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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED OLUME 26, ISSUE 5 59 leader. Purdue already backed off its trademark defensive pressure this season due to personnel and rules chang- es and now will have to redefine itself again, no matter what its roster ultimately looks like. "We're going to have to play a little different," guard Dakota Mathias said. "And at the same time, I think we'll exchange it on the offensive end. We'll have more weapons and we'll see what happens." Offensively, if all projected returnees do just that, Purdue stands to benefit now from Swanigan and Ed- wards being settled in at the 4 and 3, respectively, as both transitioned to new roles during the season and seemed to peak toward its conclusion. Hammons, Purdue's top scorer the past two seasons, is gone and leaves huge shoes to fill, but has even big- ger feet to fill them now. Haas, now a junior, will have to improve his condi- tioning this off-season to handle twice the workload that he did this season, and he'll have to overcome the mental trappings that come with inconsistent offici- ating, but the mountainous 7-foot-2 center has been highly productive and influential throughout his first two seasons at Purdue and obviously has the potential to be an outstanding player. Hammons' loss is clearly impactful, but it also af- fords Purdue some flexibility. Should Swanigan return, he now would move into those backup-center minutes where he was so effective for stretches as a freshman. The frontcourt should again be Purdue's strengths, and depth will come with athletic upperclassman Basil Smotherman coming out of redshirt and sophomore big man Jacquil Taylor coming along on schedule in his de- velopment. At center, Haas will not be the rim protector Ham- mons was. Few would be, considering Hammons left Purdue having fallen just shy of the school's career re- cord for blocked shots, but Haas hopes to make up for it with sheer mass and better awareness in dribble con- tainment than Hammons often provided. Offensively, Painter feels his team can be better next season. Swanigan and Edwards are each go-to-player types in their respective roles; Haas averaged more points per 40 minutes last season than any high-major player not named Buddy Hield; and shooters/decision-makers Da- kota Mathias and Ryan Cline will be more empowered this season than they were last, including in more fre- quent stretches playing together. Davis' defensive ability and experience made him essential, but with him gone and Purdue bound to change defensively anyway, the opportunity is there for the Boilermakers to put more skill on the floor. Maybe that's a step, too, toward Purdue succeeding where it has previously failed, in those game-deciding close-out situations. "I just think we have to be more poised, more solid, throughout the last five or six minutes of the game and Looking Ahead Some themes for next season: Who's coming? Purdue continues to recruit this spring for next season, its focus being on immedi- ately eligible guard help, among other things. Purdue is open to multi-year signees, or transfers, too, but doesn't want to limit its options for the 2017 recruiting class, either. Who's going? Caleb Swanigan and Vince Edwards have until May 25 to pull their names out of the NBA draft or decide to stay in the draft and leave Purdue. Obviously, two pivotal decisions. Leadership: Purdue has no returning seniors, but will lean heavily on its strong rising-junior class to as- sume ownership of the team. That group seems well- equipped to handle the role. Schedule: The non-conference slate includes na- tional champ Villanova at home, Arizona State in New York City, Notre Dame in Indianapolis and Texas Tech and/or Auburn in Cancun. Also, could a trip to Louisville materialize for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge? There's sentiment on both sides that says maybe. — Brian Neubert