GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 16 • 11
A.J. Hammons 20
C • 7-0 • Jr.
Hammons has been a
little better offensively in
Big Ten play, but he re-
mains less efficient than
would be ideal around
the basket, continues
to turn the ball over too
much and has been
prone to cheap fouls. All
told, he is having a rock-solid season by
most standards, but the standard Purdue
needed him to meet this season is not
one of them.
P.J. Thompson 3
G • 5-10 • Fr.
With Octeus' huge
minutes being non-
negotiable at this point,
there haven't been many
minutes for backup
point guards, but there
have been some second-
ary opportunities at the
shooting guard position.
Thompson is getting all of them right
now, with Bryson Scott relegated to be-
ing a non-factor. Thompson made a big
three against Maryland and hasn't been a
liability on defense, if that's a compliment.
More than anything, Matt Painter seems
to trust him to do what he is supposed to
do and that goes a long way.
Dakota Mathias 31
G • 6-4 • Fr.
The freshman has given
Purdue solid minutes off
the bench the past two
games but may get in
over his head defensively
every now and then. He's
surviving in that sense.
Purdue needs — needs
— someone, whether it
be Stephens, Edwards or Mathias — to
really start burying threes at a high rate.
Purdue's offensive structure, at its most
basic levels, is reliant on it.
Basil Smotherman 5
F • 6-6 • So.
The sophomore is play-
ing sparse minutes, but
got an earlier call than
usual against Maryland
with Edwards struggling.
Whether Smotherman is
making the most of the
minutes he is getting is
debatable. It's clear cut
what Purdue needs from him — energy,
defense, rebounding, etc. — and there
have been flashes. But those things must
be constants, not flashes, for him to in-
crease his role.
Bryson Scott 1
G • 6-1 • So.
Scott has fallen off the
map for reasons Painter
obviously is not going
to detail publicly, other
than to confirm last
week that the sopho-
more not playing is a
"basketball" decision and
nothing punitive. Scott
sat out the entirety of two games prior to
Maryland, then logged just 14 seconds of
court time against the Terps for an end-
of-half sequence. How he handles this is
crucial to his future at Purdue, because
this could have the potential to not end
well.
Jacquil Taylor 23
F • 6-10 • Fr.
It is pretty apparent now
that Purdue will prob-
ably lay the freshman big
man out the remainder
of the season and seek
a medical redshirt at the
back end. Part of the
reason he wasn't 'shirted
in the first place was in
the event the Boilermakers needed a Plan
C at the 5. Well, they did against Maryland
due to foul trouble and went small, with
Edwards at "center." That is clearly the best
option in such situations even if it might
hurt on the boards. Purdue loves Taylor's
effort in practice, but he's not ready to
contribute.
Jon Octeus 0
G • 6-4 • Sr.
The scoring punch
brought lately by the Boil-
ermaker point guard has
been a nice shot in the arm
for Purdue and brought
some valuable balance of-
fensively, but he was not as
efficient as usual vs. Mary-
land, making just 4-of-11
shots. He can be excused
for it, though, given his efforts on defense, as
he led the charge that held stud Terp point
guard Melo Trimble to just 1-of-7 shooting.
Kendall Stephens 21
G • 6-6 • So.
When Stephens is mak-
ing shots, Purdue is an
entirely different team and
Purdue needed him mak-
ing shots in order to beat
either of the ranked teams
it faced this past week. At
Wisconsin, he didn't have
a chance to, limited to just
12 minutes by foul trouble.
Against Maryland, he scored 14 points, but
made two-point shots when the Boilermak-
ers needed three-point shots, on which he
was only 2-of-8.
Isaac Haas 44
C • 7-2 • Fr.
The game has changed
some for Haas in Big Ten
play, as play has gotten
more physical. With that
physicality has come
foul difficulties and other
assorted complications
related to how he plays.
The elbows are becoming
an issue. No one believes
some of the haymakers he's thrown on op-
ponents are intentional, but they're an oc-
cupational hazard for anyone guarding the
7-foot-2 Boilermaker rookie, who is simply
going to have to find ways to play without
allowing his greatest advantage to become a
disadvantage of sorts.
Rapheal Davis 35
F • 6-5 • Jr.
The junior's been ex-
ceptional for Purdue on
defense this season —
maybe the great personal-
improvement story of
the season for this team
— and he has chipped in
quite a bit on offense, but
in the Big Ten, opponents
know everyone's person-
nel and if Davis can't make them respect his
ability to make a jump shot, driving lanes
from the wing are going to be few and far
between.
Vince Edwards 12
F • 6-7 • Fr.
The Maryland game was
one of the few times
this season Edwards has
looked like a freshman, as
he missed his first seven
shots and uncharacteristi-
cally committed three
quick turnovers that con-
tributed to Purdue getting
off on the wrong foot. At
Wisconsin, two threes went in and out as
he never quite got going offensively after a
great game against Michigan. Purdue needs
him playing at a high level to be good and
needs him being aggressive.
Gold and Black's Men's Hoops Lineup
The
Starters
The
Reserves
The
Deep
Bench
Neal Beshears 30
F • 6-7 • Sr.
Anfernee Brown 24
G • 6-1 • So.
Jon McKeeman 2
G • 6-1 • Jr.
Stephen Toyra 11
G • 6-3 • Jr.
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