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18 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 3 f BIG ROLES FOR ROOKIES The freshmen have delivered. Center Isaac Haas and forward Vince Edwards have each been among the most productive rookies in the Big Ten, each of them instant-impact performers for Pur- due and budding standouts who have created favorable matchups for Painter's team, Haas with his suffocating size and Edwards with his uncommon blend of skill for a 6-foot-7 forward. Guards Dakota Mathias and P.J. Thompson have lim- itations but have been valuable contributors, mostly as reserves, but Edwards and Haas have been bedrocks for Purdue from Day 1. You could make a case the two first-season players have been Purdue's best two players this season, which is great news on one hand for the Boilermakers, not-so- great news on the other, because … TWO LOOKING TO GET GOING Returnees A.J. Hammons and Kendall Stephens, right- fully considered Purdue's best two players coming into the season, haven't gotten going yet. Hammons is actually backing up Haas, an almost un- thinkable notion leading into the season but Purdue's reality right now. It's not a ploy either. Haas has been the more productive offensive player while Hammons has averaged less than 10 points per game, shot far too low a percentage for his size and style and led the Boilermak- ers in turnovers. That said, Hammons is still the game-changer he's al- ways been on defense, and was pivotal in Purdue's two biggest wins, making a game-winner in overtime against BYU then helping seal the N.C. State game with a pair of late free throws. Stephens came off the bench for a stretch also. His numbers are OK and he's shown improvement as an all-around player, especially defensively, but he's been inconsistent and prone to taking ill-advised shots, per Painter. Stephens is one of three Purdue sophomores along with guard Bryson Scott and forward Basil Smotherman. None of them have been consistently better this season than they were last season, though all have had moments. INSIDE-OUT? Purdue is wholly committed to playing through the post and leveraging the size advantage it holds with Hammons and Haas on the interior. Is it? Well, Haas and Hammons are averaging a combined 21 or so points and 10.5 rebounds in fairly even minutes, neither playing more than 20 minutes per game. Ham- mons is averaging almost three blocked shots per game. But, the two centers are combining to shoot just 59 percent from the foul line, leaving countless freebie points unclaimed. Hammons is shooting only 45.8 per- cent from the floor, struggling to finish around the basket sometimes and continuing to take open jump shots with little to show for it. Hammons and Haas are 1-2, respectively, on the team in turnovers, combining for 45. Purdue is outrebounding opponents on average 38-32 and has been an excellent offensive rebounding team for the most part, but Edwards is Purdue's leader in that cat- egory with 33 offensive boards. NUTS AND BOLTS S Defense is again a critical concern. Purdue's new zone has taken a backseat to the program's traditional man-to-man as Painter has been pleasantly surprised by his lateral-quickness-deficient personnel's ability to play man. However, Notre Dame — the Irish are a great offensive team, in fairness — shredded it to the tune of 94 points. How much Purdue will use zone from here on out re- mains to be seen, but this is again a primarily-man team. S Where would Purdue be without senior point guard Jon Octeus, the October add-on who's started every game and been a rock-solid contributor? There's no telling. But he's been a season-changing addition who seems to be getting better the more he settles in with a team he didn't join until mid-October. S This team passes better than past teams and it's not close. For the entirety of the non-conference season, Pur- due has ranked among national leaders in assist ratio, recording an assist on 63 percent of its made field goals through 12 games. Purdue's personnel is also better equipped as perime- ter shooters, though marked improvement has not been shown in the numbers.