GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 18 • 8
Kendall Stephens 21
G • 6-6 • So.
Stephens avoided needing sur-
gery immediately after injuring
his left pinkie finger at Illinois but
may not be out of the water yet
if there's any aggravations to the
injury. He's playing with the finger
heavily wrapped, which can't
possibly be comfortable for him, but he logged 15
minutes against Iowa just 72 hours after the injury
and didn't look terribly out of sorts. He missed all
the shots he took, but whether that was related
to the hand, there's no telling. He looked comfort-
able in warmups.
Isaac Haas 44
C • 7-2 • Fr.
Haas was a non-factor at Illinois,
struggling against the smaller,
more athletic Illini front, for one
thing. Against Iowa, he played
one of his better games of the
Big Ten season — 10 points and
a season-high four blocks — but
missed several shots at defensive rebounds that
wound up in Hawkeye hands. Here's wondering
if his difficulties with fouls in past games have
stripped him of some of his aggressiveness. It was
nice for Purdue to see him have a resurgent of-
fensive game.
P.J. Thompson 3
G • 5-10 • Fr.
The freshman is logging the bulk
of the backup minutes at point
guard and some reserve min-
utes at the 2 and has struggled,
underscoring Purdue's need
to have Octeus on the floor as
much as possible. Purdue trusts
Thompson to do what he's supposed to do and
make good decisions and that's why he's playing,
but he has struggled against backcourt pressure
lately and isn't making the open threes that are
finding him within the framework of Purdue's ball
movement.
Basil Smotherman 5
F • 6-6 • So.
The story of the Iowa game
wasn't Davis' career-best scor-
ing game and clutch three, but
rather Smotherman's improbable
emergence from non-factor into
likely Game MVP for the Boiler-
makers. His 13 points on 5-of-6
shooting were big. His six rebounds, including the
two late defensive boards that sealed the game,
were even bigger. Again, when he plays hard and
with energy and focuses on rebounding, things
have a funny way of falling into place for him and
Purdue alike.
Bryson Scott 1
G • 6-1 • So.
Scott is a ghost right now. Angry
fans are convinced Painter has
some sort of personal vendetta
against the sophomore guard,
who's played a combined four
minutes the past six games, but
that's simply not reality. This is a
matter of Painter trusting other players more to
follow assignments and do what they're supposed
to be doing. Painter has said time and again that
his team has improved defensively since the play-
ing rotation was cut, with a better attention to
assignments and detail. It's not difficult to figure
that out.
Jon Octeus 0
G • 6-4 • Sr.
One of the greatest threats
to Purdue's well-being:
Foul trouble for Octeus.
He's been so reliable —
and, as importantly, his
backups so shaky — that
the senior point guard is
nearing the point where
Matt Painter almost can't
afford to take him off the
floor. Against Iowa, he saw a run of eight
consecutive double-figure scoring outings
snapped, an impressive streak for a player
who's not even a scorer. His presence at
the critical position is most important. He's
notched a 4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio the
past three games.
Dakota Mathias 31
G • 6-4 • Fr.
The freshman's minutes
have picked up sig-
nificantly with Kendall
Stephens injured, a chal-
lenge for the rookie, who's
battled conditioning and
fatigue problems. Mathias
plays a great floor game.
He's Purdue's best passer,
he doesn't turn the ball
over, he's improving on defense and he's
given Purdue more on the boards than you
might expect. But he's not making shots,
just 3-of-15 the past two games, 2-of-11
from three-point range, an area where
Purdue needs productivity from someone.
The guess here is that as Mathias settles
in, the jump shot will come. Can't happen
soon enough.
A.J. Hammons 20
C • 7-0 • Jr.
Back in the starting
lineup now after Isaac
Haas had started a dozen
games or so, Hammons
has shed some of his of-
fensive inefficiency lately.
In the past three games
— of which Purdue won
two — he's shooting 65
percent and he's commit-
ted just one turnover between his past two
outings. But he fell out of being involved of-
fensively in the second half at Illinois when
being defended, more or less, by a guard.
Some of that is on his teammates, but more
on him. And he has to be a constant force
on the glass and do a better job in dribble
containment than down the stretch against
Iowa.
Rapheal Davis 35
F • 6-5 • Jr.
Davis has led Purdue
all season defensively,
but is now carrying it
offensively, buoyed
by a jump shot that's
come alive, from out of
nowhere. After making
two threes through the
first 18 games — to the
point Painter literally told
him to stop shooting unless he absolutely
had to — Davis has made five in nine tries
the past two games alone, capped by the
game-winner against Iowa, the cherry on
top of his career-high 24-point outburst.
Davis logged 37 and 39 minutes, respec-
tively, the past two games and is showing
in so many ways why he's so indispensable.
Vince Edwards 12
F • 6-7 • Fr.
Edwards was overshad-
owed against Iowa by
Basil Smotherman's un-
likely-hero performance
and played a season-low
12 minutes because of
it. The consistency and
efficiency seen earlier in
the season from the fresh-
man have dipped and his
perimeter shooting has gone sideways on
him in Big Ten play, but his passing still can
really help Purdue. He has to be more care-
ful throwing into traffic sometimes, though.
He can thread the needle, but that doesn't
mean he always has to. Oh, and he has to
rebound better.
Gold and Black's Men's Hoops Lineup
The
Starters
The
Reserves
The
Deep
Bench
Jacquil Taylor 23
F • 6-10 • Fr.
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.
For
Season
Stats Click
Here
— Brian Neubert
