Purdue Basketball: Omer Mayer Doing What He Needs to Do for Team Israel

Omer Mayer is the focal point of the Israeli offense, but don’t sleep on his ability to play off the ball at Purdue.

As a Purdue fan, it’s impossible not to get excited about star U-19 Israeli guard and future Boilermaker Omer Mayer.

I mean, seriously … look at this stat line.

Here’s the interesting thing about Mayer. If this U-19 tournament is the first time you’re watching him play, you may be a little confused about his game. Omer is chucking in this tournament because the only way Israel wins is if he scores. They have two other decent guards, but he’s far and away Israel’s best player. A bad shot from Omer isn’t always a bad shot, because he’s significantly better than everyone else on the team.

That’s doubly true in Israel’s pick-and-roll game. The Israeli “bigs” have yet to set a solid screen and appear to be incapable of finishing around the basket. When Israel goes to the high pick-and-roll featuring Mayer, it’s more of a pick-and-midrange pull-up. He’s not passing to the roll man because, from what I’ve seen, the roll man can’t catch the ball, and if he does manage to snag it, he can’t finish it. A good number of his 26 shot attempts arose from a lack of passing options, rather than a desire to launch the ball towards the basket at the slightest opportunity.

I’ve fallen for this before.

After watching his highlights from his last tournament with Israel, I tuned in to the Nike Hoops Summit games expecting a dude who enters the gym shooting and doesn’t stop until the lights go out. Instead, I watched him put on a passing clinic. In 19 game minutes, Mayer attempted exactly zero shots but led both teams with seven assists, some of the spectacular variety. I was expecting a chucker, but instead, I got a pass-first, second, and third-point guard. He was the best playmaker on a team featuring the world’s top young basketball players. If you’re wondering how Omer fits into Purdue, it appears that he can fit in wherever you need.

Omer is both the seven-assist point God I watched get everyone involved in at the Hoop Summit, and the gunner who shot Israel into the final eight of the U-19 tournament. Purdue will need different versions of Omer, depending on the opponent. Some games may require him to take a more on-ball role, while in other games, he can be a sniper on the wing and a secondary playmaker. He’s comfortable with both.

The one aspect of his game that has particularly impressed me during this three-game run with Israel is his spot-up shooting. He’s good shooting off the dribble, but I’m not sure I’ve seen him miss a catch-and-shoot opportunity.

Catch and Shoot

I was looking for a play that exemplifies how Omer may be used in Purdue’s offense off the ball, and a simple pick-and-roll set by Israel caught my attention.

Pick-and-Roll

Cameroon’s defense makes this different from a traditional pick-and-roll because they’re basically zoning up their center in the middle of the lane. It looks something like this on a whiteboard:

This looks like four-around-one, but it’s Israel playing five out. They start the set with their four-man setting a nominal screen on the Cameroon center before bouncing out to the wing.

The point guard has the ball in his left hand and is moving right to left. The screen is supposed to open up the left side of the lane.

Wide Open

This play is set up to get Mayer a shot, not as a pick-and-roll. The point guard has no interest in shooting or passing it to the roll man. He’s looking for Omer isolated on the weak side of the floor.

It looks weird because Cameroon’s center is zoning up in the lane instead of playing drop coverage. I assume he’s responsible for the driver. That puts the weak-side wing defender in a challenging situation when the Israeli center rolls to the basket.

He can pinch in on the roll and try to stop what should be an easy layup.

or

He can stay with Mayer on the perimeter and not give up an open three.

He Chose…Poorly

Please indulge my use of pics and the play editor for this basic play, but I need the practice, and this is the offseason. I’m sure y’all understand how a pick-and-roll works.

The Israeli guard pulls up at the free throw line and delivers a perfect pass to Mayer, and Omer is locked and loaded.

He catches the ball and knocks down the three

How It Translates

I’m sure y’all understand how a pick-and-roll works, but Mayer’s spot-up shooting alone should bring Purdue’s already deadly pick-and-roll to the next level. With Fletcher on one wing and Omer on the other, the middle of the floor will be wide open for the Braden / TKR pick and roll.

If Painter wants even more spacing, he could bring Liam Murphy in at the four and essentially guarantee that Braden and TKR are allowed to work the middle of the court with no help.

If he wants a lob threat, Daniel Jacobson is deadly in the dunker spot.

If he wants rebounding, Oscar Cluff was the best offensive rebounder in the nation last season.

I’m not sure how you prepare for the Purdue pick-and-roll. Last season, most teams tried to keep an extra defender in the lane and defend it three-on-two. The addition of Mayer’s spot-up shooting alone should be a significant boost for the Purdue offense, and that’s not even taking into consideration the other aspects of his game.

Buckle up y’all, this may be the best offense of the Painter era, and I don’t make that claim lightly.