Purdue Basketball: Matt Painter Starts with Something Different Against McNeese.

Will Wade and McNeese were prepared for Purdue’s vaunted high pick-and-roll and got something different from Matt Painter.

Sometimes coaching adjustments are subtle. You’re not going to drastically change what you do in the thirty-fifth game of the season, but you can tweak things just enough for it to make a huge difference. Matt Painter did that by breaking some of Purdue’s usual tendencies early in the game last Saturday. People who haven’t watched Purdue all season (including the announcers) may have missed it, but I didn’t.

If you’ve read my previews recently, you’ll notice a theme. Purdue will run the high pick-and-roll with Braden and TKR, and how the other team defends it dictates the game. McNeese State was geared up to stop Purdue’s pet play early and get out to a lead early like they did against Clemson. Instead, Matt Painter and the Boilermakers flipped the script, and the Cowboys weren’t prepared.

After the first 10 minutes of the game, the Boilermakers had a 25-11 lead, and the rest, as they say, was academic. A large portion of those 25 points can be attributed directly to Matt Painter outcoaching his opposite number.

It started on the first possession of the game.

Let’s Get This Party Started

Imagine made at Plays | The Hoops Geek

Note:

I’m going to try something new and use the play designer from Plays | The Hoops Geek to show you what happened in this play. It’s the first time I’ve done this, so hang with me.

I don’t have the exact percentage, but I’m willing to bet that Braden Smith initiated the vast majority of Purdue’s offense this season from the top of the key.

Against McNeese, Purdue won the tip, Braden got the ball, Trey loitered in his normal location at the free throw line, and then Braden initiated the offense by getting it to Fletch on the wing instead of running a high pick-and-roll.

Wait…what?

Pin Down for CJ Cox?

Plays | The Hoops Geek

I’m going to guess Wade didn’t spend much time working on defending pin-down screens to CJ Cox in the lead up to this game, but it looks like that’s what PJ and Matt are going with on the first possession.

Basic Pin Down to Free Up Shooter at Top of Key

Step 1: Braden (1) gets the ball to Fletcher (2) on the wing (shown in the first clip)

Step 2: CJ Cox (3) cuts straight up the lane from the baseline, heading for the top of the key.

Step 3: TKR (5) sets a pin-down screen on CJ’s defender

Step 4: CJ pops out to the top of the key, hopefully for an open 3. Otherwise, he resets the offense at the top of the key.

Except That’s Not What Happens

Plays | The Hoops Geek

This looks like a pin-down screen for Cox, and TKR’s defender plays it like a pin-down screen. Remember, McNeese wants to switch everything one through five, so TKR’s defender is looking to switch out Cox. TKR’s defender is guarding the pin-down instead of guarding the actual play.

The actual play looks like a pin-down, but instead of setting the screen, TKR pivots and shows his numbers to Fletcher on the wing for a post-up in the mid-post while his defender remains on the high side waiting to switch the non-existent pin-down screen.

Cox’s defender doesn’t switch onto TKR, because there is no screen, but TKR’s defender is stuck on the high side because he’s expecting to switch onto Cox once he pops to the top of the key.

Not a Bad Start

Fletch throws a beautiful entry pass, leading TKR to the basket. The help should be coming from the corner on the pass, but Braden Smith is standing in the corner, and they’re not about to help off Braden. He holds the help defender; Trey collects the pass and turns for an uncontested dunk to start the game.

Master Class From the Old Pro

The talk going into the game primarily focused on McNeese’s controversy magnet, Will Wade, and for good reason. By the time the game was played, it had already been announced that he would leave McNeese for the open NC State position.

Wade threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at Clemson on defense, and anticipated some Tiger tendencies. By the time Brad Brownell and his team had things figured out, it was too late (barely).

Painter came out of the gate breaking tendencies. First and foremost, he takes the ball out of his All-American point guard’s hands and uses him to hold the help defender. I guarantee Wade and every player on the Cowboys’ team expected a high pick-and-roll to start things off, but instead, Fletcher Loyer initiated the offense from the wing. Braden made a quick, uncontested pass, cut to the corner, and stayed in the corner.

That’s broken tendency number one.

Then, instead of running the perfunctory pin-down screen to get the ball to Cox at the top of the key, they run something that looks like a basic pin-down, but it’s designed to get Trey the ball in the mid-post.

That’s broken tendency number two, and it ended in a dunk.

Matt Painter used the fact that McNeese switches every screen and likes to jump plays to his advantage. Painter showed them the pin-down, gave them the post-up, and Trey rattled the rim.

Purdue used McNeese’s aggressive switching defense against them and let them do most of the work to free up Trey for the game’s first points. That would be a theme for the rest of the game.

Matt Painter is truly a master at his craft.