Purdue opens tomorrow with Liberty.
Purdue has no seniors on the team this year. Not even a random walk-on. With Matt Haarms and Nojel Eastern now being at BYU and Howard, respectively, we have only 11 scholarship recruits on the roster.
Eric Hunter is out 6-8 weeks due to a leg injury. Mason Gillis is recovering from mono. Emmanuel Dowuona has apparently been dealing with breathing issues (cause hasn't been disclosed, but some think it was a summertime case of COVID that he's taking longer to recover from).
Which means we've got an 8-man rotation going into tomorrow's game.
Key returnees (leaving off Hunter due to injury and Dow because we have never seen enough of him to know what he can do):
Trevion Wiliams - Center: Everyone knows him by now. Widebody in the post, tremendous rebounder and really solid post scorer and passer. A little short for a center, but makes up for it by it being nearly physically impossible to move him off the block.
Aaron Wheeler - Forward: He had a disappointing RS Jr year last year, but he's got all the physical attributes. He's 6'9" and can leap out of the gym. Has a good shooting stroke from deep [although his 3pt shooting was terrible last year, it was good his RS Fr year]. Limits are a not very good handle and so far hasn't really showed consistent use of his athleticism to get to the rim. Plays a little timid at times.
Sasha Stevanovich - Shooting Guard: Deadeye shooter with one of the quickest releases I've ever seen. Able to shoot on the move and come of screens. Surprisingly tenacious defender.
Isaiah Thompson - Point Guard: Brother of PJ Thompson, but taller and more athletic. Held down the position well last year as a freshman, and hoping his growth continues.
Coming off redshirt:
Mason Gillis - Forward: Seems to be a forward in the Vince Edwards mold. Was a very solid recruit until injury took away most of his Jr and Sr years of basketball in HS, and thus he just wasn't ready to contribute last year. That he's now dealing with mono isn't a great sign, but he'd be expected to push Wheeler at the 4.
Brandon Newman - Combo guard: Pure scorer; redshirted because he wasn't ready defensively. Expected to start tomorrow, at the very least while Hunter is injured. He was a pretty solid pickup on the recruiting trail, so while we were all a bit disappointed that he even had to redshirt, hopefully the time spent developing his defense will be worth it.
Key incoming true freshmen:
Jaden Ivey - Guard: Son of current Notre Dame NCAAW head coach Niele Ivey, and we all know how Painter loves "coach's kids". Expected to contribute from day 1. Shot up the recruiting rankings AFTER his commitment to Purdue. Strong scorer, and known as eminently coachable and a team player.
Ethan Morton - Guard: A 6'6" point guard, with some of the best passing skills potentially ever. Painter once described Dakota Mathias as one of the best passer's he'd ever seen, and he's said that Morton might compare favorably to Dakota. Very much a jack-of-all-trades player, not selfish with the basketball but can score just fine on his own. Expected to be a regular contributor from day 1 as well.
Zach Edey - Center: Currently listed at 7'4" (!), was largely unknown a few years ago. Loved playing hockey and baseball, but just kept growing, and growing, and growing, to become too tall for those sports. So he's only played basketball a few years now. He played at IMG last season, and apparently the guy everyone thought was a project is looking like he's going to contribute early. He'll back up Trevion, and maybe won't really PUSH Tre for minutes, but if he can just contribute spot minutes when Tre is gassed it will be huge for the team.
