B1G Game 9: Gophers Visit Purdue (1-27-22)

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Ignatius L Hoops

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AWKWARD THEN FORWARD

A clumsy ending made clumsier: the transition was supposed to be smooth and celebratory. After 15 seasons Sharon Versyp, Purdue’s winningest coach, was to embark on one final tour around Big Ten arenas as head coach accompanied by her designated successor, former Boiler star (2004-07), Katie Gearlds. Gearlds would glean what could be gleaned from her second bench position before ascending to the top job. There would be praise for Versyp, whose recent teams ranged from disappointing to last season’s downright awful (4-14 in conference), while quieting the calls for her head.

That plan blew up in August when Versyp was accused of contributing to a “toxic and hostile environment” within the Boiler program. A month later, Versyp retired effective immediately. Thus ended a Purdue coaching career which produced a 418-257 record and numerous NCAA appearances. Versyp’s career slide included dropping the last three matchups with Minnesota. Katie Gearlds was promoted a year ahead of schedule much to the delight of many Boiler fans.

Gearlds college coaching career consisted of one stop-NAIA Marian University in Indianapolis. She made the most of it winning back-to-back National Titles in 2016 and 2017. In eight years, she was 228-50 and very much on the minds of Purdue fans who loved the alum angle. Afterall, former Purdue player and current Indiana head coach, Teri Moren was only available if the Boilers would pay the $10 million “if- you-go-to-Purdue” buyout clause in Moren’s contract.

Along with change at the top, there was roster turnover. Shortly after the original transition plan was announced: Grad transfer Tamara Farquhar moved on to Michigan State, 6’ 5” Fatou Diagne grad transferred to Houston. Junior guard Kayana Traylor is now starting at Virginia Tech and grad transfer Karissa McLaughlin has become Marquette’s leading scorer.

BUILDING A ROSTER

This spring, Gearlds wasted no time strengthening the Boilers through the portal. Her best sales job was convincing 5’6” junior guard Abbey Ellis to leave Cal Poly for Purdue without ever visiting West Lafayette or seeing snow. The Aussie from Melbourne was ambitiously looking to move up in competition level after two years in San Luis Obispo. And Gearlds immediately inserted the high energy “three level scorer” into the starting lineup. Ellis, embracing the challenge, is scoring 13.4 points per game. Ellis scored 21 points (6-9 from three) in the win over Illinois and played 44 minutes with 19 points and 8 rebounds in the OT loss to Indiana. Unfortunately, Ellis missed a free throw with 1.7 left that would’ve give Purdue the lead and likely the win over IU.

Next, Gearlds convinced former Illini swing player 5’11” junior Jeanae Terry to leave Champaign for West Lafayette-a slightly less impressive act of salesmanship. But it was just as important. Terry’s multi position ability and experience filled several Boilermaker gaps. Like Ellis, Terry started from day one. She had 8 points and 6 rebounds in her return to Champaign. Terry is not a three-point shooter; but is solid at most other aspects of the game. She’s had two buzzer beater game winners this season. The first delivered a win over Georgia Tech 53-52. And the second came after the Boilers lost a 20 point lead to Rutgers in West Lafayette. Terry’s heroics delivered Katie Gearlds first Big Ten victory as a head coach 60-58.

Joining Ellis in the starting lineup are Madison Layden, Cassidy Hardin and Rickie Woltman.

6’1” sophomore guard Madison Layden had last season’s Boiler breakout season. Named to the Big Ten All Freshman Team, Layden averaged 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 32 minutes of play. Although her three-point shooting has fallen from .400 % to .345 % she’s still a danger from beyond the arc hitting 5-6 against Illinois. She’s been in double figures in each big ten game.

5’10” Senior guard Cassidy Hardin is noted for taking most of her shots from three. She’s currently hitting .349 % from beyond the for the season; but she’s only hitting .215 in conference play. She’s taken 159 shots. 146 of them have been threes. You know what’s she’s going to do; you just don’t know if her touch will return.

6’4” Junior Rickie Woltman is the sometime lone forward in the Boiler’s lineup. She’s an enthusiastic rebounder and fouler. Woltman had 12 points and 9 rebounds at Michigan State. 6’6” Ra Shaya Kyle started at the post position early in the year but hasn’t played since the early December Ohio State game. Kyle is expected to return from a lower leg injury sometime during the season.

After starting 18 games last season, Brooke Moore is now coming off the bench to play starters minutes. In her second season as at Purdue, after two at Auburn, she is very much one of the Boiler trio including Ellis and Layden that you can’t ignore. Moore has stepped up her game in Big Ten play scoring 22 at Michigan State and Maryland and 18 versus Indiana. Moore is hitting .379 from beyond the arc which includes going 6-10 against Maryland. After the Michigan game, Moore is now Purdue’s leading scorer with 14.3 points a game.

6’1” guard Ava Learn’s playing time has increased to double figures lately because she’s been sent in to defend a post player.

WHO ARE THEY?

Purdue is a guard-oriented team because they have no choice. They rely on three-point shooting because they get open looks but they are shooting .312 as a team from beyond the arc. Although please be aware that they were 15-23 from three in the win over Illinois. Minnesota and Purdue both average 8 treys per game; Purdue does it through persistence. And while they are a good inside passing team, they struggle to knock down shots in the paint. The Boilers really miss having a solid post player-I don’t remember that being said before.

Still, they’ve had their moments. After the overtime home loss to Indiana, Katie Gearlds said:

“When I took over in September, people said we were a few years away,” said Gearlds. “It’s right here. We are not waiting to get Purdue back on the map.”

It nearly happened versus the Hoosiers in front of a large enthusiastic crowd at Mackey Arena. It did not happen on Monday night against the Wolverines. Like the Gophers early season loss in Ann Arbor 61-73, Purdue kept in contact with Michigan before falling 66-79. On Sunday, we’ll get a chance to see if Whalen’s five-year plan is ahead of Gearlds’ one year plan.



PURDUE BIG TEN RECORD (3-5):

Wins: Rutgers 60-58, @ Michigan State 69-59 and Illinois 89-67

Losses: Ohio State 53-70, @ Maryland 71-86, Iowa 66-79, Indiana 68-73 and Michigan 66-79.



Abbey Ellis Last Six Big Ten Games:

TeamPtsRebAsstMinFoul
Rutgers1143343
Michigan State965290
Iowa1833362
Indiana1984444
Illinois2135291
Michigan822182


Brooke Moore Last Six Big Ten Games:

TeamPtsRebAsstMinFoul
Rutgers500120
Michigan State2210242
Iowa1400244
Indiana1860393
Illinois1430211
Michigan1631274


Probable Starters:

HGTPOSYRPLAYERMINAVGREB
5’6”GJrAbbey Ellis31.913.43.8
6’1”GSoLayden Madison35.413.44.3
5’10”GSrCassidy Hardin35.56.83.4
5’11”GJrJeanae Terry30.47.06.4
6’4”FJrRickie Woltman23.06.35.9


Others:

HGTPOSYRPLAYERMINAVGREB
5’7”GSrBrooke Moore22.014.31.9
6’6”CSoRa Shaya Kyle
6’0”GFrJalyla Smith11.13.51.0
5’9”GSrRokie Doumbia12.33.31.1
6’1”GFrAva Learn15.24.63.1
Click to expand...
 

Ugh! Ugly first quarter, for a team full of guards, they cannot pass, especially into the post. Seems like we give up a 3 pointer at the end of a quarter in each game
 

Terrible first quarter, actually playing good inspired defense though.
 

Good first half for LBK. Brutal half for Smith
 



Down 4 while shooting 27% isnt so bad, need to take care of the ball and make some layups in the 2nd half. Defense has been solid and some big minutes by LBK.
 



So far looks like LBK having career game as a Gopher (at least in B1G games)
 



Officiating has been horrible, J Terry couple of baskets while traveling. Some ticky tak calls too.
 



same crap.. different day... Purdue ran the same play 3 straight time and worked 3 times... all 3's..

nobody will shoot if it's not Jazz or Scalia.. every year we come out slow no energy no nothing in the 3rd quarter.. EVERY SINGLE game..

also why don't we EVER PRESSURE the ball or play with more urgency
 




Maybe the Gophers should petition to the NCAA about going to 2 halves instead of 4 quarters? At least they would avoid the dreaded 3 quarter
 

I don't think sissoko understand the game. Rose regressing in her freshman year.
The rest of this season is pride
 

MNGirlsHoops said:
I don't think sissoko understand the game. Rose regressing in her freshman year.
The rest of this season is pride
Click to expand...
Rose was really bad defensively tonight, might be hitting that freshman wall.
 

So a Strande sighting at the end of the game, no excuse not playing her earlier, your other guards are not getting it done, time to move on.
 


Terrible post play against a team that only has a 2nd team (at best) post player.
 

Some people say the guards do to much of this and that, but the reality is we are very limited at the 4 and 5.. Rose is a freshman and is hitting a wall at the 5. I don't think any team honors Baily in the low post so that isn't an option. Kadi was supposed to lead this team this year from the 4, and has struggled all year. LBK had a nice hustle game, but she should be a kid that gives another player a quick breather. Sconniers dosen't have the foot speed for this level.
This team was going to go as Kadi goes.
 


What has happened to Powell? She just seems to be off her game now for several games. If she was clicking more, it seems that Scalia would have more opportunities. Agree the 4 & 5 positions are a definite weakness.
 



EaganGopher22 said:
What has happened to Powell? She just seems to be off her game now for several games. If she was clicking more, it seems that Scalia would have more opportunities. Agree the 4 & 5 positions are a definite weakness.
Click to expand...
I have no idea, but her troubles appeared after her grandmother's death. Perhaps she's still having trouble handling the loss.
 

This team is so frustrating to watch. Much of this has been said but I have to get it off my chest other than yelling at the TV.

1. #5, Post: I like Micheaux, she moves well, is aggressive but she is still finding her way at times and she doesn't get enough touches inside, none of the posts do, partly because they aren't very trustworthy with scoring but partly because the guards rather take contested 3s or other off balance contested 2s. If Helgren gets the ball inside she acts like it is a hot potato, unless there is no one challenging her on the shot. She is a good rebounder and alters shots sometimes but is largely not a serious threat to score. This is a big problem when your strength is outside shooting. I like Mershon's game but I haven't seen anyone on the bench in the range of 6'2 or more that has shown me they have any toughness and confidence to play inside. I wish they could at least fake it until they make it.

2. #4, PF, Kadi. She movies beautifully and is aggressive but she is often out of control offensively. For someone with so much talent it is hard to believe she doesn't have more success finishing inside. She is just relatively (given her talent) terrible at finishing inside. She gets the ball a fair amount inside or drives inside but she often goes up and takes out of control off balance shots that she doesn't finish. Half the time it doesn't look to me like she gets her head around to get her eyes on the rim before taking her shot. She just needs more work in the gym and possibly some visualization work with a sports psychologist.

3. #1-3 too many damn!!! turnovers and poor defense! and we need leaders on the floor on gameday.

I don't feel like we have any really good leadership on the team on gameday besides Bags and probably Mershon. Bags leadership is awesome! shows energy and seems to be always talking, this is great but we need this leadership from the most talented players on the floor that is when leadership is more likely to instill confidence. I have no doubt there is some quiet leadership, by all accounts Scalia is a very hard worker in the gym, but that kind of leadership doesn't help getting through frustrations during a game.

Bleak season rest of the way:
  1. Please talk me off the ledge but at this point I have given up hope seeing us not turn the ball over in the double digits every game (the men's team had 2 turnovers today and average ~5/game), the gals are just too careless with the ball (mostly the guards).
  2. I have given up hope not giving up voluminous layups and leaving wide open 3 pointers. I have given up on hoping the team will play with grit and toughness the whole way, when the going gets tough they collapse and wallow in their pitty party. Powell just scowels and sulks off the floor. At this point I don't think there is anything a coach can do to get the majority of the player's heads in the game but maybe I am wrong. It is frustrating watching the offensive cold streaks but it is way more frustrating to watch players that don't seem engaged mentally in the game and giving maximal effort.
  3. At the beginning of the season I expected a reasonable goal was an NIT birth, but alas, that seems an impossibility at this point. One would expect with everyone returning and adding a few upperclassman that there would have been some improvement. I don't see any, if anything I think we have regressed. Biggest glaring weakness last year was defense in the paint and offense in the paint, those are not any better as far as I can tell.

Next year's needs:
  1. Player leadership
  2. Minimum of 1 productive offensive and defensive post presence that transfers in
  3. Minimum of 1 productive offensive and defensive player that can lead the team on the floor
  4. Defensive intensity
  5. Defense in the paint
  6. Reevaluation by the coaching staff on how and what players they recruit. They have a lot of players that haven't developed or shown that they can play on a competitive team at this level.
  7. If you are going to be this bad again next year please, please, please, at least play anyone on the bench who will give full effort every second they are in the game on defense. I can't stand low defensive effort. When offense is crap a team can at least play good defense and get some points and generate some confidence off that for their offensive game.
  8. If the players are too gassed to give any more effort, please consider changing up the conditioning regimen.
So sorry to leave you this mess but I feel better...
 

Whalen has lost her team. Probably started back when Destiny Pitts left. The players are not buying into what she is selling, and that makes it difficult to win games. I blame the AD for hiring someone who was not qualified for the position. Players lose interest, pride, and motivation toward being successful, and just go through the motions with little to no effort. Typically, it's nearly impossible to get players back at this point. Sad to say.
 

Gopher68 said:
I have no idea, but her troubles appeared after her grandmother's death. Perhaps she's still having trouble handling the loss.
Click to expand...
Everybody handles personal loss differently and you certainly can't say for sure that isn't part of her struggles. One one hand, you admire her willingness to give it her best shot, despite not being 100% the point guard we're used to seeing. On the other hand, you'd love to be able to replace her normal performance at that spot while she deals with whatever issues she's having (could be grandma, could be something physical or something else completely). Truth of the matter, the Gophers do not currently have another player on roster who can do the things at point guard that Powell is capable of when she's right.

It's like the old question of do I play the starter who's only 75%, but might still be capable of pulling off some magic in spurts, or do I go with a sub, who even at their best, is maybe barely 75% of what my starter usually is? I know a lot of folks are the type that, at the first sign of trouble, figure throwing mud at the wall in hopes that some might stick is better than sticking with somebody you've trusted for 2 years.
 

Where is Hubbard? She is the most experienced player. She should be providing leadership--calming down or pumping up the team as needed. Is wearing #13 a detriment or a burdened too heavy to carry?
 

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