With the college basketball season about to begin, we’ll be looking at the entire conference and Indiana State roster next month.
Today our team preview continues with Purdue.
Before: Northwest, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Rutgers, Michigan
Purdue entered the 2021-22 season with Final Four ambitions. Boilermakers saw him go 29-8 and 14-6 in the Big Ten, but were overwhelmed by Saint Peter’s in the Sweet Sixteen.
Matt Painter, the second-longest tenured coach in the conference, is currently tasked with reforming the Purdue rotation. Jaden Ivey is currently a rookie for the Detroit Pistons. Also gone are Trevion Williams and Sasha Stefanovic, who were key to the program’s success in recent seasons. Guards Eric Hunter Jr. (Butler) and Isiah Thompson (Florida Gulf Coast) have also been dropped from the program.
Despite these losses, Painter and Boilermakers should be in the middle of a Big 10 race. Returning to the frontcourt for Purdue is Zach Eady, the 7-foot-4-inch center who is one of the country’s most dominant bigs. Eddie averaged 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds in just 19 minutes per game last season. With Williams gone, Edie will play as many minutes as he can handle. For Purdue to reach the top as a team, Edie needs to be on the floor and out of foul trouble as much as possible.
Purdue has some frontcourt pieces that can complement Edy nicely.
Mason Gillis, a 6-foot-6 junior, tops the list. Newcastle’s product, one season ago he scored 41.4% in three seconds. He averaged 6.4 points and 4.8 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game. Gillis isn’t flashy, but he knows his role and makes winning plays.
Caleb Furst, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, was able to free up space on the floor by playing valuable time last season. First, he shot 42.3 percent from three, averaging 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, which he recorded in just 14.6 minutes.
Former IU recruit target Trey Kaufman-Renn was redshirted as a freshman, but he’s a versatile forward that should also help him find space on the floor. Purdue hopes a redshirt year will pay dividends to Kaufman, who is listed at 6 feet 9 inches and 225 pounds and his len.
Freshman Will Berg, a 7-foot-2 center from Sweden, provides depth behind Edy, but it could take years to make a big impact.
Purdue has a ton of production to replace the exits of Ivy, Hunter Jr., Stefanovic and Thompson in the backcourt. Jr. Ethan Morton, a former Top 75 recruit, hasn’t made a big impact on the stats in his first two seasons. Morton said he is a 6-foot-6 guard who is also an excellent passer and decision maker. He completed 44.1% of his 3 seconds on limited attempts last season. Purdue needs him to be more aggressive offensively.
Utah mover David Jenkins Jr. will see minutes in the backcourt after averaging 8.5 points and 39.6% in 3 seconds for Utah last season. Jenkins played in South Dakota before Utah. Westfield product Braden Smith could soon see minutes at the point guard position as a freshman. It didn’t get much publicity, but it should fit snugly into your system and doesn’t try to do too much.
Brandon Newman will also return for the junior season after a limited role last season. The 6.5-foot guard averaged 4.6 points in 12.6 minutes per game last season, but he’s a 3-point shooter in his career 35.3%. Newman has averaged eight points per game in his 2020-21 season, and Purdue’s hope is to regain the form he showed that season.
Another freshman, Fletcher Royer, was a top 100 recruit in 247Composite and was able to push for a few minutes in guard rotation. Two other potential names to know in the forward spot are true freshman Camdenheide and redshirt freshman Brian Waddell. At 6-foot-6, Heide was 247Composite’s top 150 recruit and could shoot on the wing. Waddell hails from Carmel and in 2021 he was named an Indiana All-Star. He injured his knee last fall, but is expected to be ready for the start of the season.
Conclusion: Purdue’s frontcourt can compete with any team in the Big Ten, but the backcourt is full of question marks. Jenkins Jr. is experienced, but not the real point of his guard. That meant Smith could get his first crack at the position as a true freshman, Purdue could also rely on Morton for ball-handling duties. If the Painter can figure out her guard rotation and keep the floor off around her Edey, the Boilermaker will need to put an elite offense on the floor again. The defensive is where Purdue needs to move forward if they want to compete near the top of the league. The Boilermakers ranked only 93rd last season in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rankings.
Citable: “He’s going to play more. If he’s up to 25 minutes a game, I think that’s a safe number for him. Add 6 minutes to what he played last year, and I think he can flirt with an average of 20 and 10.” He’s a much better passer and can really pass from double teams. He had only played half the game when he was featured last year.Zack’s hallmark is that he doesn’t get tired like Isaac Haas got tired when he played here. will play”- Painter-to-college hoops on Edy today.
(Photo credit: Purdue Athletics)
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