Purdue Basketball Preview: Boilermakers Might Be Different, But They're Still Very Good
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — One of the good things about only having two coaches in 40 years is that, after a while, you kind of know what to expect.
These days at Purdue, it's a time to expect good things from Matt Painter and his Purdue basketball team. Painter is starting his 15th season with the Boilermakers, and they are ranked in the preseason AP top-25 poll for the fifth-straight year, a first in school history.
It's Painter and Purdue, and Purdue and Painter. Just like it was Gene Keady for 25 years before that. And with Painter, that's not changing anytime soon.
"There are people who like their job, but they don't like it well enough to stay. And then there are people who love their job and they want to stay. That's all I want,'' Painter said last month. "I just want to keep the job I have. I don't worry about what's next. I learned that from Coach Keady. I've had opportunities to leave, but I didn't. The focus should be on your team, and that's what I do.''
It's easy to focus on this 2019-20 Purdue team, because there's plenty of talent there. They are ranked No. 23 in the country heading into Wednesday night's season opener against Green Bay, and are widely considered to be one of the top four teams in the Big Ten.
There is plenty of talent back, and there's also several young players to be excited about. It should all equate to another NCAA Tournament bid, and the Boilers can take it from there.
They should be good, just like last year ... and the year before ... and the year before that.
"By nature, just it's the way it is,'' he said. "With your fans, your base with them is your best season. If you win your league and go to the Elite Eight, that's a great year. But if you finish season in your league and just go to the Sweet Sixteen, they look at it as a bad year.
"We don't look at it that way, obviously. But I certainly like this team, and I think there are a lot of good things we can do.''
A lot will revolve around Matt Haarms, the 7-foot-3, 250-pound junior from the Netherlands. He's a pain defensively, because he's so good at protecting the rim, and he's really making great strides on the offensive end.
Last year he led the Big Ten in blocked shots and field goal percentage, and could very well do that again this year. That's never been done before. In fact, only Ohio State's Greg Odon has ever done it, and he only did it once.
Nojel Eastern will also play a huge role. The 6-foot-7 junior forward is one of the best defenders in the country and one of two returning starters with Haarms. He can guard most anyone, and that's critical for Painter, that this team be good defensively right from the start.
"Trying to have a defensive identity at the start of the season is really going to be important for us,'' Painter said. "We weren't very good defensively last year, at least early, but we were able to mask some of that because we made a lot of 3-pointers and sometimes we just outscored people.
"We were much better defensively in January, February and March, but this year, I think we need to be good defensively right from the start.''
Having Haarms and Eastern back is a huge plus in making that happen. They just might be the two best defenders in the Big Ten at their respective positions. Purdue's defensive efforts will start with them.'
"Experience is huge, but what is nice with them is that they have good experience. They've seen that the effort we put in defensively helped us win games last year. If you have experience with getting your ass kicked all the time, that doesn't really mean much, but with everything we all went through last year, we know what we need to do.
"That's a great way to start a season, because those guys have had to sacrifice their own roles for the good of the team, and they do that without hesitation.''
Doing all the little things still matter, even early in the season.
"Some things never change,'' Painter said. "It's still about taking care of the basketball, rebounding the ball, and having good guys. I think we have that here.
Meet the Opponent: A quick look at Green Bay
Who: Green Bay Phoenix vs. Purdue Boilermakers in the regular season opener for both teams.
What: Green Bay is a member of the Horizon League, and finished 17-16 overall and 10-8 in the Horizon League.
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Ind.
TV: Big Ten Network
What to know about Green Bay: The Phoenix are coach by Linc Darner, a former Purdue basketball player from 1990-94. ... It's been 20 years since Green Bay played at Mackey Arena, but the last time they were there, they beat the Boilermakers 69-53 in December of 1991. ... Darner and Painter were actually teammates on that 1991 Purdue team that lost to Green Bay. ... The Phoenix have lost 10 straight games to Big Ten teams, not winning a game since beating Wisconsin in 2006. ... The last time Green Bay beat a ranked team was when it beat No. 15 Miami in 2014. ... Green Bay has an experienced team, with five seniors and four juniors.
Purdue Boilermakers Roster 2019-20
Purdue Boilermakers Basketball Schedule 2019-20
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