GoldandBlack.com - Men roll in exhibition

November 3, 2009

Brian Neubert

Post-game audio

Players E'Twaun Moore, D.J. Byrd and JaJuan Johnson

Post-game blog

Typical of first exhibition games, Purdue's 78-44 win over Division II California (Pa.) Tuesday night in Mackey Arena likely established a lengthy practice-floor agenda for the days to come.

The outcome was predictable, but the performance by the No. 7-ranked hosts in their 2009-10 debut was anything but perfect.

"At the beginning, it's always rough getting into the flow," guard E'Twaun Moore said. "In the summer, we only play pick-up and it's different playing in an organized game. You have to get those jitters out and I thought our team did a good job coming out ready to play."

In some senses, Purdue obviously did that, jumping all over its overwhelmed opponent to the tune of a quick 14-2 lead helped along by a defensive onslaught that forced the Vulcans into turnover after turnover.

The game was never in doubt. Not for one second. But exhibitions are called exhibitions for a reason. Sure, the occasional monumental upset occurs - ask Syracuse, which lost Tuesday night to D2 Le Moyne - but 95 percent of the time, these contests are non-competitive tune-ups for the season, meant for a team to get sharp before the games actually matter.

In that sense, Purdue's style-point quotient may not be very high.

Concerning what is arguably its greatest concern on the floor, Purdue was outrebounded Tuesday night, 43-41, by a team with little size to speak of and certainly nowhere near the athleticism.

"The concern, obviously, is the rebounding part of it," said Coach Matt Painter, whose team was led in rebounding by guards Chris Kramer and John Hart, with five each. "We have to do a better job. ... Everybody has to rebound. Whether it was our experienced guys, our starting five, or guys coming off the bench, nobody did their job on the glass and we have to try to get that corrected."

Purdue shot just under 41 percent, missed 10 free throws and committed 15 turnovers, many of them unforced. But those sorts of issues are not uncommon for first games, particularly as young players feel their way around.

Where the difference lied in this game was in the turnover column, where the Boilermaker defense simply devoured Cal, which ended up giving the ball away 32 times.

"That was an emphasis," Moore said, "to get into passing lanes, to heat the ball up, put a lot of pressure on them, and that's what we're going to try to do the rest of the year."

While Purdue might not have been flawless on Keady Court Monday night, the defensive effort was just one of many points of encouragement to begin a season in which so much will be expected.

Buoyed by healthy legs for the first time since his sophomore year, senior guard Keaton Grant gave reason to believe his last year could be his best year.

Grant believes the remnants of off-season knee surgery limited his athleticism and endurance last season, and in turn impacted his conditioning and confidence. No more, he says.

After a disappointing sophomore year, Grant made 4-of-5 shots, 2-of-3 from three-point range, scoring a team-leading 14 points and pushing the lead toward the 30s in the second half.

Moments after JaJuan Johnson (12 points) threw down a nasty two-handed dunk off a lob from Moore, Grant made an athletic layup in transition off a steal, getting fouled in the process.

He followed that three-point play with his second three-pointer of the night, putting Purdue up 65-36 with 5:40 remaining.

With his shot falling, Grant also spear-headed the Boilermakers' defensive effort. Hounding ball-handlers with noticeably more bounce in his step than a year ago, Grant nabbed five steals.

"I felt pretty good," Grant said. "And come the second half, I wasn't dragging in my leg. I think that's going to help me a whole lot. I felt so much better and it was great not to have to think about it in the back of my head.

"I think I felt it more on defense. I think I was able to move my feet better and I was jamming the ball 94 feet."

Grant's game was complemented by another who spent his off-season building up his legs, as Moore scored 11 points, with two rebounds, two steals and a game-high-tying three assists.

As with any exhibition, many eyes were on the newcomers and Purdue's didn't disappointment.

In a game he might have waited his whole life for, rookie D.J. Byrd starred.

Though he committed five turnovers, fouled out and showed at times how much he has to learn defensively, Byrd matched Moore's 11 points, knocking down a pair of open spot-up threes in the first half and making three of the four shots he launched.

"I felt fine," said Byrd, the first Boilermaker on the floor shooting around prior to the game. "I got lucky and got some wide-open looks. It helps when you can make some open shots to get the jitters out."

Byrd admitted he rushed sometimes in his Boilermaker debut; Painter thought big man Patrick Bade did the same.

But the 6-foot-8 forward, now probably thrust into a more prominent role with classmate Sandi Marcius hurt, certainly had his moments.

His first basket was one he won't soon forget.

With about 1:15 left in the first half, Bade corralled a loose ball for a steal and threw down an unkind two-handed breakaway dunk as Purdue went into the locker room with a 42-24 halftime lead.

"I got a little bit nervous," Bade joked about the thought of blowing the dunk, "but I just got ready for it and did what I do."

Battling through some foul trouble, Bade finished with six points and two rebounds. His bucket in the post with just under five minutes left gave Purdue its first 30-point lead.

Kelsey Barlow, who's impressed in practice but could redshirt, per Painter, in a stacked backcourt that played Tuesday without returning starter Lewis Jackson, handled the ball frequently, finishing with six points and two assists in 16 minutes.

Each of Purdue's three healthy scholarship freshmen played at least 13 minutes. Oftentimes, they played alongside one another, something you may never see again this season, Painter said.

Of course, some inexperience led to some of the "lulls," in Painter's words, that made this a typical flawed preseason showing.

"As a coach, you have to just sit there and take it sometimes," Painter said, "because you get frustrated, the fans get frustrated, I get frustrated, but you have to allow them those growing pains as inexperienced freshmen, especially when I don't help them (by playing) them all together.

"But it's part of it, those guys getting out there and learning, learning to value the basketball. When you're 19 years old, you just don't value possessions and you could see that tonight from some of those guys."

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