Five storylines as Purdue tips off formal preseason practice
Today, Purdue formally opens preseason practice in advance of the 2021-2022 season, doing so as one of the most highly regarded teams in college basketball.
Purdue returns virtually all of its productivity from last season's surprising 18-10 pandemic year, and that includes an All-American in Trevion Williams, a handful of budding standouts in Jaden Ivey, Zach Edey and perhaps Brandon Newman and a pair of blue-chip forward newcomers.
With all that said, the Boilermakers are largely a known commodity, though certainly one with a high threshold for improvement.
There's plenty of things to be sorted out in the preseason, though ...
Here's five that come to mind.
• Who's the 4? The power forward spot is the most open position on the team right now, and that has a lot to do with the fact that returnee Mason Gillis will be sidelined to open the season, as he serves a six-competition suspension following an off-season OWI.
Freshmen Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn figure to carry the lion's share of the minutes at the position in his absence, but that also could be an opportunity for them to grab those minutes and never let go. Furst can also play center — though there may be limited need for him to this season — and Kaufman-Renn can play all over the frontcourt, though it remains to be seen how much he'll be ready for from Day 1 in that regard.
• Can Williams guard the 4? Purdue's again tinkering with a Twin Towers lineup. Purdue seems convinced Edey and Williams together can work offensively despite spacing considerations, but the lineups won't be viable unless Williams shows he can hang in there defensively guarding the forward spot away from the basket. Painter says it's imperative that the 6-foot-10, 260-some-pounder show he can stay "on his line" against the dribble and get ahead of plays on defense as opposed to falling behind them.
• Where does Ethan Morton fit in? Purdue has a decent amount of depth in the backcourt, it seems, and that means the sophomore — a Painter favorite as a signee — is going to have to leapfrog some people for minutes coming off a difficult freshman season thrown off the rails from the outset by a bout with mono.
The good news for Morton is he's capable of playing multiple positions and his playing style can probably mesh well with a lot of different combinations, but he himself says confidence is going to be an important element for him.
• Passing. Purdue wants to become a better passing team, in hopes of in turn becoming a better shooting team because of it. With a sometimes-ball-dominant scoring guard now in Jaden Ivey, so much will hinge on his decision-making, but in general, this group may not have that same elite passing element that some previous Purdue teams have had.
Painter is going to be very conscious of personnel groupings, and figuring out who makes who better.
• Approach. Purdue's going to deal with a lot of firsts this season. Expectations for one things. They're through the roof. Fans for another. That's a new dynamic for a team with only four players who've played in front of a real Mackey Arena crowd. This is a pretty fun-loving and in some cases excitable group of individuals, but there will be some dynamics this season that may test their professionalism and maturity as a team.
Stay tuned to GoldandBlack.com tonight for coverage from Day 1 of Purdue practice.
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