Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/592932
24 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED ever played at … a lot of people have always been stronger than me and quicker than me. I still don't think I've grown into my body. That's a positive and a negative. It means I still have a lot of work to do." Teammates say the work Stephens did this summer to improve his of- fensive versatility have brought im- pressive dividends. "He makes some unbelievable shots, NBA plays, NBA moves," Ed- wards said of Stephens during the summer. "He's been going right at Rapheal. He's worked on his defense and he's making strong moves and has a little bit of finesse to his game now." Stephens' up-side lies largely with his body. Mathias' might be more limited. Physically, the sophomore might already be what he's going to be long-term. His threshold for improvement, though, lies more in his physical conditioning. It may not have been readily ap- parent to the casual observer last season, but Mathias was often, well, a wreck. Last summer, after he first en- rolled, he battled mono, which took a toll that would reverberate through- out the season. There were bouts with vertigo, clearly a less-than-ideal hurdle for a jump-shooter to overcome, what with the dizziness and all. Once practice began in the fall, Mathias sprained not just one ankle, but both of them. But, again, those hard times have passed, Mathias hopes, though is- sues with illness have persisted through this preseason, a madden- ing turn of events for a player who hoped such concerns were behind him. Mathias underwent a procedure on his sinuses in the spring in hopes of eradicating the causes of his illnesses. Healthier than he was last sea- son this summer, Mathias was one of Purdue's best players the past few months, teammates have said. "At this time last year, I wasn't playing at all and at the end of last season, I wasn't in the best shape, wasn't healthy at all," Mathias said. "Now I'm healthier and in better overall condition." While Stephens and Mathias hope to improve this season, as is, they are largely known commodities, both of them essentially returning starters. Stephens has started 32 games as a Boilermaker; Mathias started 17 games as a freshman. For the third freshman class in a row, Painter introduces a touted high school shooter, the Boilermak- er coach going so far as to suggest Ryan Cline to be the finest he's ever signed at that particular skill. The Carmel High School product and 2015 Indiana Mr. Basketball run- ner-up (to Swanigan) is regarded as one of the top shooters in his high school class nationally and backed it up last April by winning a nationally televised three-point shooting con- test at the Final Four. "Kendall, Ryan and I, we have a lot of great shooters on this team and I honestly think Ryan is probably the purest shooter of all three of us," Mathias said. "But we're all pretty good. We haven't had any competi- tions yet, but it would be interesting to find out (who'd win)." Cline already finds himself at the heart of one of Purdue's preseason questions. He will be a prime redshirt candi- date if Painter comes out of the ex- hibition season feeling like he has what he needs from a shooting per- spective in Stephens, Mathias and whatever other players he may view in that context. That decision won't be made until right before the season, however. Painter seems smitten with the freshman, which might be all the more reason for the Boilermaker coach to want to take the long view with his career. Shooting is going to be crucial for Purdue this season, because of its need to put its big men in the best positions possible to be successful. The give-and-take there is obvi- ous, but if given the choice between the interior and perimeter, oppo- nents are more likely to try their luck with unproven shooters, Paint- er believes. The Boilermaker coach expects opponents to swarm the post early in the season and dare the Boiler- makers to make the jump shots they didn't last season. "They're going to make us prove it," Painter said. Furthermore, Painter expects his team to see so much zone defense that he worries it will be caught off guard when it's presented with stan- dard man-to-man. Purdue is just about done playing zone defense extensively — that experiment last non-conference season didn't stick, though it was