- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 391,798
- Reaction score
- 43
You must be registered for see images attach
© Robert Goddin-Imagn Images
On the podium for Purdue in Lucas Oil Stadium, site of the Midwest Region Sweet 16 and Elite 8, Purdue's three juniors, Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith, and Trey Kaufman-Renn sit next to Matt Painter.
A couple seasons ago, those juniors were preparing for their first NCAA Tournament.
Despite a freshman season that featured winning the Big Ten by three games, sweeping its non-conference schedule, and being ranked #1 in the country, the NCAA Tournament Cinderella #16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson was too much for a bit too young Purdue team.
That's a loss that the juniors had to wear through the summer and it avenged itself last season by getting all the way to the national title game.
Matt Painter has had a lot of redefining freshmen classes, and Loyer and Smith's class might be at the top of the list when all is said and not just for what they've done, but for what they've allowed to grow underneath them.
Unlike Loyer and Smith, this five-man class of freshmen didn’t win a Big Ten Title but it has tasted March success thanks to being able to grow throughout the season around Purdue’s juniors.
That class has allowed Purdue to be the only team in the NCAA Tournament left without a transfer playing. It has provided an unprecedented amount of success at Purdue, already bagging two Big Ten Titles and its second Sweet Sixteen appearance after beating popular upset picks High Point and McNeese in Providence last week.
But this particular class of juniors, Kaufman-Renn redshirted the year before and Smith, Loyer, and Will Berg were true freshmen, has also allowed Purdue's next big class of freshmen to learn and grow on the court and away from it. (Heide was also a part of Smith and Loyer’s class, and is a redshirt sophomore playing the best minutes of his career at the end of his third year at Purdue.)
From unknown to starter
CJ Cox was the most unheralded of Matt Painter's collection of five scholarship freshmen, but heading into the Houston-Purdue matchup in the Sweet Sixteen, it's Cox that will be on the court standing next to Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith to start the NCAA Tournament game.
"Going from works outs in the summer and runs to actually envisioning yourself on the court," Cox told me yesterday. "Especially this late in the tournament is really special."
Cox took up the starting role against Minnesota on the road when Purdue's conference schedule kicked into full gear. Immediately, Purdue's defense responded. Purdue won 10 of its next 11 games and its defensive metrics started to threaten top-20 in the country as Purdue rose to the top of the Big Ten.
That defensive surge didn't last, but Cox continued to provide Painter with an on ball stopper, and someone with the make a tough shot gene that Purdue's offense needed next to its spectacular juniors.
All Cox has done since is be Purdue's most consistent defender while taking on opposing team's best ball handlers while knocking down 40% of his threes on the offensive end and nearly 54% of his shots inside the arc. He had 11 points on four shots and 2 assists in his last NCAA Tournametn against McNeese including a late three that broke apart the game.
Big man, bigger energy
Raleigh Burgess had a tough decision to make at the start of the season. He was borderline to play, and a redshirt would be an option, but once Daniel Jacobsen went down with a leg injury, it seemed certain that Burgess had made the right choice as Will Berg fell out of the rotation and Burgess became Purdue's back up five.
He had some good moments, including a 6 point, two three-pointer performance at home against Michigan that splashed Burgess' potential as a seven-foot tall center capable of stretching the floor on offense.
But Burgess has yet to find the floor in the NCAA Tournament. A calf injury that's been lingering since January has taken some of Burgess' mobility from him and the pain will be constant till he can properly rest it in the summer. He lives in a walking boot when he's not on the court to try and limit anymore stress to it.
But that hasn't sapped Burgess of what he brings to every practice and game.
"There's two sides to it," Burgess told me when I asked about the energy he seems to bring to every practice and game. "Obviously it's a little bit part of my personality, but somedays I need to make sure I'm doing it in case I'm tired or something's on my mind. Always bring that energy is the best thing I can do."
Legacy waiting
Gicarri Harris came to Purdue with a bit of legacy. His father, Glenn Robinson, arguably is Purdue's best player in program history.
Harris might have the highest ceiling out of Purdue's freshman and he was Painter's first choice to start next to Loyer and Smith. Harris started Purdue's first five games of the season, but Harris' jump shot abandoned him for the first half of the season and his defense was too inconsistent.
No one's on court production has improved more from the start of the season to now. Harris, after making nothing in the non-conference, shot better than 40% from three in conference play. He's also gotten more comfortable away from the ball, something he wasn't asked to do often in high school.
His attention on the defensive end has improved. He's still the most athletically gifted of Purdue's guards, and he's used it to attack the glass, grabbing 13 rebounds in 29 minutes of NCAA Tournament action through two games.
"I'm excited to play," Harris said after being asked about advancing to the Sweet 16.
"This is pretty crazy," he added about playing in a football stadium. One could argue it's not the weirdest setting he's played in though. "I've played in a mall before."
Harris has adjusted to his role and he believes he's playing the best basketball of his career off the bench. Against an athletic team like Houston with shooters everywhere, Painter might lean on his more athletic bench even more on Friday.
Work away from the court
Jack Benter has been leading Purdue's scout team for most the season. The 6-5 true freshman is one of the best shooters to come out of the state of Indiana. That's not hyperbole, but there wasn't room on this team for another guard and so Benter took the redshirt and started to work on his body.
It's the place that he's improved the most this season.
'My strength," Benter told me Thursday when I asked what he's grown most in this season. "Obviously being in a college weight room for a whole year has really helped my game a lot."
Benter's not a shooter, as the main focus of defenses for most his career at Brownstown Central, Benter's ability to handle the ball, feel the court, and find teammates offers hope that Benter will be elite on the offensive end of the floor. He also has tree trunks for legs and his frame makes him a much more physical presence than some other Purdue shooters in the past.
Still, Benter is a basketball junkie and not playing on gamedays has made the season a long one.
"It's really tough sometimes," Benter said. "You're working for something but you can't really show what you're working on till the following year."
And that's Benter's goal. He wants to make an impact as soon as next season.
"Just kind of look at the future," Benter said about what pushes him through. "I'm hoping to be able to play some next year and the following year, so just keep working. Can't really take days off right now because it'll come back to bite you."
Very tall future
Daniel Jacobsen wasn't supposed to be doing most his work off the court, but a broken leg in Purdue's second game of the season has allowed Jacobsen to focus on his body as he rehabbed his during the season.
"I've been able to use the opportunity of not playing to get a lot of other things done," Jacobsen said Thursday. "Like getting stronger, skill work, putting weight on."
Jacobsen, a 7-3, stretch center and shot blocker is everything Purdue's defense has been craving this season, but the freshmen hasn't let that detract him from the positives he can bring into next year. Jacobsen is visibly thicker, having added a decent amount of weight to his upper body.
But Jacobsen has no doubt he'll be better next season and so will the team.
"I'm really excited," Jacobsen said Thursday. "I think we're gonna be even better next year. I can't wait to play with Braden, with Trey, with Fletch, with all those guys."
Next year, that defining class of juniors will turn to seniors. Purdue will have just one freshman next year, and a whole collection of sophomores looking to take another step forward.
That is the Purdue way, but this year's team isn't done adding to this team's legacy. The future can wait, bright as it is.
Continue reading...
