7'4", 285, freshman.  An absolute revelation.  The #429 recruit in his class.  Has only been playing basketball for three years after spending his youth playing hockey and baseball in Canada.  Everyone expected him to redshirt, then he went out and scored 36 points in the first two games of the season vs. Liberty and Clemson.  I saw someone refer to him as really slow, but he actually moves very well for his size, and when your wingspan looks like it covers the whole lane you probably don't have to be all that quick.  Great hands and footwork, soft touch (except for when he's tearing down rims).  Flushes alley-oops while barely jumping.  Unlike Trevion, an excellent free throw shooter.  He is not yet an elite shot blocker.  Will generally just wall up to try to avoid fouls.  And if drawn out high in P&R situations, he is pretty easy to get around.  Is foul prone, but draws a ton of them, too.  Finished the regular season with 21 and 20 vs. Wisconsin and Indiana in just 39 minutes.
•  Brandon Newman--6'5", 195, redshirt freshman.  Our next best three-point shooter.  Can score at all three levels, but most shots are from three.  Good rebounder for a guard and pretty good defender.  Started most of the season until the emergence of Ivey and the return of Sasha from COVID.  Foul prone.  Has not totally adjusted to coming off the bench.  Had a 29-point game vs. Minnesota.
•  Aaron Wheeler--6'9", 205, junior.  Message board whipping boy for most of the last two years as his shot wasn't falling like it did during his freshman season, but has found himself again over the last few games, dropping 7 of 11 from distance.  Has always rebounded well and is very athletic. Began the season as a starter, but now splits minutes about 60/40 with Gillis depending on who's having the better night.   Key bench contributor on the Elite 8.
•  Isaiah Thompson--6'1", 160, sophomore.  Backup point.  Provides some quickness and occasionally gets hot from three.  Can be overpowered by more physical guards.

 

Offensive approach:

Purdue runs a mix of motion offense and sets that have options off of options off of options.  Looks to play through the post most of the time, taking advantage of Williams one-on-one moves and passing ability and Edey's ability to obliterate the sun.  They like to shoot the three, but have not made them at the rate they've grown accustomed to in recent years.  Medium to below average pace.  Have worked in more P&R this year because of Ivey's capabilities.  Shot selection has consistently gotten better as the freshman have matured.  Still a bit more turnover prone than a typical Painter team.  Very good offensive rebounding team.

Defensive approach:

100% man-to-man.  Not a pressing team, but will pick up the primary ball-handler for 94 feet.  Switch almost everything.  General philosophy is to force tough twos.  Can be exposed by elite P & R teams, and the freshmen still make freshmen mistakes on that end.  Also vulnerable to teams that have bigs who can shoot the three.

Miscellaneous:

The team does not quit.  Won a game they trailed by 17 at half at Michigan State, and just went to overtime two days ago vs. Ohio State after trailing by 18 at half.  

Won their last five and eleven of their last fourteen regular season games and finished 4th.  At the beginning of the year, being on the bubble was a reasonable expectation, but the freshmen have played well beyond their years and the juniors have stepped into leadership roles.  Playing with house money at this point.  It's next year that should be really fun.

 

Again, don't know anything about NT.  KenPom makes it look like you are very good defensively, very good at shooting the three and play at a Wisconsin pace, meaning you will force us to defend.  Would love to hear your thoughts and looking forward to the game Friday.

Oh, by the way.  We won't be allowed to play at Mackey Arena of course, but if the game is at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, recognize that is our auxiliary home court  🙂

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

 

😳 wish I’d have scrolled enough to see your post before I did essentially the same thing only waaay more half assed than you haha. BTFU!!!

[Playing Purdue]

Life long Boiler fan here. Good luck to you! I don’t know much about the program to be honest, but it seems like you have a solid team this year.

I saw a lot of talk regarding Edey and figured I’d chime in w some analysis from someone who has watched 7/8  of the games. 

First, be happy you’re playing us this year and not next. This team is a legit Final Four Contender next year and most of the studs will only be Sophomores then. Ivey, Newman, Gillis, Edey and Morton are all Freshman. 

 

Edey- He’s young, has a ton of potential to be one of the best bigs we’ve ever had. BUT, he’s young - lacks confidence at times, has no mean streak and can disappear in game flow. If he’s on he’s ON. If he’s not he’s not. Not a great defender or rebounder yet. I think the kid is still trying to figure out his body. He was still Physically growing this season (height. Yeah, no shit)

Ivey - Another young one. But this kid will be Carsen Edwards 2.0 and already shows flashes of it. He’s not as good of a pure shooter, but he can completely take over a game at times, plays with a nastiness to him that I love. Not at all dirty, just plays like he’s been caged.  And when he decides to penetrate, he WILL get a shot at the rim regardless of how hard he’s fouled. 
Good defender, gets out of position due to aggressiveness at times. Decent court vision. 

Williams - He’s our stud. Versatile big man that is nearly impossible to guard 1 on 1 in the paint. Shifty feet/hips and a good ball handler down low. Can be contained with help defense, but if Sasha/Wheeler/Newman/Ivey are knocking down shots from the perimeter, Williams might be unstoppable on the offensive end. Competent defender, strong rebounder. 
 

Newman - Another young one who will develop into a special player. Some games he already legitimately looks like the best player on the court. Other times I wonder why he’s even getting minutes. He could put up 28 pts or he may not even score. Who knows. Solid defensively.

Wheeler - 2 years ago, I’d have said he would be the best player on the team by now. He’s not. Decent player from everywhere on the court, but hasn’t developed 

Hunter - See Wheeler

Stefanovic/Thompson - Decent Guards who likely won’t light up the box score, but don’t make dumb mistakes and play sufficient D. 
 

Gillis - Stud athlete, build like a man and can play great D. He’ll be really really good in a year or 2 as well, but doesn’t get a ton of minutes to establish any type of rhythm. 
 

Overall, I wasn’t expecting a great year from this young team, but considering our schedule, this team greatly over achieved and has gelled very well late. I think we win by 6-8 pts.