2025 Recruiting: Braylon Mullins Visiting (6/24)

[navery12]

Did any other team have a guy who could play Edey 1 on 1? The notion that Painter shouldn't have anticipated that his guys wouldn't be left open beyond the arc as usual is ridiculous.

But OK, let's say it was the right move for Painter to go into the game with the same strategy. It clearly wasn't working. I laughed when Painter said to the sideline reporter he was going to keep doing what he was doing. If you need to make adjustment, then you make adjustments.

@auror That's really good individual defense on that play. I'm not going to rewatch the game to see how many times they ran a play like that but pointing to one example doesn't really prove anything. We all watched the game. They kept dumping it inside to Edey and having him shoot all game long even when it became clear they couldn't trade 2s for 2s.

I think people are misunderstanding me to be suggesting that UConn's defense wasn't great. It obviously was. But Purdue could have gotten more than 7 shots off had they committed to doing it. Do you think if they played 5 more times, Purdue would shoot that few 3s again?

They knew or should have known we would not be doubling Edey and they just didn't adjust for that. Ever.

Matt Painter wasn't the coach who made that comment, it was Brad Underwood when we were playing Illinois.

It's also completely out of touch to just say he should have schemed up a way to shoot more 3's. UConn's entire defense was based off of running guys off the 3 point line and into the paint. If it was as simple as just shooting more 3's then every coach would have done that.

And it's not even a guarantee it would have worked anyway for Purdue. Most of their team are not good shooters unless left wide open on a double team, so scheming up more contested 3's is a bad strategy

 

[dennismenace]

Painter is a good coach by college basketball standards, but uconn is another 2 or 3 levels above that. uconn got NBA teams sharing notes on offense, but it's also more than just a knowledge gap. It's built on recruiting the right type of players, intense practice that is effective as learning experience, and in-game adjustments that actually respond to new challenges presented by the other team. None of these can be replicated overnight. The traditional power house teams don't face pressure to deviate from the standard recruit the highest ranked guy approach, and the lower teams don't have the coaching staff consistency. Alabama is probably the most serious threat from a program level.

There's a reason why purdue looked lost without edey drawing double teams to generate open 3 looks. they've never practiced to solve that set of problems. they have edey and for college that's good enough. most college teams just run one thing that works. if it loses, they accept that.

it's one thing to point out that uconn has good sets and most efficient shot generation, but more than that the staff work overtime to meet the standard they've set for themselves to be bulletproof. it's why the team gets better as they practice more, they are simply learning more advanced material and leveling up to a higher ceiling. they've got counters (e.g. andre jackson jr cut plays to counter sagging) and designer plays to take advantage of particular player strengths and exploit different scenarios. the lob vs post looks is very difficult to prepare for because most teams at the college level don't have the personnel or practice level to deal with it. It's just a pro level coaching staff vs coughing college babies.

Nice summary. As you so well pointed out our staff is off the charts from top to bottom. The unity of purpose and leadership by example just keeps a stream of growth going that never ceases to amaze. They love those kids and it is really evident just watching them all together on the sidelines. It makes looking forward to the future so exciting wondering what they are going to come up with next.

 

[dennismenace]

Anybody would take a 7'4" guy with touch. 2024-25 will be a real test for Painter.

Going into the tournament, it was the virtually unanimous consensus here that the ONLY WAY we would lose would be if we went cold and the other team rained 3 on us. It's unfathomable that the Purdue staff didn't figure out a way to get more 3-point opportunities.

I agree we were by far the better team and much more athletic. But they needed to make 3s and they did nothing to make that happen.

All I can say is that Jay Wright thought it was possible for Purdue to create more opportunities.

Right. I remember him saying that their shooters weren't faking and stepping to the side before putting up a shot to offset aggressive defenders.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Right. I remember him saying that their shooters weren't faking and stepping to the side before putting up a shot to offset aggressive defenders.

Is this something that Purdue's guard can do effectivly? They had a few guys who were very good spot up shooters when open and their getting open was based on Edey passing out of a double team.

Of greater importance, this thread derailment appears to be due in large part to my earlier comment that Purdue wasn't able to add more athletic guards/wings to their roster during the game. This comment was based on more than just the fact that their shooters couldn't get open. Our 1-3 (Newton, Castle, Spencer, Diarra) scored 55 points. They didn't have the size/athleticsm to stop us at those spots, and while we were scoring at the level we scored, it didn't matter how well Edey did as we never reached the point where we had to make a decision on scrapping our plan of letting him get his while we guarded every one of their players (including Edey) one on one.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

Our offense is awesome. Innovative. Constantly in motion. Sure that can be duplicated, no issues there. But can those same players then play top level defense??? That’s the secret sauce. And the part of UConn folks don’t talk about nearly enough. Defensively, replacing DC’s impact will be outcome determinative in our quest for 3 in a row, even while other coaches try to steal our offensive philosophy.

 

[caw]

Is this something that Purdue's guard can do effectivly? They had a few guys who were very good spot up shooters when open and their getting open was based on Edey passing out of a double team.

Of greater importance, this thread derailment appears to be due in large part to my earlier comment that Purdue wasn't able to add more athletic guards/wings to their roster during the game. This comment was based on more than just the fact that their shooters couldn't get open. Our 1-3 (Newton, Castle, Spencer, Diarra) scored 55 points. They didn't have the size/athleticsm to stop us at those spots, and while we were scoring at the level we scored, it didn't matter how well Edey did as we never reached the point where we had to make a decision on scrapping our plan of letting him get his while we guarded every one of their players (including Edey) one on one.

Simple answer is no.

They were great at getting the ball kicked to them from the post and swinging it around 2-3 passes to the open shooter and making open shots. Only Smith and to a lesser extent Jones could drive, though Jones really excelled on defense and getting out on the break all year. UConn shut down the break so Jones couldn't do as much there and he had length on him all game.

Renn/Gillis were decent shooters when open but neither could really dribble at all and Renn duplicated Edey's best skill, post-ups. Loyer was a two dribble at most player and was tiny compared to UConn's players.

Smith actually did a decent job at times but Castle and Diarra blanketed him all game.

 

[dennismenace]

Is this something that Purdue's guard can do effectivly? They had a few guys who were very good spot up shooters when open and their getting open was based on Edey passing out of a double team.

Of greater importance, this thread derailment appears to be due in large part to my earlier comment that Purdue wasn't able to add more athletic guards/wings to their roster during the game. This comment was based on more than just the fact that their shooters couldn't get open. Our 1-3 (Newton, Castle, Spencer, Diarra) scored 55 points. They didn't have the size/athleticsm to stop us at those spots, and while we were scoring at the level we scored, it didn't matter how well Edey did as we never reached the point where we had to make a decision on scrapping our plan of letting him get his while we guarded every one of their players (including Edey) one on one.

I think that faking before shooting is about as elemental as you can get so I would say yes, Jay Wright probably felt confident they were capable of being more than catch and shoot shooters and thus able to sidestep over aggressive defenders. That's something to just keep the defenders honest like back cuts. If you don't do anything (responding) they will continue to over defend like when someone can't use their off hand dribble and the defender just overplays and forces you to do that or give up your dribble.

I hadn't really thought of this as "thread derailment." Just agreeing with a poster on Jay Wright's comments.

 

[nomar]

Matt Painter wasn't the coach who made that comment, it was Brad Underwood when we were playing Illinois.

It's also completely out of touch to just say he should have schemed up a way to shoot more 3's. UConn's entire defense was based off of running guys off the 3 point line and into the paint. If it was as simple as just shooting more 3's then every coach would have done that.

And it's not even a guarantee it would have worked anyway for Purdue. Most of their team are not good shooters unless left wide open on a double team, so scheming up more contested 3's is a bad strategy

No, Painter said it too. Of course it's not a guarantee! I don't think it would have worked! All I'm saying is that we matched up with them in a way that nobody else did and they needed to shoot 3s. I get that we guarded the heck out of the line and that they didn't have big or athletic guards, but, nonetheless to have a chance of beating us they needed to emphasize on getting off more 3-point attempts, even contested ones. If they shot 2/15, I wouldn't be making the point I'm making. I'd say, well, they tried.

I didn't criticize Oates and I didn't criticize Underwood (although I do think he should have called a quicker timeout, not that it would have affected the result).

We killed everybody and I think we'd have beat Purdue 9 out of 10, no matter what they threw at us. The notion that criticizing Painter for not making an adjustment is somehow a slight to UConn is completely ridiculous. I find it really silly that if you criticize the other side on this board people will accuse you of insulting UConn or suggesting we didn't have an all-time great team. We did. I think this was the best MCBB team in at least 28 years.

 

[Karmacop]

I hadn't really thought of this as "thread derailment." Just agreeing with a poster on Jay Wright's comments.

I think the thread has been derailed because this is ostensibly a thread about Braylon Mullins and his visit to UConn in June, and not a discussion of Purdue's gameplanning and the title game.

 

[Storrs South]

Purdue's staff absolutely mailed in game planning. As did Illinois'.

Two B1G teams whose coaches didn't even try to game prep or adjust in-game.

All the Big 10 teams they played (Purdue, Illinois, NW) had a massive hill to climb to beat UConn to begin with in terms of talent and coaching, but it definitely did not help that in all 3 cases they had 1 day to teach a bunch of 18-23 year olds how to defend the most complex offensive playbook in college basketball.

Then on top of that having to beat two defensive systems that function in completely different ways depending on which 5 man is in. It's why Hurley called the team bulletproof in March. He knew how talented they were, how well they were coached, but also how difficult it is for other coaches to scout it then teach how to combat it on little to no turnaround. I think that's why coaches who are clearly good at what they do (despite the lack of success when it really counts) in Collins, Underwood, and Painter looked paralyzed against UConn and didn't make any adjustments (spoiler: they had 1 move).

It's also just funny how the Big 10 got saddled 3 times having 1 day to scout UConn, not that it helped Stetson or SDSU, but I think definitely helped Bama.

 

[navery12]

No, Painter said it too. Of course it's not a guarantee! I don't think it would have worked! All I'm saying is that we matched up with them in a way that nobody else did and they needed to shoot 3s. I get that we guarded the heck out of the line and that they didn't have big or athletic guards, but, nonetheless to have a chance of beating us they needed to emphasize on getting off more 3-point attempts, even contested ones. If they shot 2/15, I wouldn't be making the point I'm making. I'd say, well, they tried.

I didn't criticize Oates and I didn't criticize Underwood (although I do think he should have called a quicker timeout, not that it would have affected the result).

We killed everybody and I think we'd have beat Purdue 9 out of 10, no matter what they threw at us. The notion that criticizing Painter for not making an adjustment is somehow a slight to UConn is completely ridiculous. I find it really silly that if you criticize the other side on this board people will accuse you of insulting UConn or suggesting we didn't have an all-time great team. We did. I think this was the best MCBB team in at least 28 years.

No, he didn't. You can watch Tracy Wolfson talk about his halftime comments to her here, it starts at 38:29. He explicitly says he wants them driving to the paint and kicking it out for 3's more. The problem was UConn's defense was too good and we didn't let that happen

 

[nomar]

No, he didn't. You can watch Tracy Wolfson talk about his halftime comments to her here, it starts at 38:29. He explicitly says he wants them driving to the paint and kicking it out for 3's more. The problem was UConn's defense was too good and we didn't let that happen

Wasn't he interviewed in the first half too?

 

[navery12]

Wasn't he interviewed in the first half too?

Yeah that's at 22:15, but at that point it was a tie game and they only asked about the changes he wanted to make on defense (keep us out of the paint and force us to take tougher 2's)

 

[controlfade]

3 pages of posts that have nothing to do with Mullins?

 

[nomar]

3 pages of posts that have nothing to do with Mullins?

Look, we've got 200 more pages to get into Diamond Stone territory. We're trying our best.

 

[husky99]

3 pages of posts that have nothing to do with Mullins?

No joke... i read none of it and scroll to see Twitter post

 

[awy]

just saying that if it comes to selling a system to this kid purdue will have an uphill battle compared to uconn. I think this advantage will become even more pronounced when they run a more spaced out offense next season. if players do the research and see where the pro game is moving towards, then they will see that uconn offers a unique opportunity at the college level. some of the other programs like alabama or miami have the same general philosophy but in the versatility and creativity level still a bit short.

 

[Chin Diesel]

BS. They learned theres a difference in watching Uconn and playing against them. They simply werent good enough to beat one of the best teams of the last 30 years. Nothing was going to stop this team.

there's a difference between losing a game because the other team is better and losing because you didn't try to figure out how to game plan.

 

[HooperScooper]

I think the thread has been derailed because this is ostensibly a thread about Braylon Mullins and his visit to UConn in June, and not a discussion of Purdue's gameplanning and the title game.

Classic Boneyard thread.

So about that Mullins kid, I heard he can shoot. It's interesting that when Hurley got to UConn there was almost no shooting on the roster. Recently he's stacked the roster with shooters rather than just athletes and it's worked out extremely well. Mullins seems to be in that mold.

 

[Jbirdp5]

Purdue's staff absolutely mailed in game planning. As did Illinois'.

Two B1G teams whose coaches didn't even try to game prep or adjust in-game.

Maybe they could have done something different but I am positive they didn’t “mail in” the game plan for the biggest game of their careers. Sometimes you just get outfoxed or outmanned, and probably a little bit of both happened to Purdue but it’s certainly not because they were having fun in Arizona and just “mailing in” their game plan

 

[NH Husky]

3 pages of posts that have nothing to do with Mullins?

Time to lock it up

 

[controlfade]

Look, we've got 200 more pages to get into Diamond Stone territory. We're trying our best.

Lol

 

[UCfor3]

Someone could just type the words "ham sandwich" and nothing else and derail a thread for 4 pages. It will eventually devolve into which mustard is best on a a ham sammy argument. Enemies will be made and alliances will be forged. Otherwise known as Friday on The Boneyard.

 

[TheHorde]

Someone could just type the words "ham sandwich" and nothing else and derail a thread for 4 pages. It will eventually devolve into which mustard is best on a a ham sammy argument. Enemies will be made and alliances will be forged. Otherwise known as Friday on The Boneyard.

Mayo should automatically get a thread shut down imo.

 

[NH Husky]

Someone could just type the words "ham sandwich" and nothing else and derail a thread for 4 pages. It will eventually devolve into which mustard is best on a a ham sammy argument. Enemies will be made and alliances will be forged. Otherwise known as Friday on The Boneyard.

You’re just wrong.
It’s about a turkey sandwich with mayo.
Hellmans of course. Duck Fukes.