Takeaways From Matt Painter's Press Conference After Purdue Basketball's First Official Practice
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Tuesday marked the first official practice for Purdue basketball. Afterward, coach Matt Painter met with the local media to discuss the Boilermakers, practice and the upcoming college basketball season.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
Newman, Ivey Dealing With Injuries
Purdue sophomore guards Brandon Newman and Jaden Ivey are both managing lower-leg injuries early on. Newman was unable to participate in Tuesday's practice, and Painter said he received further evaluation to identify the severity of the injury.
"It was bothering him in the spring," Painter said. "Obviously got a lot of rest, but it sounds like it's just re-aggravated."
Ivey, on the other hand, started practice after rolling his ankle Monday but re-aggravated the injury Tuesday. After an evaluation, he was able to return but later left the floor once again to remain a spectator for the team's final sessions of practice.
Painter will know more about the team's injury status in the next few days. The Boilermakers do not practice Wednesday.
Challenges Having Edey, Williams on the Court Together
In practice, Purdue centers Zach Edey and Trevion Williams play on opposite teams, battling for position in the post. But the two teammates may continue to share the floor when the season starts.
"It hasn't been great so far, to be frank with you," Painter said. "But we'll keep messing with it to a degree."
Playing Williams as a forward while Edey handles the responsibility of anchoring underneath the rim is still a work in progress for the Boilermakers.
And when you throw freshman forwards Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn into the mix with Williams, you have three players that aren't exactly used to being the second-biggest player on the court.
"It just doesn't come overnight," Painter said. "All those guys have predominantly guarded the biggest guy on the court the majority of their career, and rightfully so. That's the biggest adjustment. Being able to move when you're that bigger 4, just moving on offense, especially when you're with Zach, you have to have good spacing.
"But in what we're doing, you have to have a purpose. When that ball goes inside, you have to dive quickly and have to be ready to move. It's almost more about being mentally quick than physically quick, not being behind plays, because you're already slower."
Freshman Class Making Progress
Before he could even step on campus, Kaufman-Renn injured his hand during the Indiana All-Stars series, which left him sidelined. Now that he's healthy, he's worked toward getting back to what made him a highly-touted four-star recruit for the Boilermakers.
But it hasn't been the smoothest adjustment to college thus far, according to Painter.
"Well, he wasn't in very good shape after he got healthy," he said. "He spent a month where he was not doing anything, and he probably took a month to really adjust to that. He stayed here in between summer school and the fall. He lost about 12 or 13 pounds, got in better shape, and he's done some good things.
"He's done a really good job of scoring the basketball and being aggressive for us. But he just has to keep working and watching a lot of film and trying to figure out what's going on."
Furst, another freshman, has also continued to adjust as a young forward for Purdue. He's flashed the ability to play away from the basket early on, but coaches would like to see more from him under the rim offensively.
"He's done a good job, you know he can stretch the defense and shoot the basketball. Trying to get him to be a more aggressive post, just because as the four sometimes you don't have guys that are your size."
The third member of Purdue's freshman class, Brian Waddell, is a player that the program feels has plenty of talent to contribute in the future. The plan is for him to redshirt this season.
Become Part of the Boilermakers Country Community!
- Follow D.J. Fezler on Twitter: @DJFezler
- Follow Boilermakers Country on Twitter: @sports_purdue
- Like and follow Boilermakers Country on Facebook
