Purdue Basketball: Week 1 Player Grades

Starters:

Nojel Eastern - Guard

Grade: B

Reason: Jelly struggled offensively the first two games scoring a combine 12 points. Against Texas he picked his game up, passing the ball better and rebounding better after a sub-par game against Greeen Bay, in which it looked like his wrist was bugging him.

After one week, it appears the jump shot looks better, but will come in time for gameplay. He was not shy about attempting it, which means it is going down in practice. When he makes a 3, Mackey may go crazy like when Ben Simmons hit a three for Philly

Jahaad Proctor - Guard

Grade: A

Reason: Is Jahaad our best player? Through 2 games, it appears that way. Against Green Bay, he did it all, good jumper, solid defense and got to the rim, all on his way to 26 Points. Vs Texas he struggled with some of the Texas length, but still managed 12 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

Proctor may be our go to guy by B1G season rolls around. He certainly has the “It” factor after one week.

Eric Hunter Jr. - Guard

Grade: B

Reason: Eric Hunter has been a nice surprise early on. He has played off the ball, but has also handled the ball well when called upon. He certainly looks like a candidate to make a good jump during his sophomore season. He had a 15, 4, 6 line against Green Bay and scored 12 more against Texas.

Aaron Wheeler - Forward

Grade: B

Reason: Wheeler has the obvious athleticism to be a great stretch 4. He almost notched a double double vs Green Bay, but against Texas he struggled, only scoring 4 points. By the end of the season, he may be our leading rebounder. He currently is averaging 8 per game through the first 2 contests.

Matt Haarms - Center

Grade: B+

Reason: Haarms had a career high of 7 blocks against Green Bay, but the athleticism of Texas definitely got to him. He only snagged two rebounds, even though he was the tallest guy on the court.

Bench:

Sasha Stefanovic - Guard

Grade: B

Reason: After missing Green Bay, Sasha came in and hit 4 threes to start against Texas, then cooled way off. He missed some rotations on defense and left shooters wide open.

Tre Williams - Forward/Center

Grade: C+

Reason: Green Bay was not kind to Tre, he scored 4 points with 0 rebounds. Against Texas he was better, having a 9 & 8 line, as well as making some solid passes. He was not great defensively, losing his man vs Texas often.

Evan Boudreaux - Forward

Grade: D

Reason: Just has not been good to date. Will need to figure it out, we need the depth. Is Gillis truly worse? Or does CMP think we can live with E-Bo for one more year.

Isaiah Thompson - Guard

Grade: D

Reason: Struggled shooting the ball vs Green Bay. I believe we aren’t giving him a RS because we need the shooting. Against Texas, he logged only two minutes.