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WEST LAFAYETTE – This Purdue basketball team opens the season with a mindset unique to the past 40 years of program history.
Matt Painter admitted last season’s long-awaited Final Four run brought “relief.” The tension which built throughout the entire Boilermakers experience in previous years should not constrict around this squad.
Also, three-fifths of the expected opening night starting lineup was on the court for the opening jump against UConn. Numerous other players have proof of concept that even niche roles yield crucial results.
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Maybe that change to the greater vibe around the program has no bearing on what this team can accomplish. Maybe it only matters this roster remains very talented, and Painter’s system simply keeps winning.
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I’m a little surprised last season’s breakthrough did not come with more of a move-the-goalposts backlash.
“Oh, did you make the national championship with a two-time national player of the year game-wrecker? Congrats.”
Such a sentiment would fraudulently dismiss the emotional and mental resiliency of last year’s Boilermakers. Staring the humiliation of a first-round NCAA tournament loss in the face and confidently conquering that stigma was anything but easy. Yes, it was Painter’s best team, but under those circumstances it also was one of his best coaching jobs.
I always assumed, though, the team to break the drought might be one who met the moment as opposed to one chasing expectations. Other programs do it all the time. Purdue faced one of them in the national semifinals last season. NC State crashed landed into the ACC tournament and still boarded a plane to Phoenix three weeks later.
Nothing suggests these Boilermakers will fall that far from Big Ten championship contention. On the contrary, a group featuring three returning starters —…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/purdue-basketball-best-worst-case-082529164.html
Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star
Publish date : 2024-10-30 08:25:00
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