FNF: Purdue Basketball Tips-Off the Season with a Splash
By Keith Carrell (@BoilerColts)
ISL Purdue Columnist
As a reminder, Purdue FNF (Fan NonFiction) is a column that I’ll be writing intermittently throughout football and basketball seasons to provide you with some commentary from a Purdue fan. While I am a Purdue fan, I do try to remain unbiased and at times will throw accolades or criticism as I see fit as these opinions are my own. It’s okay if you disagree and I welcome friendly conversation whether you agree or disagree. These opinions are related to the sport and games; in no way are a reflection of how I view a person’s character – in fact, one of the proudest aspects I’ve had of Purdue sports is their high standard of character for coaches, players, and staff (with very rare exceptions over the course of my lifetime). That said, I will try to be as respectful as I can in my musings and I hope you enjoy this content, exclusively on ISL.
We’re only two weeks into the 2021-2022 season, but boy-oh-boy has it been a fun two weeks for Purdue fans. Not only has Purdue started the season with five straight wins, but they’ve done so against some solid competition and coaching. Why does that need a qualifier? Not every 5-0 record is nor should be treated equally. You have some schools that will start off entirely at home and stuffing their resume with wins by exclusively scheduling directional small schools. While, Purdue Head Coach, Matt Painter will schedule some perceived cupcakes, he also likes to challenge his squads to help them grow – ‘iron sharpens iron’ as the old saying goes.
So, let’s break it down, Purdue has averaged 91 points per game alongside a 23-point winning margin. Three of those wins are against smaller schools, but they’re not slouches – Indiana State is poised to have a strong year in the Missouri Valley conference and Wright State is the defending Horizon league champion. But the real story begins in Uncasville, Connecticut.
At the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament, Purdue was tasked with a gauntlet of opportunity by facing #18 North Carolina in the first round and then Jay Wright’s #5 Villanova squad in the championship game. Purdue walked away with their first trophy of the season and as Isaiah Thompson said best, Purdue “made a name for ourselves around the country.”
While Purdue really commanded the bulk of the game against the Tar Heels, the fact that UNC took a brief lead in the second half really helped Purdue to understand who they were and how they wanted to be. They responded to that brief deficit by reeling off a 10-0 run in the blink of an eye then never looked back.
Villanova was a harder out, and at times looked like a loss was all but inevitable, but not for this Purdue team, this year. During the first half, it seemed like the Wildcats were getting any three-point shot they desired by running a precise screen game – in reality, they only had made seven, but it felt like many more. Purdue held tight though and only trailed by two at halftime. Out of the break, the two teams continued to slug it out, but Villanova was able to build their lead to eleven points with nine minutes to play. The Boilermakers had seen enough as they began to handle the screens better with a mix of a tighter man and more pronounced switching defense and they locked in on offense, hitting each of their final eleven field goal attempts to swing the game into a ten-point lead and eventual six-point victory. Yes, the Wildcats were seemingly tired playing with a shorter bench and, yes, they had some uncharacteristic misses at the free throw line, but that takes absolutely zero away from how this Purdue team responded to the in-game adversity. This was a team win, one in which the team’s depth and breadth of talent outperformed a talented Villanova team. This was a statement win.
Already high expectations for this team have already been raised. Purdue has earned the #3 ranking following the strong weekend and as I write this the #1 and #2 schools, Gonzaga and UCLA respectively, are facing one another in Las Vegas, with Gonzaga currently dominating the Bruins. With Purdue performing so well in the first five outings and the rest of the expected top of the Big Ten stubbing their collective toe to begin the season, Purdue has defined itself as the clear favorite to win the conference and displayed its ability to be a legitimate Final Four contender this spring.
Am I saying this team is going to a Final Four? Absolutely not. Am I saying they have the coaching, talent, and squad makeup to enable such a run? You betcha. As every Purdue fan knows, there needs to be a bit of luck (be it health, whistles, matchups, etc.) to accompany expectations, but this team has that ability in spades.
THE PROGRESS REPORT:
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Offense: A
Has it been perfect? No. There have been times when the Boilers get trigger happy and try to put up quick threes in transition, something I despise – especially with a team that can rebound well on the offensive glass if you give the bigs time to get into position, and there have been moments of selfish play, but man is that nitpicking. This team is averaging over 90 points an outing and is the most balanced offensive team that I can remember. They have the best frontcourt in the Big Ten (regardless of what some other news outlets may be clickbaiting) with Zach Edey, Trevion Williams, Caleb Furst, and Mason Gillis, but what has historically done in Painter’s teams in March (aside from injuries) has been a lack of elite guard play. This squad has an elite guard in Jaden Ivey, but also strong complimentary pieces with Sasha Stefanovic and Thompson. Brandon Newman and Eric Hunter, Jr. can also provide sparks at times on offense.
Defense: B
Overall this team does well, but this hasn’t been a lockdown defensive team or even shown a lockdown defensive individual so far this season. Defending the paint is the strong suit again led by Edey and Williams, but there have been too many times this season where perimeter shooters are open, often due to slow rotations. That was fixed mid-game against Villanova for the home stretch, but remains to be seen if it’s sustainable growth or if more adjustments need to be made there. Part of this is by scheme as opposing coaches look to use Purdue’s size against them by forcing Edey to guard the perimeter, but it has been far from fatal at this juncture. I’d also like to see more from Hunter on defense as he’s proven before he can be an elite defender, but this season he’s merely been a good defender so far.
Coaching: A
I don’t have a lot to critique here. Painter has put together potentially his best and deepest roster to date and his teams have been ready to go during each outing. There were some definite jitters and tightness during the first game against Bellarmine, but those were shaken off quickly. The positives are overwhelming and can be highlighted by how well and effectively Purdue adjusted on defense against Villanova to shut down the perimeter screen and score game. Player development continues to be a strength of Painter’s and is evident with how much players have grown not just from High School to now, but from last year to now.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Last season was weird and felt empty as teams were playing in empty stadiums. One of the things that makes college basketball great, the atmosphere created by the students and fans, was glaringly absent. This year has definitely begun to make up for it, even if fans are donning face masks it’s not suppressing their spirit nor their voices. For Purdue, this season should be a fun ride and an ideal one for fans to return to the stands of Mackey Arena cheering on an electrifying team. I’ll be there with coverage throughout the season right here on ISL.
