2014-2015 Purdue Basketball Preview

Submitted by Padog on

Purdue:

Let me preface this by saying that this is my first thread here and it would be nice if you guys take it easy on me. I have always been interested in statistics and putting together previews of certain teams. I got the idea to go through an early preview of the B1G teams. So, here goes it.

The Purdue basketball team has suffered through an awful year in which they finished last in the B1G. The team lost seniors Terone Johnson (#0), Errick Peck (#32), Sterling Carter (#1), and Travis Carroll (#50). Not only did they lose these four core seniors, but they also lost Terone's younger brother Ronnie Johnson who is transferring. In addition, Jay Simpson unfortunately has suffered a career ending heart condition and will not be playing. Between these six players they are losing 55% of their minutes and 52% of their points. So here is the projected roster for next season:

 

Number  Name                   HT             WT          YR         POS

 

30      Neal Beshears          6-7            198       SR.           SF

Has only played in 26 games in his 3 years, most likely will continue on that path.

 

11      Stephen Toyra          6-3            177       JR.           SG

Kind of the same deal, only played in 19 games in his two years.

 

2        Jon McKeeman         6-1             180        JR.          PG

Even more of a scrub, 6 games, 2 years.

 

*20     A.J. Hammons          7-0             251         JR.         C

Hammons is one of the biggest headcases in college basketball. When trying, he is a dominant force, when careless, he is a foul and turnover machine. Could go pro this year, but not likely. Has averaged 10.7 points and 6.7 rebounds over his career. Starting Center.

 

*35     Rapheal Davis          6-5             211         JR.       SG

Davis will most likely be the starting two guard or three. He has averaged 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds over his career. He is and most likely will continue to be just an average player.

 

*21     Kendall Stephens     6-6             193          SO.       SG

Stephens is "just a shooter". He will most likely continue this. Because of his game he might play the 2 on offense and the 3 on defense. Stephens will most likely make a jump and add to his 8 points per game. May have to come off the bench.

 

*5       Basil Smotherman    6-5           222           SO.       SF

Basil Smotherman, a candidate for name of the year, will continue his starting ways. He will look to add to his 5 points per game.

 

*12     Bryson Scott            6-1           201           SO.       PG

Bryson Scott will most likely get the nod at the Point. He only started two games last year and his A:TO is not very good, but he can make a Freshman jump.

 

24      Anfernee Brown        6-1           190            SO.       PG

Will not play.

 

44      Isaac Haas                7-2           275           FR.       C

Thier highest touted recruit, a 7-2 center is a rare commodity and he may get some meaningful minutes. 4 star on rivals.

 

4        Vince Edwards          6-7           205           FR.        SF

Another freshman that may get some important minutes, no more than any other established forwards, as there are plenty on the team.

 

23      Jacquill Taylor           6-9            215            FR.      PF

May get some minutes.

 

31      Dakota Mathias         6-4           190            FR.       SG

Possibilty for him to get some good minutes, relies on whether or not Eron Harris transfers. Although Harris does not play the same position, he would take up valuable minutes.

3        P.J. Thompson          5-10           155             FR.     PG

Redshirt
 
Projected Starting Lineup:
 
Point Guard: Bryson Scott
Shooting Guard: Rapheal Davis
Small Forward: Kendall Stephens
Power Forward: Basil Smotherman
Center: A.J. Hammons
 
Michigan plays Purdue on the road next year, which actually works to our advantage. These are the teams you want to play on the road, if you lose, it is a road game that is a decent excuse. You win, another road win on your resumé. 
 
My projection is that Purdue will actually get worse, if that is at all possible. They lose a lot of leadership, if they had any. They also lose a lot of points and that is hard to fix. However, in a few years they may surprise some people. I will say they go 4-14 in the conference season and fight with Rutgers for worst team in the league.
 
Thank you guys for reading if you did, and I am open any criticism you guys give me. If you think I should keep going, I will most likely working up from the worst teams to the best. If I should stop and save my time, tell me. Go Blue!
 
Up next... Rutgers
 

Comments

Mr. Elbel

March 25th, 2014 at 10:57 PM ^

If they can bring in some guys to play around Haas, they could be a darkhorse B1G team in a couple years, but I just don't see it for the time being. I agree with your conclusion that they will likely get worse. Hard to lose that many guys and not take a nose-dive.

RobSk

March 26th, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^

it makes little sense if they don't start Hammons and Haas together. I'd want to build my teams identify around serious size advantages, and get Haas all the experience you can as you build around him. Yeah, one of those guys at least is going to struggle with smaller dudes, but that will go both ways.

     Rob

zlionsfan

March 28th, 2014 at 11:42 AM ^

One of the hotly-debated issues on Purdue blogs this year was exactly how much leadership they had in the first place: whether this was even more of a blow or whether it was addition by subtraction (see: Guptill and Di Guiseppe). Given Painter's consistent comments throughout the season, I lean toward the latter.

Purdue does return three of their four most efficient players, in Smotherman, Davis, and Stephens, but as with Carroll (9.9% of possessions), none of them were even in the Significant Contributor range. The two who were Major Contributors are Hammons and Scott, and neither of them posted numbers to be thrilled about. (Scott's ORtg was 91.4, using 25.8 of possessions, the highest figure on the team. MIGHT BE A PROBLEM)

With the offense at its worst since Painter's first year (cleaning up the mess that Keady left) and the defense rapidly approaching that, another hot topic has been whether Painter is a good coach/recruiter who's struggling to find the right combination, or if he just got lucky with Moore, Johnson, and Hummel, and basically rode that group to an extension he did not deserve.

People in the former camp ask for patience and want to give Painter a couple of years to straighten this out. Without knowing the details of the buyout clause in Painter's contract, I can't be sure if that will happen, but I would not be surprised if he had exactly one more season to fix things.

Purdue has finished alone in last place in the conference five times in league history. Painter was the coach for two of them: 2005-06 (the first year after Keady) and this year. If it happens again next season, I can't see Burke retaining him. Gutting the football and basketball programs at the same time kind of affects your ability to generate revenue, and Burke is sensitive to that.

If Painter stays, I agree that it will take a while to turn things around. I don't think there are signs in his recent recruiting classes that he can draw another group of Baby Boilers and rebuild the team quickly. If he goes, a quick rebuild is possible, depending on who's available and interested. The Purdue job can be a decent one, given the relative importance of men's basketball on campus (i.e. above football), but it might also be perceived as a position where the rebuilding task is greater than most coaches might want to try in a power conference.

goatsniffer65

November 22nd, 2014 at 1:18 PM ^

And what do you think about Purdue now after 3 games?

 

4-14 is not even realistic.....10-8 or better

 

They are going to slap a few teams in the big 10 that are not ready for the raw talent and athleticism some of these new players bring.

 

This team could become a terror by big 10 tournament time and I predict they will be a top 20 rated team by end of season.

 

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