29-4; 17-3, Big Ten regular season champions
Zach Edey.
Zach Edey, Zach Edey, Zach Edey.
Braden Smith!…Zach Edey.
Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer…Zach Edey.
Zach. Edey.
Have you heard anything this year about Purdue’s big man? He’s pretty good. The man likely to be named America’s Player of the Year for a second consecutive season is Purdue’s 7’4″ centerpiece and the biggest reason why it’s ‘Final Four or bust’ in West Lafayette. It’s also Final Four or bust because of the bad taste left over from losing to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson last March. As good as a goad to drive them, that memory has been a long-lasting smelling salt for the Boilermakers.
With Edey returning to lead a terrific backcourt and varied, experienced group of forwards, head coach Matt Painter and his program scheduled like a national title contender would, and the gauntlet of their construction has prepared the Boilers for March as well as may be. Purdue won an absolutely loaded Maui Invitational to start the year, has accumulated 12 Quad 1 victories, and locked up the Big Ten championship for the second year in a row. They’ve gone about their business all winter long in a fairly no-nonsense manner, and it’s become clear that Purdue’s ultimate goals lie well beyond the regular season.
Truly, everything this team does revolves around Edey. His size makes Edey completely unavoidable inside, and the skills he’s developed have made Edey a genuine legend. The Boilers dump it in to him whenever possible, where Edey’s soft touch near the cup combined with growing versatility as a mid-range shot maker allow him to score seemingly at will. He has challenged for the NCAA scoring title all winter, is the Big Ten’s all-time leader in field goal percentage, and spends more time at the charity stripe than anyone in college basketball – where he shoots a reliable 71.6%. He’s no black hole once Edey has caught the ball in deep; each year of his career, Edey has become more adept at finding his open teammates once the defense collapses upon him, and he’s an outstanding rebounder.
For all of that, Edey can be exploited defensively by quicker bigs, struggles to defend pick-and-roll action, and, if he tunes in to sports media, has undoubtedly heard about his shortcomings to absolutely no end. Though the scouting reports on Edey have become well-established, he gives Purdue one of the nation’s very strongest frontcourts just by stepping onto the floor. Edey has worked hard to become more mobile, and he’s an elite rim protector who can increasingly step out to knock down jump shots. Now that the Boilers are about to see the kitchen sink and all of the cleaning products beneath it thrown at Edey in new ways for the postseason, expect Painter to reveal some wrinkles of his own to free up his superstar. With Edey as the focal point, Purdue’s halfcourt offense has been largely exceptional. His value as a screen-and-roll big is off the charts, and the symbiosis which Edey has developed with sophomore Braden Smith is magnificent. The Boilers lead the nation in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency per Bart Torvik, and the biggest reason is that they have the best big in the sport and an All-American point guard to pair with him.
Smith is the next Purdue legend, a local product who has done nothing but improve since he stepped onto the floor in West Lafayette. Last year, he appeared on the Big Ten All-Freshman team; this season, Smith is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s best point man. Though he’s small, Smith is a terrific defensive rebounder. He also finished second in the B1G in assists and sixth in steals while shooting an outstanding 44.8% from the land of trey. Thing is, last season Purdue’s young backcourt – with Smith at its head – was exposed as opponents pressured them into turnover after turnover down the stretch. He’s improved in all ways in his second year, but Smith also leads the conference with 90 turnovers. There have been plenty of questions raised about exactly how good the Boiler backcourt is. By way of answer, Smith and his cohorts have come up huge against the best competition. Examples? How about back-to-back neutral-court wins over Alabama and Arizona which saw Smith go for 53 points and ten assists combined.
Buffeting Smith’s tremendous efforts all season have been sweet-shooting classmate Fletcher Loyer and fifth-year transfer Lance Jones. The team’s leader in made three’s, Jones found consistency in his deep ball this year and often made huge shots when the Boilers needed a little something extra. He hit back-breaking jumpers late at Wisconsin, and Jones splashed five closely-contested treys among his 26 points to help Purdue outlast Northwestern in overtime. Even in a game which saw him score just four points in a Boiler win at Rutgers, Jones contributed 10 rebounds, eight assists, and five steals. In a Purdue uniform, Jones has been exactly what Doctor Painter ordered in a clutch, veteran contributor. Loyer hasn’t been the top scorer very often, but his reputation is well established nonetheless. Across his first two years, Loyer has dropped in 54 triples and made them at a 43.9% rate. Edey is capably supported by a trio of stout veterans who each bring something a bit different to the rotation. As a collective, they’ve helped Edey and Smith to make the Boilermakers an excellent rebounding team: Purdue ranks top 30 in the country in every major rebounding statistic.
Trey Kaufman-Renn and Caleb First each snag better than 12% of available offensive boards when they’re on the floor, while Mason Gillis has knocked down 52 triples at an outstanding 48.1% clip this year. After an inconsistent junior season, Gillis has been money in the bank. He’s evolved into a creative passer, and in the 15 games that he’s scored at least eight points, Purdue is 14-1. Camden Heide and Myles Colvin are freshmen who add some athleticism and can pop from deep. They round out Purdue’s usual rotation, and may be revealed as particularly useful matchup variables if Purdue can make a deep run. Despite all they’ve accomplished so far, there is only one way that Purdue can call this season a success. That is by earning a trip to the Final Four, a place the Boilermakers have not been since 1979-80.In many ways Purdue carries the hopes of the whole Big Ten. The top team in a much-maligned league, Purdue has been consistently inconsistent. If they can’t get back to the Final Four now, when will they?
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