A Lot to Love About the Young Guys After Exhibition - Hammer and Rails

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Purdue fans got a look at four of the five true freshman in their exhibition against Creighton and they should be excited

The Purdue Boilermakers were able to get a high level exhibition game against one of the best outside shooting teams in the country that also happens to have one of the best big men in the Creighton Bluejays. With that, Purdue was able to get a good look at a roster that is devoid of one of the greatest college players of all time in Zach Edey and one of the most impactful transfers in Lance Jones. Most notably, four of the five true freshman were able to garner various amounts of minutes.

Gicarri Harris | 2pts, 1-5fg (0-2 3pt), 6 rebounds, 19 minutes

Harris got the start for the Boilers and what the coaching staff saw in him was evident pretty quickly. The freshman guard provide a big, wide body at the position who can handle the ball, play really good on ball defense, and plays within the system at a high level. He did miss two open looks late in the game to pull it within one possession, but the fact the true freshman didn’t hesitate in that situation speaks highly of his confidence. That’ll be a big deal later on in the season.

Harris had some issues with fouls as he needs to adjust a bit more to the speed of the game, but his lateral movement at 6’3 and 200lbs is going to cause smaller point guards some issues. He looks and moves a lot like Lance Jones did last year but the freshman will need some more time to get seasoned into that role. His six rebounds is a lot bigger deal than most think it is.

Daniel Jacobsen | 7pts, 2-3fg (1-1 3pt), 5 rebounds, 18 minutes

Hard to be upset at what Jacobsen showed in his debut game against one of the best big men in the country. Jacobsen, although still a bit on the smaller side for a 7’4 center, looked like he belonged out there for the Boilers. He did showcase a smooth shot from behind the arc early on which is something that could help him find the floor more and more as the season progresses.

Where he can find quick improvement is in his one on one post defense and making sure he doesn’t put himself in bad situations. His 7’4 length is going to cause problems by itself but once he consistently gets himself in good position, he could be the interior post presence Purdue is lacking without Edey. His continued improvement may be the biggest key in Purdue’s overall growth this season. If he can give Purdue 10 and 5 consistently while patrolling the defensive interior, that’ll ease the burden on Purdue’s big three of Smith, Loyer, and TKR.

CJ Cox | 4pts, 1-1 fg, 2-4 FT’s, 2 steals, 10 minutes

Ten minutes might be about the maximum that CJ gets throughout the season but it may end up being ten of the more exciting minutes for Boilermaker fans who value tough as nails defense. The true freshman swiped two open court, one-on-one steals from a 5th year guard who isn’t prone to turning the ball over. That is probably the aspect that jumped out most to CMP when he saw him defending Kentucky’s Travis Perry and offering him on the spot.

Cox is another young, high level perimeter defender that Purdue is going to need to really defend at a high level without the interior post defensive presence this season that they had last year. Smith is going to take 34 to 36 minutes a night so I’m not sure how many minutes he’ll get but it may be intriguing to see CJ and Harris at times to really speed a team up.

Raleigh Burgess | 0pts, 0-1 fg, 1 assist, 5 minutes

Burgess didn’t play a whole bunch but he did see most of his minutes early in the second half. The young big man is versatile at 6’11 and 240 with a smooth jumper from outside. He can play the power forward or the center position but he is probably best served this season playing inside at center alongside TKR.

Burgess is going to have to battle alongside a bevy of other players like Berg, Jacobsen, Furst, and even Heide at those power forward and center positions but that flexibility to play both positions make him an attractive piece to play alongside TKR who plays like a 5 on offense and a 4 on defense. Burgess took only one shot, a missed three, but he has a smooth looking shot and looked like he knew where he was supposed to be. He doesn’t get there this year, but Burgess is a guy who could end up being a Mason Gillis type player.

Jack Benter | DNP

Benter did not get any playing time and that likely signals the young guard is going to redshirt. With Smith, Loyer, Harris, and Colvin likely taking most of the minutes at the guard positions, Benter is just kind of the lone man out. He’s going to be a very good player in the future for Purdue but a redshirt season to help add some muscle onto his frame will be a huge benefit. He likely doesn’t get lots of minutes this year or even next season, but his ability to shoot, pass, play defense, and play intelligent is going to make him a key cog in the future for Purdue.

Overall:

This is a key class for the Boilers in the post-Edey era and in today’s landscape of instant transfers. The biggest factor is going to keep these players together as they compliment each other really well. Purdue’s schedule doesn’t do them a lot of favors to get seasoned ahead of B1G play, but once those guys start to figure it out fully and play within the system, they are going to mean the difference between a third straight B1G with a March run or not. These guys are going to be the reason Purdue wins multiple games this season.