Boilermaker Nation Enjoys Dream Holiday Weekend

Hey Purdue fans, it’s not a dream.

Please forgive Boilermaker Nation if they think what transpired over the Thanksgiving weekend was in fact make believe.

After all, on the hardwood, Purdue knocked off No. 6 Gonzaga by 18 points and two days later hammered No. 8 Duke by 19 to win the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament in Portland.

The Boilermakers became the second team ever to beat two Associated Press top-10 teams by 18-plus points on a neutral site in the same week since 1968 (UCLA).

Long-time college basketball scribe Jeff Goodman tweeted, “I’ve seen most of the top 20 teams in person, and no one more impressive thus far than the Boilermakers.”

Oh, sandwiched in between those two eye-opening victories was a 30-16 win over IU on the gridiron in Bloomington to retain the Old Oaken Bucket and more importantly give Purdue its first ever Big Ten West Division title and punch its ticket to the Big Ten Championship Game Saturday in Indianapolis.

Yes, Purdue athletics is riding high these days.

To pull off a hat trick like that is usually the kind of stuff only dreams are made of.

It’s even more remarkable when you consider Matt Painter’s Boilermakers entered the season unranked. Then after a win over Marquette, they cracked the top 25 at No. 24. When the most recent polls were unveiled Monday, 6-0 Purdue soared all the way to No. 5 and even received eight first-place votes.

There’s no telling how high the ceiling is for this year’s Purdue hoops team.

Even though we are only half a dozen games into the 2022-23 campaign, this team sure has all the makings of Painter’s ideal team.

It has a post presence unlike any in the college game.

It has unselfish player after unselfish player.

It has very good depth.

It plays hard, really hard.

It crashes the boards.

It has size.

It has outside shooters.

It takes care of the basketball.

It plays terrific team basketball.

It has athleticism and talent.

And boy does it get after it defensively.

Funny, this was supposed to be a reloading year for Painter and Co. after 60 percent of the offense departed from last year’s 29-8 team, including NBA Lottery pick Jaden Ivey.

Painter would be the first to tell you his 2021-22 team underachieved based on its talent level. However, the current Boilermaker squad is exceeding expectations big time.

No one could have envisioned what transpired in Portland.

Yes, it is early and some will say Purdue peaked early last year when it knocked off North Carolina and Villanova to capture the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament in Conn. It even went on to be ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history albeit it lasted for just a few short days courtesy of Rutgers’ half-court shot at the buzzer.

However, this year’s team seems different, very different and in a good way.

Could it be better than last year? Yes!

No way would I have said that a week ago, but after witnessing lopsided wins over West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke, there’s no doubt this team is more complete than a year ago.

True, there is no NBA Lottery Pick – there might not even be a first-rounder on the team (although the way Zach Edey played in the Pacific Northwest that could change in a hurry).

I can tell you for certain, though; this year’s team chemistry is good, really good.

Purdue’s backcourt is better, especially when it comes to taking care of the basketball.

Freshman Braden Smith is the point guard the Boilermakers longed for this time last season. The 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball winner is legit. He can flat out play. I don’t care if we’ve only seen him play a half dozen college games.

The way Smith easily handled Marquette, West Virginia, Gonzaga and Duke’s defensive pressure, anyone can tell he’s not your typical freshman.

I’m telling you Smith is on mission. He’s going to be the worst nightmare for the so many schools that didn’t recruit him, not to mention be a pain the next four years for opposing fan bases.

Painter has already said Smith reminds him of Scott Skiles. Well, if you remember, Skiles made many teams regret overlooking him on the recruiting trail, particularly IU and Purdue.

Then there is Smith’s classmate in the backcourt Fletcher Loyer. I don’t care what his ranking was. Do you think there are 129 better freshmen than the Fort Wayne product?

Look at Loyer’s DNA. His dad was a 1,000-point scorer in college and been around the NBA since 2003 as an assistant coach and assessing talent. His brother, Foster, had one of the greatest careers in Michigan high school basketball history, scoring more than 2,000 points and winning a pair of state titles en route to earning Mr. Basketball honors. Foster started at Michigan State, but has now found a home at Davidson, who Purdue plays Dec. 17 in Indianapolis.

Fletcher Loyer was the runner up to Smith for Indiana Mr. Basketball honors a year ago after enjoying a stellar career at Homestead High School. Fletcher was the ’22 Indiana Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

On Monday, Loyer was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week after averaging 12.3 points, 2.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds in the three games in Portland.

Pennsylvania’s 2020 Mr. Basketball winner was Ethan Morton. The Purdue junior guard has been spectacular to date, too. Morton is the glue guy. He does all the little things, particularly on the defensive end.

Morton’s three-game run in Portland featured 19 assists and just one turnover.

Another Mr. Basketball winner – sophomore Caleb Furst from Fort Wayne – had a terrific showing in Portland as well.

Against Gonzaga and Duke, Furst scored a combined 21 points, hitting 7-of-11 shots from the floor, and grabbed a total of 16 rebounds.

Then there’s junior Mason Gillis. He contributed a total of 26 points and 19 rebounds in the three games.

Am I forgetting anyone?

Oh the man or should I say beast in the middle. 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, the Toronto Tower. No one in the college game has an answer for him. Edey has improved so much it’s astonishing. As a result, the Phil Knight Legacy MVP is now in the national player of the year conversation. He, too, is playing with a chip on his shoulder as the Big Ten pundits didn’t even have him as a consensus first-team preseason all-league pick and he wasn’t even mentioned in the conference preseason player-of-the-year discussion.

In the three wins in Portland, Edey averaged 21.7 points, 12.0 rebounds, 2.3 blocked shots and 1.0 assist in 29.8 minutes per game.

Edey is lethal in the paint and the way he has improved passing out of a double team is scary indeed.

Now, Purdue will face another test tomorrow night at Florida State. The Seminoles are struggling mightily posting just a 1-7 record to date, but keep in mind, the Boilermakers arrived back in West Lafayette around 5 a.m. Monday, practiced Monday night and they are traveling to the Sunshine State today. The Big Ten/ACC Challenge will be a test of endurance and mental toughness if nothing else.

After the Florida State game, the Boilermakers return to Mackey Arena on Sunday for their first home game in nearly three weeks – the Big Ten opener against 4-2 Minnesota.

Could this team start an unfathomable 14-0?

Right now the Boilermakers won’t face another ranked team until Jan. 5 at No. 25 Ohio State and won’t play a top-10 team until Feb. 4 when it travels to Bloomington.

I can’t believe I’m writing 14-0 or insinuating an even better start than that for a team that doesn’t start one senior and has only one senior impact player – transfer David Jenkins.

How good is this Purdue team? Ask new Duke coach Jon Scheyer. He said, “They were great. They have the most unique player in the country in Edey. They are incredibly well coached and have a great identity.

“I think they’re as good as anybody in the country right now.”

It’s hard to believe Purdue isn’t even reloading this year, but is picking up right where it left off and who knows maybe, just maybe this is the Boilermaker team that can finally end the program’s Final Four drought which dates to 1980.

Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure in the coming weeks and months Purdue fans are going to continue to enjoy watching this team play, especially since it’s going to win a ton of games.

Speaking of winning games, how about the job Coach Jeff Brohm has done.

He inherited a mess of a program when he arrived in West Lafayette and has now led the Boilermakers to back-to-back eight win seasons, including a trip to Saturday’s Big Ten title clash against No. 2 Michigan.

Purdue was the laughing stock of the Power 5 when Darrell Hazell was on the sideline from 2013-16. Hazell’s Boilermakers were a pathetic 9-33 overall, 3-24 in the Big Ten.

Brohm has resurrected the program and has it on solid footing.

Purdue will be making its fourth bowl appearance in his six seasons in West Lafayette.

If they lose to Michigan, Purdue appears to be a lock to play in a Florida bowl over the holidays. If the Boilermakers beat the Wolverines, they will head to the Rose Bowl … wow just wow!

Brohm, who has a 29-27 overall record at Purdue, is 6-6 against top 25 teams and 3-1 versus the top 5.

Could he lead the Purdue to yet another shocking victory?

Sure, why not?

After all, the way things are going in Boilermaker Country it seems anything is possible these days.

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