Hoopraker

The hallmark of Purdue basketball as ordained by Gene Keady and now promulgated by his protégé, Matt Painter, is defense. Hard nosed, blue collar, Land Grant basketball. From Steve Sheffler, Jim Rowinski and Todd Mitchell to Doug Lee, Brad Miller and Brian Cardinal, the Boilermakers are intimately familiar with floor burns, knee pads and the occasional push in the back. As any Hoosier fan knows, Purdue will not roll over. In tonight’s match up with the fleet feet of Arizona and former Iowa Hawkeye coach Lute Olsen, Purdue will lean heavily on its traditional, in your mug, physical defense. 

Tempo Control

In Arizona’s 20 wins this season, they’ve averaged more than 80 points. However, one PAC 10 team built in the mold of the Big Ten dominated Arizona this season. Dick Bennett’s vision of Washington State, now coached by his 37 year old son Tony Bennett (Wis-Green Bay ‘92) swept the Wildcats this year using a blend of deliberate tempo and physical defense to frustrate Arizona into bad shots and turnovers.  No stanger to talented teams, Purdue has the requisite experience of competing against supreme talent and quickness, Ohio State for example.  Led by Seniors Carl Landy and David Teague, the athleticism presented by Arizona will not come as a shock to their immune system.
Stopping the ball and slowing down the game against Arizona will certainly be a challenge but, after watching the Boilermakers last weekend in Chicago, it’s one up for.  As customary, the Wildcats sport a talented roster with 6′7″ high scoring wings Marcus Williams and Chase Budinger leading the way. Look past the big names and the key to the game will be how well All-Big Ten Freshman and certifiable tough guy Chris Kramer contains Mustafa Shakur, the point guard who runs the Arizona show. Kramer is extremely physical, just ask Adam Haluska who was chased and frustrated into a forgettable 3-13 shooting afternoon on West Madison.
Inside Outside Balance

Against Arizona, Ohio State or Virginia, Carl Landry can and will establish position in the post and he will score. For Purdue, the X factor is David Teague and his outside shooting and penchant for turnovers. If Teague gets on track and hits some threes, Purdue will have a balanced attacked that will be difficult to contain as evidenced by Purdue’s 8-4 record in its last 12 games, which includes the three losses to the Buckeyes. Arizona, and perhaps the rest of the Country, will be surprised at the pure stroke of Chris Lutz and the penetration of Terrence Crump in New Orleans tonight.A Great Coach Matt Painter

Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s 8/9 match up, Purdue basketball is clearly headed in the right direction. Taking a team that won only 9 games last season (but competed in every one) Matt Painter has led the Boilermakers back to the NCAA Tourney for the first in what will be a perennial occurrence. Purdue is fortunate to have its basketball program in the competent hands of a great young coach.

Posted by TD Lawlor on Friday, March 16th, 2007 at 9:01 am.