After taking a few days to let the taste of the FDU loss settle, I wanted to express some thoughts. I believe nothing will make the loss to a 16 seed go away, but it can be mitigated with a national championship (not just a final four appearance). Purdue will always be linked with Virginia as number one seeds who lost to a 16 seed, but Virginia changed their narrative to some degree with their national championship. Painter has to make some changes going forward in my opinion.

One is hiring a coach or consultant who knows how to break the press and make the other team pay for it. Something as simple as inbounding the ball to another player and allowing Smith to get a pass on the run to take it down the court. I am not a coach, but continually passing the ball into the corner to your smallest player every time is going to result in turnovers.

Two is move away from running the offense through the center at the rate currently in place. I understand we have a NPOY player in Edey, but there are other ways to use him in addition to just trying to pass the ball into him every time and forcing all the decision making on him. Use him for screens down in the paint for cutters or open shooters. Of course they have to make their shots, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a three point shot every time. I know analytics say don’t take two-point shots, but if the players are not making three pointers, they need to have that option in their arsenal and be confident to take those shots. I think the continual effort to feed Edey caused the other players to get tentative with their own offensive ability and not want to take initiative on offense other than putting up three pointers. Edey is also a great offensive rebounder which would come into play if other players are driving and then pulling up for jumpers.

Three is let the players have more of the decision making on the court and run more. For the first time in a long while Purdue has a point guard (not combo guard acting as a point guard) who can push the ball and create easier scoring opportunities for his teammates. Painter has to let that happen even if it entails some turnovers. I think what is gained is the players feeling more comfortable later in the year during end game situations making something happen rather than waiting for a play to be called and run. There are players on this team (Furst, Newman, Gillis, maybe TKR) who can run with Smith in these situations. Heck earlier in the year one of the highlight plays was Smith tossing a pass up to Edey as he came down the lane for a slam.

Thanks for letting me vent a little and offer my thoughts. Boiler Up.