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When word leaked minutes before the game that true rookie Jaden Ivey would miss the game with a foot injury, the already shorthanded Boilermakers struggled.
Ivey, who scored in double digits the day before in his career debut, is the kind of athletic, tall, offensive point guard who would be able to counterbalance a defense that likes to come face-to-face and press an offense. The absence was even more glaring when Purdue was also without first guard Eric Hunter Jr., who is recovering from a broken tibia.
This put little Isaiah Thompson in the starting role and the second struggled against constant pressure and aggressive defense from Clemson. Purdue couldn’t keep the ball and struggled on the defensive end, and the Tigers were able to leave Florida as the Space Coast champions after giving the Boilermakers an 81-70 blow.
Coach Painter was reduced to an 8-guy rotation, and he showed, after Purdue hit back in the second half to bring a double-digit deficit to zero, the Boilers were running out of gas.
That fatigue you would expect from a team so early in the season, putting so many men into play during a pandemic, was apparent in Boilers 21’s turnovers.
While the Boilers struggled at times in the half court, Clemson was able to make the difference in the transition. Purdue only had 2 transition points while Clemson had 21.
Clemson’s Aamir Simms led all scorers with 24 points, knocking down two trebles and taking advantage of a Trevion Williams inside late.
Despite the unbalanced end to the game, Coach Painter will likely leave Florida feeling pretty good about his young team.
The Boilers do not play any senior because no senior exists in their team. Their eight-man rotation today included two real freshmen and two freshmen in red shirts. For the most part, these freshmen were all excellent.
Redshirt Freshman Brandon Newman led the team in minutes, playing 37, and set a career record with 15. He was consistently aggressive attacking the hoop, knocking down three threes and had two steals to go with his five rebounds.
While the real big man of freshman Zach Edey is shaping up to be a national phenomenon. Or, the international could be more specific as the 7’4 ” giant headed to West Lafayette from Canada. He led the Boilers in the scoring, thundering 17 points while grabbing 8 rebounds and blocking two shots. The tall man, who is barely two years old to play basketball at any level, also showed a soft touch to the line, making 5 of his 7 attempts.
Ethan Morton didn’t score a point, but the real freshman who had been sidelined with mono, and struggled last night, had a nice rebound game. He came in as a back-up point guard despite his 6’6 ”frame, and showed balance and an ability to play as he assisted on five shots.
Purdue’s Trevion Williams had another rough night. His bully post game failed early in the season. He was 4 of 11 from the field on ten points and struggled with the turnovers. He was also constantly attacked in defense and didn’t do much to slow Clemson’s big men down at post or at the perimeter. He had early foul issues and remained struggling for most of the game. He made a mistake at the end of the second half.
Despite a rough final score, Purdue’s future looks bright. They should be a quick and rushed team. Their next test will be against Oakland at Mackey Arena next week.
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