To pass the time amidst this period of endless nothing from a sports perspective, GoldandBlack.com presented the following conversation piece to its readers: With $15 to use, pick the best team of Matt Painter Era Boilermakers from the following menu that you can, and tell us why.

$5: Carsen Edwards, Caleb Swanigan, Robbie Hummel, E'Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson

$4: AJ Hammons, Isaac Haas, Vincent Edwards, Dakota Mathias, Carl Landry

$3: Ryan Cline, Chris Kramer, Lewis Jackson, David Teague, Rapheal Davis

$2: Terone Johnson, Matt Haarms, Nojel Eastern, Trevion Williams, Ryne Smith, DJ Byrd, PJ Thompson, Gary Ware, Matt Kiefer, Grady Eifert, Brandon McKnight, Keaton Grant

$1: Anyone else of the Matt Painter Era.

Some suggestions: Jon Octeus, Kelsey Barlow, Sandi Marcius, Marcus Green, Eric Hunter, Sasha Stefanovic, Evan Boudreaux, Jahaad Proctor, Aaron Wheeler, Nate Minnoy, Marcus White, Bryant Dillon, Travis Carroll, Marcus White, Korey Spates

Here are some of the responses we received.

My team is built around getting Carsen Edwards the ball for obvious reasons. So I'm going to go for less flashy names outside of him because teams just don't work when everyone thinks they're the go-to guy.

1 - PJ Thompson ($2)

2 - Carsen Edwards ($5)

3 - Ryne Smith ($2)

4 - Grady Eifert ($2)

5 - Isaac Haas ($4)

Isaac Haas is there to wreak havoc under the basket. If teams over-compensate to stop Carsen and leave Isaac one-on-one, well, we saw for four years what he does to guys 4 inches shorter and 50 pounds lighter than him. Which is almost everyone he goes up against.

Ryne Smith is because I want another sharpshooter on the team. Again, overcompensate for Carsen and someone else can light you up. I'd prefer Cline in this role since he played with Carsen, had that epic Tennessee game, and was the better passer but Ryne isn't much of a downgrade at all.

Finally, PJ and Grady are the does-the-little-things guys that will hit free throws, get rebounds (Grady at least), never turn the ball over, and if you forget about them and leave them open they are almost guaranteed to hit an open 3.

And most importantly for my team, they'll get the ball to Carsen.

Carsen Edwards - $5

Matt Haarms - $2

David Teague - $3

Grady Eifert - $2

Keaton Grant - $2

This is a modification of my first team, which had JJ in for Haarms, but the concept and the team construct is otherwise the same:

-Go-to, alpha scoring from Carsen.

- Prioritizing length, shooting, defense, and then rebounding acumen at the other two guard spots.

- Eifert brings excellent team defense, strong effort, and deadeye three point shooting at the 4.

- At the 5, I wanted rim protection, mobility, and range if I could get it. JJ > Hammons > Haarms > Kiefer, IMO, and I could no longer afford JJ or Hammons, so Haarms is good here.

- Haarms and Eifert aren't terrific rebounders, so again, the hope is Grant and Teague - good perimeter rebounders - help make up for that.

- This team can run motion well, with Eifert as the ball-reversal shooter, a role he excelled in, and interchangeable parts 1 through 3.

- Most importantly, this is a team that will give people fits with length and/or athleticism at four of the five spots, good passing (Grant and Teague were pretty good, Eifert very good).

- I considered Jon Octeus in place of Grant to get an upgrade elsewhere, but I really want four shooters on the floor to stress the defense with Haarms in there.

Save the extra $1 for a drink after watching my team throttle everyone else.

$5-G-Carsen... can do a multitude of tasks and can get his own if needed.

$4-F-Carl Landry... long and athletic, can score, rebound and play defense

$3-G/F-David Teague...long and athletic, can shoot, distribute and got better on defense as he got older

$2-F-Trevion Williams...undervalued, long and getting more mobile, rebound, can finish close in

$1-G-Eric Hunter...long and athletic, shooter, getting better at defense and is undervalued

This team has a lot of scoring, defense is pretty good, athletic, can get up and down the court while also playing in sets if needed.

G - Eric Hunter ($1)

G - Dakota Mathias ($4)

G - Ryan Cline ($3)

F - Robbie Hummel ($5)

C - Matt Haarms ($2)

I put a premium on shooting and skill on the perimeter with my budget.

My team is anchored by one of the best college point-forwards of the past decade in Hummel to build around. And I'm pretending none of the injuries happened.

This group has a pair of snipers on the wing in Mathias and Cline who can pick apart opponents with their shooting or passing on the perimeter. Both are adept at working the pick-and-roll on the wing and feeding the post. There's also a ton of positional versatility as all three of my guards and my forward can initiate the offense or play off the ball in motion or set actions.

At the pivot I have a healthy Haarms - again I'm choosing to take some medical liberties here. Offensively, Haarms is at his best when surrounded by shooters who can exploit a defense in pick-and-slip or dribble handoff actions on the wing, and getting easy looks and putbacks at the rim.

On defense, I have a rangy shot-blocker who can defend PnR action effectively and a DPOY candidate on the wing in Mathias. My other three players are all at least average positional defenders who can be trusted to stick to their assignments, even if they aren't all-league stoppers.This group won't wow a single person with their athleticism or length. And none of these guys are built to break a defense down off the dribble or create a shot when everything else breaks down. But give me skilled guys every single time.

E'Twaun Moore: $5

Vince Edwards: $4

Ryan Cline: $3

Matt Haarms: $2

Jon Octeus: $1

I automatically wanted E'Twaun on my team, not as explosive as CE but a better defender and still an elite scorer

After that I think the 4-spot is the key, it seems like under Painter fours have either been Purdue legends or fringe-starter types (Grady is the only exception I can think of) so I wanted a top-shelf one in VE.Then my thinking is I can't afford a high dollar 5, and there's plenty of guard scoring in the lower dollar ranges still, so I went with a defensive minded 5 in Haarms over Tre.

So now $4 left to grab some more scoring, I'm not old enough to 100% remember Teague but just watched the replay of the UT game so couldn't resist Cline. Then added Octeus to keep a strong defensive team with Cline as the only non-plus guy on that side.

Basically this would look something like the team from last year with Smooge replacing CE, and then a huge upgrade from Grady to VE and a moderate upgrade from Nojel to Octeus.

I think by the time he's finished at Purdue Eric Hunter for $1 to round out this team might be perfect, but right now Octeus helping defensively and baptizing the masses barely won out.

$1 Barlow

$5 Carsen

$5 Hummel

$2 Terone

$2 Haarms

Barlow is the best talent available at $1. Off-court issues don't matter in mythical land. He can guard 1 through 4. Carsen best scorer, Hummel best point-foward. Don't need a true point guard in Painter's system. Everyone but Haarms can bring the ball up. Haarms best value at center. Terone thrives as the third banana plus an all-Big Ten player for $2, sign me up.

Biggie

Dakota

Cline

PJ

Kelsey

Following along the Euro ball of todays world. A big man who can play down low but also shoot the 3. 2 outstanding glue guys who shoot with the best them (Dakota and Cline). A solid point guard who can pressure the ball and also hit the 3. Kelsey for his defense, since my team is not the most athletic. Spreading teams out with multiple shooters allows Caleb one on one matchups and with underrated passers Dakota and Cline, plenty of open shots

PG -- PJ Thompson

SG -- Carsen

SF/G -- Keaton Grant

PF -- Landry

C -- Haarms

Ideally, I would have wanted LewJack at the PG but the drop off to PJ is pretty minimal compared to the cost drop. Pass first, can hit the three and can play credible defense. Great leader.

Carsen can get any shot anytime he wants. So much better than any other player you could put here that it justifies the $5.

Keaton Grant at SF/G -- at $2 he is a steal here. I feel the cost gap from other higher priced players is higher than the talent/productivity gap to those same players. Can guard credibly and can drain the three.

Landry -- Rebounding monster. Can battle inside on offense and is a great complement to Haarms. Something Trevion could possibly become. Honestly, just as good as Swanigan overall -- maybe better.

Haarms -- I needed someone to protect the rim on this team and Haarms' blocking ability fits that bill. Plus, his athletic ability to guard the pick and roll should hopefully offset any other defensive liabilities on this team. Offensively, he can hit the occasional open three and with Carsen/Grant attracting a lot of defensive attention it should open him up to score inside like he did in 2019 when he had Carsen and Cline in the backcourt.

1 - Octeus - $1 - tall and very athletic point guard who is an excellent rebounder for the position and shoots well enough that you have to guard him from deep.

2 - Moore - $5 - I think he’s the best all around scorer that’s played for Purdue during the painter era but was also good at just about everything else as well.

3 - Stephens - $1 - needed a shooter at the $1 price and decided on Kendall over Sasha here but I’d be happy with Sasha too. Kendall averaged around a 38% shooter from deep on 1 bad Purdue team and 1 average Purdue team before the season he transferred. His season at Nevada was 43% from deep and over 90% from the line. That and him being taller and longer than Sasha is why I went with Stephens.

4 - Vince - $4 - good at everything and I couldn’t select Hummel here and make the money work. A career 12/6/3 and 39% from deep will do from the 4 spot. Great college career from Vince.

5 - Landry - $4 - maybe I should’ve went with AJ for defense but Landry was just a force his senior year. Averaged 19 and 7 while shooting 62% from inside the arc!

1.oo Kelsey Barlow

5.oo Carsen Edwards

4.oo AJ Hammons

2.oo DJ Byrd

3.oo Chris Kramer

If AJ is engaged and ready to kick ass this team will eat you alive. Lot of toughness and attitude.

Hummel ($5) - pre injury he’s the best all around player Painter has had.

Carsen Edwards ($5) - can create his own, maybe the only Painter player who could do that whenever he wanted.

Haarms ($2) - would be hard to stop in the post with Edwards and Hummel spreading the floor.

PJ Thompson ($2) - as a senior, can run the point with Carsen. Shoots well enough that you can leave him open.

Barlow ($1) - lock down defender. Don’t have enough money for Nojel. Good size playing the 3.

$5. E'Twaun

$4: Landry and Vince

$1: Eric Hunter Jr., and Kelsey Barlow

We are going to run your team into the ground. We can defend. We can score.

My team is about talent. As Phil Buck once told me "The secret to being a great coach: raw material."

The NBA doesn't lie. I have the two best Painter-era NBA players. Vince was a a great college player. Eric can defend and get his own shot. And Kelsey can defend and rebound.

$5-Carsen Edwards (PG) Most electric player Purdue has had in the Painter era. He will be my point guard. He will be great in the pick and roll with my next guy and he can break down the defense to open up things for the other wings. I almost forgot, he can shoot the long ball. He was a two time All-American.

$5-Jajuan Johnson (C) He could score, defend, and run the floor. I debated spending less on somebody like Matt Haarms because he can defend and run the floor but Jajuan was a better rebounder and scorer. Haarms was great when there was spacing and he was setting high ball screens and rolling to the basket. Jajuan would be able to take on that role but also be able to score in other ways and he was a first team All-American.

$1-Sasha Stefanovic (SG) I am a big fan of his. When he is on, he is on. He is a great value at $1 due to his shooting and ability to defend.

$2-Grady Eifert (PF) I need somebody that can do the dirty work. He doesn’t have to be a scorer to be effective. The way my team is constructed, he just needs to set screens, rebound, and hit the open shot. He isn’t a Robbie Hummel or Vincent Edwards at the PF spot but I don’t need him to be.

$2-Ryne Smith (SG) Imagine his shot fake with this lineup. I think all 5 defenders would jump out of their jocks. Plus, I have three guys that can take charges with the best of them. He too was able to do the dirty work and was a smart player.

Strengths:1. This team can definitely shoot. 4 players are 40%+ shooters from deep and JJ was able to knock some long jumpers down.2. They would be pretty good at team defense. Carsen would get lost out there but JJ would be there to hide his lapses away from the ball.3. I have some decent rebounding with JJ, Eifert, and Smith.

Weaknesses:1. It’s not a very big team. May get hurt down low or if a team was good at slashing to the rim. Watch out for those charges though!2. Not the greatest on-ball defensive team.3. Other than Edwards, not much in the way of ballhandling.

EDIT: Alternative team, if I went with Haarms at the 5.

$5-CE (PG)$5-Hummel (PF)$1-Stefanovic (SG)$2-Haarms (C) $2-Smith (SG)

Even having time to think about it, im going with the same squad:

PJ Thompson: $2

Ryne Smith: $2

Ryan Cline: $3

Vince Edwards: $4

Carl Landry: $4

4 40+% shooters that are all high IQ/passing players to go around an eventual 13 year NBA player? Forget about it.

Big Three strategy.

$4 - AJH

$4 - Vince

$5 - 3'Twaun

$1 - EHJ

$1 - Sasha

AJH is a bargain at $4. If I had an additional $1 I'd take JJ, but AJH is a great two way player who was able to change the game at both ends of the court. Landry was another great option here but AJH surrounded by shooters was too good for me to pass up. Biggie was an amazing player but I want a rim protector at the 5 and AJH was DPOY.

Vince was playing at a CPOY level his senior year before getting the flu and then spraining his ankle in February. I'd take Robbie if I had the funds but this allows me to have three elite players in AJH, Vince and E'Twaun and fill in on the last two spots with $1 players

E'Twaun gets the nod here over Carsen due to his willingness and ability to play consistent defense and greater overall consistency. On a team with less overall talent I might take a gamble on riding Carsen on a hot streak, but given the surrounding cast I'll take the consistency of Moore.

Spending $13 on my Big Three leaves me with $1 each for my last players, so I'm looking for best available back court players. I like Sasha and EJH here out of the available pool as both have the ability to hit open threes and both are willing defenders who will make hustle plays. I'd probably lean towards taking PJ here if I had the extra $1 as I know he'd do a great job taking care of the ball and hit open shots, but at $1 EJH is longer, more athletic and better at creating his own shot. Sasha will be my weakest spot on defense but will hustle, play hard and hit open shots and with AJH at the 5 I can put Sasha on the weakest back court player.

These two will have to be able to feed the post, something they've not excelled at to date, but AJH is longer than Tre and stronger than Matty H, making him an easier post feed.

I think that Matty H, Grady, Tre and Nojel are all bargains at $2 each but I wanted either E'Twaun or Carsen as a scorer in the back court and a center who could consistently score and block shots, which took a combined $9 of my $15. I was tempted to swap Grady for Vince, which would have allowed me to upgrade from Sasha to Cline, but ultimately Vince's superior athleticism and ability to get his own shot as compared to Grady was more important to me than the edge Cline held over Sasha in passing and shooting. 4

5 - Carsen Edwards. This was the easiest pick. The best Purdue player since Big Dog. The attention teams paid to him made the game much easier for everyone else.

4 - AJH. The best defensive player at Purdue in the Painter era. And a very efficient offensive player. A game wrecker when motivated.

3 - David Teague. A steal at $3. His 3 and D game would fit even better today than it did 15 years ago.

2 - Nojel Eastern. The best on-ball defender. And I need a PG on offense and some size on defense.

1 - Evan Boudreaux. Need a glue and effort guy. Was our best player at the end of the 2020 season. His shooting at the 4 and ball movement really help.

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