Game Thread: Butler vs. Purdue (12/18)

Forget rankings...just look at the product on the court. It's not big east level. Look at the coaches on the bench...not big east level.

It's really not that hard to figure out. We need a new direction and if we are going to be in a power conference (where we've shown we can have success) we need to start acting like it again.

 

How many times can we continue to beat a dead horse?

 

Yea Let’s get back to covid.

 

No one can disregard that there have been injuries, but that's where depth comes in too (which the head coach recruits and puts together).

I didn't expect Butler to win this game--by any means, going against a Purdue juggernaut (and legit national title contender) in a down year for the BU program, but it wasn't even remotely competitive. I guess that's where my issue comes in. 15 point loss, okay, but nearly 30 points?

 

To be fair Painter called off the dogs, could have easily been 40-50 point win...easily

 

For sure, it was 72-36 with 6:00 left.


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Look I’m not going to say that what we’re seeing is good.

Depth is supposed to be able to support a team missing three rotation players at some point in a season. There is no amount of depth that is going to support missing 3 of your four best players at any point for any team.


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But when 3 of your 4 best are only marginally better than what they are trotting out there currently, I'm not sure they're adding much beyond fresher players missing shots? Plus Hodges didn't even play at the level he was at ETSU when he was "healthy" last year, so coming off an injury, I'm expecting Myles Tate level of improvement from last year to this year as the likeliest result for him, probably for Nze too since without surgery that shoulder at best is going to be very tender the rest of the year.

I don't think they'd be worse than they were on Saturday, but even with everyone back, considering only one of them (Harris) would actually be fully healthy, I don't think they're much better.

 

I think Nze specifically is head and shoulders above what they have on the floor.

I also think a full year of Hodges likely would be as well-but we’ll never know for sure.


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From your lips to Matt Howard’s ear:

 

Are the Wilmoth concerns/rumors now put to rest?

 

This is why I can’t understand the constant negativity from some on the board. You take the top 2 or 3 players off any team in college basketball and they lose by 20+ to Purdue. What did people expect this year? We knew going in that best case for this group was bubble. Worst case has happened with injuries.

Providence is ranked for the first time in 6 years, Villanova just fell out of the Top 25, North Carolina got destroyed by Kentucky, Xavier has never been to a Final Four, UConn women just fell out of the Top 10, IU has been down for 30 years, Kentucky missed the tournament last year at 9-16! Things happen.

I’m actually nervously excited for a Harris/Taylor/Tate/Luko/Wilmoth/Hughes future.

 

When your BEST case scenario is a bubble team for the second straight year, and three out of the last four, you are not coming close to meeting expectations.

The core of players you listed is a bubble team at the VERY best. It’s probably a below .500 team at face value.

 

Yeah the more I think about it...I do think LaVall is a poor coach with bad schemes and in game he's usually blown away by the other bench. I'm still in shock he kinda outmaneuvered Porter a couple weeks ago...but it's also a talent issue. We have solid players and at a couple spots solid to good. We don't have greatness like LaVall had in 2017-2018 and in 2019-2020...and none of that greatness those two seasons were his guys.

Now a little later the team is all his guys. The top talent he has brought in has walked away from the program or is about to face a stretch. Don't mistake "deep" with "good". This team when healthy is deep. Will they pop a few unexpected wins the next three months? I'm guessing so. But this bunch with this coach I don't know if it sniffs the nit as things are going.

So, all y'all (me included) complaining about coaching-you should. But maybe more alarming is the lack of talent he can get to Indy and what he does, retaining it.

 

Why some on here still watch Butler games is the real mystery. Surely there are better things to do

 

I am not totally convinced that is not a chemistry issue with in the team. There is ample talent to be somewhat competitive in the BE. Still ultimately it falls on LJ. Thus far the pieces to the puzzle simply do not fit, especially with a few puzzle parts missing.

 

Agree. Of course, it’s hard to have good chemistry when you’re losing. But even at the outset of the season, the team didn’t seem like it fit very well together or has whatever intangible qualities make a team click.

 

Winning does solve a multitude of issues.

 

Too many players that should see playing time. High end and low end. It's better to have 8 than 13 who should see the floor.

 

True, but it’s never the same 8, or at least the 8 we want it to be.