Purdue Basketball: Rutgers Grades Are In!

Eric Hunter Jr - A - Eric Hunter Jr. Man, he went from the bench in the Non Con and early Conference play to playing the second most minutes over the course of February. Against Rutgers, he logged 36 minutes - the 2nd most on the team, only 2nd to Jaden Ivey. EHJ, is a stalwart on defense - he has gotten back to his 2020-2021 defensive form - it has shown over the last few games, as Purdue’s defense has won us some games, as the offense struggled during the late stretch of the 7 games in 11 days or whatever it was.

Jaden Ivey - B+ - Jaden Ivey is clearly the best basketball player on this team. But, sometimes what he does on the offensive end of the court does not always translates to defense. He makes some great plays, highlight blocks or steals, but there are lackadaisical moments. Now, vs Rutgers, he dropped 25, he did not hit a 3, but he was great from the line and at the rim.

Never forget the dunk over McConnell.

Sasha Stefanovic - B - Sasha came out guns a blazing. he hit 3early threes including a bank - but outside of that, there was not a ton of production outside of that. But, he did a solid job on the wing defensively and did a great job.

Mason Gillis - A - Mason Gillis is the grit to this team. - Never did I think that we would have a guy that could top Eifert at this position after the year he had with Carsen, but here we are. Mason is shooting almost 50% from three. He is scoring and doing everything on offense so much better than I ever expected from him. Then, add his defense and willingness to mix it up and he is the perfect 4.

Zach Edey - B+ - Big Maple is great on offense nightly, a true mismatch - he still has room to grow on defense though. He still gets lost on the Pick and Roll defense much too often, but he is so good on offense, it is hard to knock him for his D.

Trevion Williams - A+ - Trevion kept us afloat with the early first half struggles. His fancy dribbling, post moves and hitting a three. Tre, in my opinion, was our best player this weekend. He was locked in on defense as well, stifling 11 and drawing fouls on him.

Isaiah Thompson - B - IT did not bring a ton of offense this weekend, scoring only 3. But, he did not turn the ball over against the press and held his own on defense.

Ethan Morton - B - Morton was solid, he didn’t do anything great or anything poorly. Was solid on D vs Harper Jr, did not turn the ball over. He was the epitome of a role player.

Caleb Furst - C - Furst had the lowest +/- of the day, struggling to keep up with the quicker PFs of Rutgers. On offense, it seemed kind of clogged when he was in. When he is in with Edey, it is a recipe for clogness. He will be fine, but right now, seems a bit out of place.