The reigning national player of the year is just as dominant this year as he was last year. You might have to go back to Shaquille O’Neal at LSU to find a player as dominant in the game of college basketball as Zach Edey has been the last year and a half.
Edey’s continued dominance isn’t why this team feels different though. He’s better this year than he was last year, especially defensively. You can tell he lost some weight in the offseason. His lateral quickness has improved.
He’s not defending lightning quick guards, but he’s a much better pick and roll defender.
The reason though why Purdue feels different this year is the guard play.
Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer have elevated their offensive games, and it has moved the needle for the Boilermakers’ title chances.
Braden Smith does more damage to drop pick and roll coverage than Taco Bell does to my stomach.
His improvement in shooting the ball, especially his pull up game, has been huge for this Purdue team. Last year he shot 38% from three, this year, he’s shooting 43%. That’s an absurd percentage at any level.
I have to be honest, I’m not surprised Smith has become a lethal shooter. I’ve never met a guy with the last name “Smith” who couldn’t shoot the ball at a high level.
His improvement has provided extra spacing on the floor. It’s harder to double Zach Edey when the player making the entry pass is a 43% three point shooter.
It’s even harder to double, when there’s another player who’s shooting over 40% from three.
That player is Fletcher Loyer. He got off to a strong start shooting the ball last year, but fell off at the end. He finished the year shooting the three ball at 32%.
This year, he’s at 44%. That’s highly impressive.
Smith and Loyer’s growth in shooting, and their offensive games has given Purdue scoring options outside of Edey. That was their issue last year. If Edey didn’t play well, which rarely happened, they struggled to generate offense.
That isn’t an issue this year.
They’ve also gotten better defensively.
I hit on Edey’s improved pick and roll defense earlier, but Southern Illinois transfer Lance Jones has brought a new edge to this team.
He’s an experienced older guard who can knock down open shots, finish at the rim, and most importantly, he can defend the opposing teams best ball handler and make life hard for them.
Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer are great pieces, but they can be lacking defensively. Smith lacks size, Loyer lacks the athletic ability to stay in front of explosive guards.
Lance Jones however, has the size and the athletic ability to defend explosive guards and bigger guards.
When it comes to making a run in March, it comes down to guard play. Purdue has the guards this year to make a deep run in March, and give Purdue fans the redemption story they’re all yearning for.
