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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 2 30 a bit more mobile with those two guys coming off the bench." DEFENSIVE IDENTITY Last season, Purdue directed its defensive efforts toward containing the dribble, moving opponents off the three-point line and keeping the ball out of the paint. That won't change this season, at least not dra- matically. With its roster returning largely intact, it stands to reason to suggest there will be no wholesale changes, though the Boilermakers will have a new voice in their collective ear as first-year assistant coach Steve Lutz takes over overseeing the defense, replacing Jack Owens, who became head coach at Miami (Ohio) after last season. There are some personnel nuances, though, with this team defensively from last season. For one thing, Mathias is established as one of the premiere perimeter defenders in the Big Ten, coming off a season in which he surprised the conference, his teammates, his coaches and himself by earning a spot on the league's All-Defense team. Purdue didn't exactly come into last season with a wealth of athleticism and quickness on the wing, but Mathias quickly emerged as the sort of defender Purdue assumed it wouldn't have, the central reason Painter shifted his defensive focus away from pres- sure and more toward containment. But Mathias' defensive success last season had less to do with physical elements than it did mental ones. He prepared, studying opponents extensively in ad- vance of matchups with some of the better backcourt scorers on the Boilermakers' schedule. More often than not, it paid off in a big way, making for one of the greatest individual-improvement stories Purdue's known, and there have been many to choose from. Mathias' improbable emergence provided Purdue a foundational presence on defense, one it'll again lean on heavily this season, again playing a style geared toward containing the ball or funneling it toward its stifling size. From a personnel perspective, Purdue does look bet- ter on paper this season than it would have a year ago at this time. Mathias' improvement overshadowed that of Cline, who emerged last season, too, as a bet- ter-than-might-have-been-anticipated defender, and it's hoped and expected that experience will mean im- provement for sophomore Carsen Edwards, whose at- tention to detail, particularly guarding away from the ball, sometimes lapsed on defense a year ago. Purdue's crop of newcomers, particularly Nojel East- ern, add some athleticism and defensive versatility, as well, and its more mobile options at center could change things defensively. Whether it's Taylor or Haarms on the floor at the 5 when Haas is on the bench, both move well enough to be more active defending the dribble and are agile enough to pressure screens around the perimeter and still recover to protect the rim, should Purdue opt to use them that way. And, it's been a long-standing matchup vulnera- bility for Purdue when it faces big men capable of Tom Campbell Nojel Eastern could be one of Purdue's most versatile players. He'll play backup point as a freshman but that could change as his career progresses.