The start of the season brings a lot of firsts for Purdue freshmen guards CJ Cox and Gicarri Harris. Their first action with the Boilermakers, check. First taste of a road environment, check.
Now, the pair gets to experience their first game day in Mackey Arena, which is something neither have seen. Not even as recruits before their arrival to campus. Harris and Cox will take in their first game day experience in Mackey for the first time on Wednesday, when the Boilermakers take on Grand Valley State for the last preseason tune up, and will be doing so in their first game in front of the Purdue faithful.
"I've heard from everybody that it's different than Mackey. So yeah, it's going to be amazing," Harris said. "The adrenaline is going to be high, with all the fans watching, it's going to be sold out. So that's definitely gonna be a fun, great experience."
The pair is coming off their first outing with the Boilermakers on Saturday, against 15th-ranked Creighton, where they flashed moments of intrigue while still having some typical freshmen moments. The Bluejays back court of Steven Ashworth and Pop Isaacs was a tough "Welcome to college basketball" assignment, but assistant coach PJ Thompson was encouraged by what he saw from the freshman duo.
"When you play good teams with good guards, they're going to get the best of you sometimes. So I thought that their presence was felt, and for that to be their first game, that environment, that type of offensive system and firepower, thought they did a really good job," Thompson said.
Early in the second half, Harris was called for three fouls in less than three minutes as Ashworth displayed his veteran savviness against the bright eyed freshmen guard. That stretch served as a learning moment for Harris, who was inserted into the starting lineup in his unofficial Boilermaker debut.
"It was great to get matched up with him. He's a very good point guard, very experienced. So yeah, that's somebody I can learn a little bit from him too. Just offensively with what he was doing, he drew a couple of fouls on me because I was playing a little bit too aggressive. So yeah, definitely learned from that game," Harris said.
Purdue rode the wave of its three key returners of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn, who combined to score 70 of 87 points, while also taking a combined 52 field goal attempts.
That limited the offensive roles of Harris and Cox to a minimum, combining for 6 points on 2-6 shooting, but Thompson saw them make impacts in other areas. Harris snagged six rebounds, which were the most outside of Smith and Kaufman-Renn, while Cox led the team with a pair of steals as the on-ball defender.
"You didn't see the type of production or game that Gicarri can do. You didn't see it from CJ as well. But what you did see is them understanding there's other ways to affect the game outside of scoring the ball. You can do that by, you know, putting pressure on the basketball, making it hard to get into offense. And I thought they did that," Thompson said.
It's no secret. Purdue's offense runs through Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn. Particularly from a guard perspective, the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year will be the focal point for the Boilermakers' attack, which puts Harris and Cox in a position to play a role within that system and serve as compliments to the All-Big Ten level guard tandem already in place.
Thompson likens those types of roles to that of young players in the NBA, where they are asked to support the stars of the team.
"I tell these guys all the time, no matter how good you are, like, you're going to go to the NBA if you're fortunate to make it, you're going to be in the corner, and you're not going to get many shots. You're going to be running up and down and not touch the ball sometimes, but you got to be able to affect winning," Thompson said.
Part of that complementary play comes on the defensive end as well, where Cox believes he and Harris can take some of the pressure off of Smith with their ball pressure. Both take pride in being intense defenders, something that has already been asked of them in West Lafayette.
"I just feel like me and Gicarri, we're both really good defenders. So I know Braden does a lot, so us being in the game, like with him in the game, being able to jam the ball full court and defending one of the best guys. To give him a little bit of a break, I just feel like, me and Gicarri, us doing that will help Braden on the offensive side as well," Cox said.
"Bringing defensive intensity onto the court at all times. Being somebody that can pick up full court, do the dirty work and stuff like that. That's number one for me," Harris said.
The dynamic between the junior guard tandem of Loyer and Smith and the freshmen has been one of teaching, with the elder statesmen of the Purdue back court helping guide their younger teammates heading into the season.
Loyer and Smith have been key in making the game easier for a freshmen guard duo that will be asked to play a lot their freshmen years. After two years of starting experience, the knowledge they've accumulated is beginning to trickle down to Cox and Harris.
"They just make everything easier on the court. Like they know where to be at all times. I ask them a bunch of questions on the court. So yeah, they just make it easy to play with," Harris said.
Leaders of back-to-back Big Ten regular season titles and driving forces behind Purdue's National Championship Game run a season ago provide the pedigree to get the younger Boilermakers to listen, which spans off the court, in the film room, as Harris and Cox learn how to approach the game.
"Just their confidence, their work ethic. Every single day, they are getting better, watching film. Those guys have done the same thing, but I think they're all different in how they play the game, and the approach to the game has rubbed off on them. They've been great teammates to those guys, and there's no better pair to look up to," Thompson said.
The defensive prowess of Harris and Cox will be of the utmost importance, but each have the ability to make an impact offensively as well. Cox has shown the ability to be a shot-maker on the perimeter after dazzling at Purdue Fan Day, while Harris comes to Purdue with a strong offensive track record of his own.
Defense will be what allows the pair to get minutes early in their careers, but an all-around skillset will be of use at various points throughout the season.
"Is that the only area? No. They're good players. They're two-way players. They can defend people and there's a willingness to defend and they can also score the basketball, but it's an experience for those guys," assistant coach Paul Lusk said.
That type of skill set coincides with Matt Painter’s desire to have a Lance Jones-type player complementing Loyer and Smith, where he named the two freshmen as candidates to fill that role.
Harris and Cox won't have the same pressure place upon them as Loyer and Smith carried two years ago, but the Boilermakers will be asking a lot of their freshmen in the back court. The pair is ready for that challenge with a tough non-conference slate on the horizon.