Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/445277
GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 16 • 4 T here were many domi- noes that had to fall right for Purdue this sea- son for it to experience the instant resurgence it — and certainly its fans — hoped for. Certain personnel had to come up big, notably A.J. Hammons and Kendall Stephens. Leadership had to emerge on a roster that entered the fall with no seniors of consequence and more freshmen than returnees. And Purdue needed young players to play, and behave, beyond their years. But an overlooked key to the 2014-15 season was this: Zone had to work. Matt Painter put considerable time and effort this offseason into implementing such a defensive package, going against the grain of his coaching career to date and go - ing against his training, as a player and coach alike. But he was trying to be solu- tion-oriented, recognizing vulner- abilities in this roster that zone — rather, good zone — could conceiv- ably have covered up. Despite Painter and his staff's best efforts, how- ever, it's been for naught. Zone has not worked, as evidenced by the fact Purdue seems to have all but scrapped it. Why didn't it work? Hard to say, beyond pointing out the fact that there are certain base-layer ele- ments that make a team either good or bad on defense, and those things remain the same no matter what defense is being run, obvious things like effort, knowledge, detail- oriented-ness and discipline. These are things that have ei- ther not come naturally to recent Purdue teams or not been effective- ly coached into those teams, as the Boilermakers not only have slipped on defense the past two-plus sea- sons, but they've bottomed out. It can't possibly help that this has been a man-to-man program through and through for a gen- eration now and anything else falls outside its, well, comfort zone. But, there were reasons Purdue even explored the pos- sibility, lots of them, almost all of which are now drawing attention to themselves like a ringing iPhone in church for a Boilermaker team whose fate this season very much remains to be seen. Against two premier oppo- nents this week, Purdue got lit up at the foul line, product largely of an inability to defend without fouling. Previously, opponents gouged the Boilermakers with three-pointers, the root cause often being an in- ability to contain the dribble in man. Painter saw this coming. Enter: Zone. Didn't work. Now, Purdue is sitting in it. Purdue wants to play through its big men, but foul trouble still remains a con- stant concern for both Isaac Haas and Hammons, rare being the game that there is not some issue with one or the other. Painter knew this would be a worry, particularly for Hammons, and figured zone might help. Didn't work. Now, Purdue is sitting in it. Purdue's centers are the Boilermakers' foundation under the model Painter's gone to, crucial cogs at both ends of the floor: Around the basket on offense and at the rim on defense. Opponents don't want Pur - due's size anchored at the basket, a counter-punch being to draw them out and stick them in ball-screen defense, to exploit the immobility that inherently comes with being gigantic, making their advantages disadvantages, and exposing them to further fouling risks. Painter saw this coming and put in zone. Didn't work. Now, Purdue is sitting in it. Purdue needed zone to work more than anyone might have ad- mitted, not necessarily to be the foundation of Purdue's defensive playbook, but just to be a viable op- tion, something more than a wrinkle. Didn't work. It was absolutely worth a shot. But it seems like that shot has missed. j Neubert can be contacted at BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com F R O M E D I T O R B R I A N N E U B E R T Zone Out