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VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 15 2016-17 season to come. MORE SKILL, FLEXIBILITY ON OFFENSE Purdue's long-held belief from the time bookend forwards Swanigan and Vincent Edwards decided they'd return to school instead of taking up- hill runs at the NBA a few months back is that it should be a better team offensively than it was a season ago. That could come at a price consid- ering the transition the Boilermakers will be making defensively, but even without leading-scorer Hammons, they feel like there's an offensive bump to come. It starts up front, where Haas, BURNING QUESTIONS Defense: Clearly, Purdue must re-define itself. A.J. Hammons erased a lot of defensive breakdowns. He created many of them, as well, but that's beside the point. Purdue sim- ply cannot replace his awesome shot-blocking presence and the influence it imposed on games, nor can the Boilermakers replace Rapheal Davis' ability to defend on the wing. What Purdue can do is make the best of it with what it has and find a new way to be ef- fective. As of the start of practice, it worked philosophically toward closing ranks around the lane to protect it at all costs, then closing out on shooters through sheer effort. Isaac Haas isn't the shot-blocker Hammons was, but that doesn't mean his size can't be leveraged de- fensively. Poise: People want to talk about the press, and justifiably so. Purdue melted down at times against the simplest of pressure. But it also reflected a larger issue: Composure. Purdue will hope added experience and maturity, coupled with some personnel changes, can produce a cooler head in those situations. It's kind of a must, because this issue cost the Boilermakers games last season and wound up ending their season in almost ridiculous fashion. The Little Rock game would have been more shocking had the same thing not hap- pened so many times before. Haas: How does the Boilermaker center's productivity in a limited role last season trans- late to an expanded one this season? Surely he's not going to have average 27 and 10 as his per-40-minutes stats last season stood at, but if he can be that impactful over longer stretches — conditioning and foul considerations will be crucial — then look out. As good as Purdue's forwards figure to be, Haas might be best equipped to dominate because of the impossibility of the physical matchup for both teams and the amount of fouls he's bound to draw. The freshman: Purdue believes Carsen Edwards can be an impact player as a rookie. But how impactful? For him to be as effective as he can be, it stands to reason to suggest Matt Painter's going to need to empower him, which he's already started doing by putting Edwards at shooting guard. But Edwards is nothing if not, uh, aggressive on offense, so there's going to be the occasional 30-footer with 20 seconds on the shot clock. Purdue wants Edwards to play his way to be most effective. It's going to have to let him, while ask- ing him to be smart about it. — Brian Neubert