Interchangeability has often been a hallmark of Matt Painter's best frontcourts at Purdue, and while this year's is very new, it too may be able to lean on that same attribute.
"We have such a good mix," newcomer Evan Boudreaux said. "... I think our size and our ability to play both athletic and small, or go big when we want to, I think it's going to be huge, especially when we get deep into the Big Ten."
Boudreaux is a significant piece of the versatility Purdue could find real value in this season, as he showed on Saturday during the Boilermakers' scrimmage in Mackey Arena, during which he made a pair of three-pointers and drew a foul driving past center Matt Haarms on another occasion, showcasing his ability to play on the perimeter as a "small ball" center.
It's the very sort of dynamic Purdue was acutely vulnerable to defensively in past years when it played with supreme size on the floor.
"We set so many ball screens and do so many actions, it's really tough for a guy who wants to stay by the rim to defend a pick-and-roll, defend a hand-off, defend a down screen, then have to worry about the guy shooting a three," Boudreaux said. "I think it's really tough for opposing centers."
That's when Boudreaux is playing center.
He considers himself more a 4, but played both in his two years at Dartmouth and is playing both now for Purdue, as he figures to do all season. Purdue has given Boundreaux, Grady Eifert and Aaron Wheeler all long looks at the position, a wide-open one following the graduation of four-year fixture Vincent Edwards.
Matt Painter says Boudreaux has been more effective to this point, and his strengths as a player have shown more, at the 5.
"It doesn't mean that's reality," Painter said. "It's just what's happened."
Regardless of position, Boudreaux does figure to play an important role for Purdue offensively, along with his presence on the glass, where he projects to be one of the Boilermakers' top rebounders.
While Boudreaux seems equipped to create matchup advantages facing the basket against bigger, slower players (i.e. centers), he's also a proven low-post scoring threat from his time in the Ivy League. That could come into play when he lines up at forward against those of a more similar build to the 6-foot-8, 220-pounder.
Saturday, over three 10-minute scrimmage sessions and two positions, Boudreaux totaled 15 points — fourth most for Purdue — on 5-of-9 shooting, with a team-high eight rebounds.
"Evan actually has practiced a lot better than he played today," Painter said afterward, "and when you look at the stat sheet, you see he did some pretty positive things. He played pretty well, but I didn't think he played as well as he's practiced the past couple weeks. He's definitely practiced better the past few weeks than he did in the summer, and then the start of the fall, and that has to do with just getting comfortable and knowing what's going on."
Boudreaux will play the 4 and 5 for Purdue, the difference between the two perhaps lying more on defense than offense. The 4 for Purdue requires screen-switching; the 5 will entail more redirection of ball-handlers as a secondary defender but, depending on the opponent, would be more stationary from a defensive perspective.
Aaron Wheeler gives Purdue an entirely different dynamic altogether.
While Grady Eifert and Boudreaux bear some similarities as players — especially if Eifert shoots the ball like he did Saturday, when he made five threes — Wheeler is tall and long, fast and an outstanding athlete, built for the open floor, but also versatile.
While there's been some uncertainty where he fits best positionally, his ability to both play both the 4 — where Painter says he's been more productive — and on the wing could be value-added for him.
"I've been switching positions my whole life," Wheeler said. "I can adjust."
Coaches and teammates have consistently tabbed Wheeler's shooting as a strength, making him part of a frontcourt mix that could continue Purdue's recent tradition of stretching defenses from positions not traditionally known for such things.
"It kinds of give our offense another dimension," Boudreaux said.
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