The last time we saw Purdue basketball it was in Phoenix, Arizona as they lost in the NCAA Tournament Championship game to UConn. It was a tough way to end the season but damn what a season it was. Now, in just four days time we will see Purdue step back onto the court for the first time as they take on Creighton in a charity exhibition. That game will be televised, though behind a paywall.
This will be a much different looking Purdue team. Gone will be the star of not just Purdue but of college basketball. Zach Edey has graduated, been drafted to the NBA, and will start his career this week. It’s not just Zach Edey that left either. There’s also glue man and current Duke Blue Devil Mason Gillis. Gone out the door to play basketball overseas is everyone’s favorite one year transfer, Lance Jones. Also heading to play one last season of college ball elsewhere is Ethan Morton the man who sacrificed so much and got into the Elite Eight game against Tennessee just to give some fouls before the half in order to throw off the Volunteers rhythm (and it worked). That’s a lot to lose in one offseason, but when you break it down how much is it really? Let’s take a look at the numbers.
- Zach Edey – 32 minutes per game, 25.2 points per game, 12.2 rebounds per game.
- Mason Gillis – 21.2 minutes per game, 6.5 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game.
- Lance Jones – 28.6 minutes per game, 11.7 points per game, 2.7 rebounds per game.
- Ethan Morton – 10 minutes per game, .6 points per game, .9 rebounds per game.
- Total lost – 91.8 minutes per game, 44.3 points per game, 19.7 rebounds per game.
Now, you look at those numbers and you can say, as the title of this post implies, there are minutes that are available for the taking. Let’s just round up and say 92 minutes per game are available. Just some quick math here, a college basketball game is 40 minutes long and 5 players play at a time meaning that total there are 200 minutes available in every game. That means a full 46% of minutes are available (assuming that everyone else’s minutes stay the same which of course is absurd but let’s just go with it). 46% of Purdue’s minutes walked out the door at the end of the UConn game and aren’t coming back. So who gets those minutes?
Well, it would be easy to say that someone like Braden Smith will get more minutes, he is set to the start this season, but anyone who is a Purdue fan knows that Smith was about at the maximum number of minutes last year. He averaged an astounding 34 minutes per game last year. I can’t imagine adding many more minutes onto his shoulders bear or no beard. Fletcher Loyer is the next man you think might get more minutes and there’s a good argument for that (at least a small bump). Loyer averaged 27.8 minutes per game last season. It seems reasonable that if he truly is stronger this year, perhaps translating to being a bit of a tougher defender, that he stays on the court a few more minutes this season but even if not 27.8 is a lot of minutes. Trey Kaufman-Renn averaged 16.9 minutes per game last year and could be the returnee most likely to see a huge jump. The question to me is how head coach Matt Painter decides to use the big man. Does he move him to the 5 and have him roam the paint? Or, does he put someone like Will Berg or Daniel Jacobsen at the 5 and have TKR play at the 4? That’s a big decision for coach and that will impact every other choice on this list.
The other returners with big opportunities are Camden Heide, 12.5 minutes per game, and Myles Colvin, 8.5 minutes per game. These two showed progress all throughout last year and came on strong to end the season. Colvin was everyone’s favorite non-starter when anything went wrong the chorus of “why isn’t he playing more” came out. Well, getting 8.5 minutes per game as a freshman on a team that makes it to the National Championship is nothing to sneeze at. Given his improved shooting and defense he’s poised for a big jump. Heide of course is the uber athletic 4 man that may be impacted by the placement of TKR. If TKR is placed at the 5 is Heide a shoe-in to start at the 4 and gobble up minutes? I’m not sure but he would certainly seem to be the one to get the first shot. Lest we forget though, Purdue is bringing in an incredibly talented and highly ranked recruiting class who will have a large say in this minutes shuffling.
Some of the incoming freshman could be pushed into more minutes than they might be ready for just due to being at a position of need. The one that comes to mind in this regard is CJ Cox. The young man out of Milton Academy is basically the only other point guard on the roster. While Braden Smith doesn’t get much of a rest during most games, Cox will be asked to play a prominent role in early season blowouts and in games where Smith might find himself in foul trouble. Daniel Jacobsen, the 7’4”, Illinois native seems unlikely to find himself in a starter’s spot given he’s behind TKR (if he plays at the 5) and Will Berg, but early word out of practice is that Jacobsen has impressed and can shoot the ball, something that a guy like Will Berg lacks. Is that enough for him to find his niche on this team? I guess we will see. You also have to account for Raleigh Burgess when you’re talking about Purdue’s bigs. He’s not quite as big as Purdue usually gets them, standing at a paltry 6’11” according to his Purdue sports bio, Burgess is a stretch 4 who can truly shoot the ball. He’s another player who will be impacted by where TKR plays the majority of his minutes. Burgess offers a different look at the 4 than a guy like Heide and can help Purdue be a nightmare to prepare for.
Then there’s a guy like Jack Benter who battled an illness over the summer that left him hospitalized. Benter has some work to do to find himself minutes, but redshirting under Matt Painter isn’t the end of the world and could certainly help his Purdue career on the back end. When minutes are scarce, as they likely will be for the 6’5” freshman from Indiana, and you’re coming off an illness or injury a redshirt might be the best route. He still offers a size that Purdue doesn’t have in a number of its guards and that could be intriguing for Matt Painter to play with early in the season.
Perhaps the biggest name of the freshman coming in is Gicarri Harris. The 6’3” Atlanta native is the son of Purdue and college basketball legend Glenn Robinson, but that doesn’t define who he is. Harris is looking to make a name for himself on his own and by all accounts he’s done a great job this summer. There have even been reports that say not to be surprised should Harris find himself in the starting lineup either to start the year or as the season progresses. He’s that talented. To find a way into the starting lineup as a true freshman on a team with three returning starters from a National Championship appearance signifies something special.
As with all the freshman the question is how quickly you acclimate to the college game. We know Matt Painter puts an emphasis on defense with the young players, so which young players can separate themselves on that end of the floor should be evident by which of the newbies earn the most minutes.
There are 92 minutes available for them and for the rest of the returnees. 92 minutes to separate yourself from the rest and to help build your legacy. 92 minutes to make a name for yourself on a team that while much is expected of them, they were again picked to win the conference, there’s also the sense of a letdown without Zach Edey and the rest of the departures. 92 minutes to prove those people wrong and find a way to hoist another Big Ten championship trophy for the coveted three-Pete. 92 minutes to burst onto the scene. In just about 92 hours, Purdue basketball returns.
