And just like that, the exhibition season for the Purdue men’s basketball team is over. From here on out the games are real and they wind up in the win/loss column. Tonight was an important step for this Purdue team to work out some of the kinks we saw in the game against the Kentucky Wildcats. As I said after that game, you never want to take too much away from an exhibition where the result doesn’t matter. I stand by that and want everyone to proceed with caution and a big grain of salt when taking anything away from this game. It’s not to say that it doesn’t matter, it does, but only in very small and specific ways. For instance, how did Purdue shoot the ball? Were they getting open looks? How was the effort on the defensive side of the ball, something Painter and Purdue pride themselves on? These are things you can look at and try to find takeaways from but still, it’s an exhibition game and an inexact science.
This one though was over before it started. I stood in the tunnel of Mackey Arena while the UIndy players came onto the court before the game began and you knew it was over just looking at them. That’s not meant to be a slight on these guys, they are good basketball players, but there’s just different levels to this stuff. Purdue’s guys look like dudes, ya know what I mean? UIndy’s guys sort of look like a really good team you’d see at the local Y. They’re also young with only three players on the roster that were seniors or grad students. There’s some talent there but it just wasn’t going to match up with the Boilermakers.
John Wooden Memorial Player of the Game (JWMPOTG): Gicarri Harris is gonna earn this one for me tonight. Coming into his sophomore season there was a hope that Harris would make that big sophomore jump. If these two games (that don’t count) are any indication he’s made that jump. Just as a for example, at the end of the first half Harris went on a personal 8-0 run that included back to back threes and two free throws. He was the only player to score in the final 1:26 of the half. But it wasn’t just shooting the ball, though he did that great finishing with 20 points on 7-10 shooting including 4-5 from three. He also finished with 4 rebounds and 2 steals. An all around great game for the sophomore.
As always in these exhibition games Painter tinkered with the lineups and put some combinations out there that you’re unlikely to see a lot of in crunch time. The lineup of Mayer, Cox, Harris, Benter, and Jacobsen exemplified this. Not sure you’ll see many minutes this season without Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, or Trey Kaufman-Renn out there, but this five held their own and then some. The defensive effort out of these guys was everything you want. They were communicating, they were moving, and they each made their case for more playing time. In addition to Harris’ play in the first half, Daniel Jacobsen stood out for just his sheer size and length.
As someone who is 5’6” it really seems cruel that some should have so much while I have so little. But alas that’s the hand I was dealt. Jacobsen impacted the game with his length while just standing near his man as on one possession UIndy threw it right to him trying to get the ball to the lane. Can’t imagine how tough it’s going to be for teams to get the ball in there when he’s roving the lane. He struggled with fouls getting two in the first half and then a third just about a minute and a half into the second half.
As far as the other big guy goes, Oscar Cluff struggled in the first half. He got two quick fouls and headed to the bench after just three minutes of play. Once he came back in he got a third foul, on a moving screen, and headed for the bench. In the first half he managed just six minutes but was whistled for three fouls. It’s not quite a trend yet but it’s certainly something to watch.
Purdue shot the ball much better in the first half than they did against Kentucky. Purdue was 43% from three in the first half as they were getting good look after good look.
The second half was more of the same with Gicarri Harris asserting himself in the first 10 minutes of the half with more offense, active hands on defense, and just generally making the right play almost all the time. I can’t say enough good things about the game that Harris played. Just showed so much growth from last year. He looked more confident than he did all of last season.
In the second half the lid came off the basket for just about everyone. After going 0-3 in the early going, Jack Benter was finally able to can his first three pointer. Oscar Cluff had his moment as well starting with what else but rebounding. In two possessions he got three rebounds and one easy put back. It’s that kind of effort and easy bucket that Purdue needs from him. That’s why Purdue and Matt Painter went and got him and we saw flashes of it here in the second half. Antoine West Jr. also found his stroke in the second half with back to back threes. Liam Murphy also found the basket in the second half for his first three. Overall the backups for Purdue all had their moments. This is what you want to see in exhibition games. Give everyone a chance to make their case.
Purdue finished the game shooting 50% from three, outrebounded poor UIndy 48-23, and shot 13-18 from the line. An all-around good performance from the Boilermakers tonight.
With exhibition season over it’s decision time for Antione West to see if he redshirts or sticks it out in a season where minutes might be limited for him. A decision would seemingly be announced in the coming days. If he does redshirt he would join Raleigh Burgess who it was announced was redshirting prior to the exhibition against Kentucky.
Purdue finishes exhibition play 1-1 and no one will remember this. The real season starts next week and Purdue fans are ready for it. Let’s get to work.
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