Smack

The one thing I took away from the game is Painter FINALLY taught his guys how to beat a full court press. I didn't see the whole second half, but I only remember one time where Purdue dropped the ball (literrally and figuratively) with the press applied. The press caught them in the second half. LewJack got a 10 second violation and then AJ had the ball stripped, he recovered it and started his dribble again and the refs called it a double dribble? Those were back to back posessions and were really painful. Purdue was actually leading for a few minutes in the second half.

Purdue played a better Alabama team closely until under 10 to go in the second half. A couple of bad shots and turnovers and Alabama built enough of a lead that their D could put the clamps down. Alabama has an impressive amount of athleticism. Full court pressure, acrobatic dunks, etc. I'm glad Purdue beat Iona and Temple! I think those wins will matter on Selection Sunday.

[expletive] YOU [expletive]

Jesus Iowa.

lol

Iowa players were celebrating until they realized they had to go back to the state of Iowa, even though they won.

Indiana will have zero wins in conference and if Purdue has to beat them to get to a bowl game.... Purdue will find a way to lose. If Purdue can beat Iowa, I think Purdue handles IU with no problem. I really do hope that IU can complete the perfect B1G season though.

Yup. Complete deer in the headlights so far today.

We should probably talk about Hummel more. I know you love the man.

According to Rivals he had offers from Illinois, Ohio St, Marquette, Cal, Iowa, and Iowa St. I don't know how accurate that is and how hard Illinois was trying for him though. I think he's a good fit for Purdue at any rate. Plus he's coming in at a good time to have success as a scorer.

Byrd's minutes are down due to injury, he completely missed the High Point debacle. I think he'll play more minutes once he's healthy again. Barlow needs to continue to work on decision making and concentration. He's a streaky shooter but most of that is concentration I think. You'll see him throw up a very nice form 3-pointer and hit it, followed by a poor technique brick.

What has been severely lacking so far is Purdue's defense. Teams are figuring out how to score on them, and Painter has yet to adjust. As you mentioned, they lack an inside presence. Granted, it's early in the season, but based on what I've seen so far, Carroll has not taken the step forward I had hoped this year and Marcius really isn't developing as quickly as many thought he would. What do you think of Anthony Johnson so far? He's going to be a good one. I bet he's the leading scorer next year and makes the All-Freshman team this year. Maybe I'm too high on him... Some of the Illinois posters here were pretty down on him. I think the RS year was exactly what he needed. I like him, but I worry that he's going to struggle on defense a bit, as he looks like a stiff breeze could knock him over. I'm really curious to see how Jacob Lawson develops. They're going to need him to at least provide interior defense and rebounding, even if he won't contribute much offensively. He looks like he's grown a bit and put on a bunch of weight since his Whitney Young days. He still doesn't have a B1G body, but after Hummel, and maybe Terone Johnson, he's the only guy that can create his own shot. He's a pure shooter too. I think his FT issues are mental right now. He said he was shaking during his first start the other night due to Freshman nerves.

What has been severely lacking so far is Purdue's defense. Teams are figuring out how to score on them, and Painter has yet to adjust. As you mentioned, they lack an inside presence. Granted, it's early in the season, but based on what I've seen so far, Carroll has not taken the step forward I had hoped this year and Marcius really isn't developing as quickly as many thought he would. What do you think of Anthony Johnson so far? He's going to be a good one. I bet he's the leading scorer next year and makes the All-Freshman team this year. Maybe I'm too high on him... Some of the Illinois posters here were pretty down on him. I think the RS year was exactly what he needed. I like him, but I worry that he's going to struggle on defense a bit, as he looks like a stiff breeze could knock him over. I'm really curious to see how Jacob Lawson develops. They're going to need him to at least provide interior defense and rebounding, even if he won't contribute much offensively. Yeah, some of Lawson's blocks have been sick. He'll be good at cleaning up garbage around the rim but I don't think he ever develops beyond a defensive player with a few dunks and layups each game. Don't get me wrong, Purdue needs that type of player too, especially with his level of athleticism. I'm most dissapointed with Terone Johnson. So much hype, and he can get to the rim, but he has trouble finishing and is a mediocre shooter at best. He shouldn't shoot 3's unless he's wide open. He looks like he struggles with confidence.

What has been severely lacking so far is Purdue's defense. Teams are figuring out how to score on them, and Painter has yet to adjust. As you mentioned, they lack an inside presence. Granted, it's early in the season, but based on what I've seen so far, Carroll has not taken the step forward I had hoped this year and Marcius really isn't developing as quickly as many thought he would. What do you think of Anthony Johnson so far? He's going to be a good one. I bet he's the leading scorer next year and makes the All-Freshman team this year. Maybe I'm too high on him... Some of the Illinois posters here were pretty down on him. I think the RS year was exactly what he needed.

Can you explain what Boiler Up means? I know what a Boilermaker is, and that Boiler is a shortening of that mascot's name... but it's it like saying "Man up"? Joe Tiller's wife came up with it, while Tiller was still head coach there. As a Purdue grad, I hate the phrase and try to refrain from using it as much as possible. oops... wrong thread... moved to basketball

Can you explain what Boiler Up means? I know what a Boilermaker is, and that Boiler is a shortening of that mascot's name... but it's it like saying "Man up"? 'Man up', is kind of the idea. Joe Tiller's wife 'coined' the phrase as just a cheer to get the crowd going. It turns out, in the days of coal/steam powered trains 'Boilers Up' was shouted when the train was up to full power/steam. So it's kind of just taken on the meaning of rah rah go fight win... and such... I usually just say it because it irritates the hell out of non-Purdue fans. I can take it or leave it.

If Purdue wins they're bowl eligible for the first time since 2007. [expletive] Iowa. Boiler Up!

Pomeroy has Purdue losing to Temple today by 1. Big game early in the season for Purdue. Plus regardless of whether they win or lose they'll be facing either Alabama or Wichita St. on Sunday. Some great opportunities to build their tournament resume if they can start playing some defense.

Outside of Ohio State it's a [expletive] crapshoot man. . . . and Penn State. Good point!

Outside of Ohio State it's a [expletive] crapshoot man.

Purdue survives again. Good lord. To be fair, Pomery has Iona ranked at 57, so they're not chumps. They're a good squad... but that was some pickup league defense out there.

It's not just lights out shooting by Iona either (they are shooting at a hight percentage). They're getting wide open looks like VCU. Everyone in the country has watched that tape and Painter has to make adjustments.

Purdue let Iona drop 50 on them in the first half. That's some ugly D my friends.

and when chris rock played for them I miss that guy.

I'm not sure how much we can gather out of these games for IU. They're obviously much more athletic then the teams they're playing and are just overwhelming them. It is fun to be back in a position though where these games are not a struggle anymore. It will be interesting to see what happens when they come up against some teams that will test them. Watching them I can't help but think about next year either. Taking only 1 player out of the top 7-8 and replacing it with 5 freshman of which 3 of them will probably contribute immediately? This team could be good, but that team is very likely to be good to great. Plus that team will have to be one of the top 2-3 athletic teams in the Big 10. The Big Ten is going to be very good over the next few years. There is a truckload of talent coming into several programs. IU will be off the floor, Purdue will have more 4 star talent on their roster at one time than I can recall, Michigan, MSU, Wisconsin, Illinois (depending on Weber situation), OSU... Assuming Sullinger goes pro, next year could be a wide open race with what, 4-6 teams with a shot at the title? Hell, even Iowa has gotten their recruiting going well again.