Thread by @joejacksonCBB

WHY NOT, let's take a look at some of the plays from the Purdue Illinois game

It is tough to move Kofi, even for Edey. Edey is able to use his height to his advantage here and still get some separation even though he could not get close to the rim

This has been Purdue's biggest problem on defense. Hunter gets completely stuck on the screen. When that happens help has to come and Illinois is too good of a team to not find the open guy. Purdue still lives with that Kofi shot though

Tre has struggled against Kofi, and he has usually tried to bully him in the post. That does not work against Kofu, but Tre has much better footwork. He uses that to his advantage here

Look at the energy. Everyone is locked in. Everyone is helping. Purdue doubles Kofi immediately. Ivey is tasked with 2 guys and is able to stop the drive. Great closeout by Gillis and recovery by Tre

If I wanted to win basketball games I would simply just make sure I have a Jaden Ivey on my team
Purdue runs it more and more.
What impresses me the most is Ivey's patience. He waits to see what is there and takes it

Sasha has put his body out there to take charges a lot this year. This one was big as it helped slow down some Illinois momentum. Winning plays

Purdue was getting beat in transition early. They had a lot of turnovers early on (this was their 4th). A crafty finish by Plummer

Purdue initially does well with the double team. Frazier easily splits the hedge from Gillis on the screen and gets to the paint. Trevion has to step up which causes no real body to be put on Kofi. It is tough to do out of rotation, but people have to get Kofi when a shot goes up

HUGE shot by Morton to stop the run of Illinois. He does not shoot a ton but has shot well. He was confident and ready to let this one fire away.
The threat of a Sasha drive forced the help. Sasha got one dribble inside the arc and it was enough to get Morton open

Next play
Look at Morton and Gillis. They continually run guys off the 3 point line, and then the other helps. They did this a few times in a row this possession perfectly. When the drive happened the other helps and they switched. Good closeout by Sasha

This team never stops moving. This was a cut by the 3 man off of a down screen from the point guard, with the pass coming from the 4 who just got screened by a guard. Great vision by Gillis and what a finish by Morton to really jump start Purdue

Morton getting the crowd chants that he deserves
@EthanTruther25

The role players were stepping up big early in this game. Ivey does a good job of keeping two on him and found the open Furst. Good things happen when Ivey gets downhill

Look at this drive. Morton is there to not let Curbelo get to the rim. Aside from that, there is not any over help. Ivey stays on his man, a very good shooter, and the turnover occurs

@PurdueWilkie here is the play. Painter gets very very mad. It looks like he was wanting something on Kofi for hooking Trevion
Also, Purdue lives with a Curbelo three over a drive

The defense stepped up after the first few minutes. The biggest difference was coverage on the screens. Sasha gets caught, but Furst did a good job in drop coverage not allowing a pass and not allowing Curbelo to get all the way to the rim

We haven't seen Gillis take too many contested shots this season. This one it did not matter though

A lot of bodies in one area made this pass really difficult. I love how Furst has been defending these last few possessions

Everyone knew this shot was going to happen, and he still made it

Really poor defense here to end the half. Nobody gets a body on him at all. Furst is late rotating, and Sasha is never close to stopping the ball

Watch Sasha and his defender. As Edey is rolling, Sasha sets a back screen (that he most likely was going to pop out from or set up a lob for Edey). The defense all collapses towards the middle and Hunter is able to get to the rim with ease

Hunter to Sasha in transition, a tale as old as time
@ehunt66

Hunter came out this half with aggression. This was zoom action first for Sasha and then for Hunter. Hunter did a great job going straight downhill and showing off some touch

Gillis Hunter
🤝
Making winning plays

Gillis sets himself up early to be in position for the rebound. Hunter does a great job getting into a spot that Gillis could see and make the pass.
Hunter knew it was in as soon as he let it go

Purdue is at their best defensively when Hunter is leading the way with his on ball defense

Curbelo does a great job refusing the screen in the empty side pick and roll. Ivey gets beat and there is no help at the rim

PROGRAM ALERT
I can almost guarantee there will be a lot of Jaden Ivey pick and roll clips coming up shortly

As promised
Ivey has become so god at changing up his pace. This first step he explodes, then slows down to draw the big up more. I still have no idea how he got this pass to Edey

He just is not fair in transition. He got where he wanted quicker than everybody else. Super tough to stop him when he turns on the jets like this

Just a tough shot by Ivey. Plummer does a pretty good job getting back in front, but Ivey is too athletic so he just shoots over the top. I love that Purdue's primary in transition has become a drag screen for Ivey. This causes the defense to not fully be set

His athleticism and ball control allow him to get to the paint. His passing ability allows him to have more space. Illinois started collapsing more on Ivey, and Ivey is fine with that. He sees what there is and finds the open Thompson who knocked it down

Purdue catches a break here. Illinois went Spain pick and roll out of the BLOB. Furst drops to cover Kofi so he did not get a free run to the rim. Either it was not communicated or Trevion could not find Grandison on the perimeter who missed the wide open 3

Ivey so wanted Edey to dunk the lob. Ivey does a great job here reading that his defender is pretty close, and Kofi stepped up. Makes the right read to lob it.
Edey will be credited with the ORB, but look at Mason Gillis. he comes flying in and provides a tip to keep the ball up

Illinois continues to be in a deep drop. This was the smoothest pull up I have seen from Ivey all year. Edey does a fantastic job on his roll to seal Ivey's man and allow all the space that is needed

Kofi had gotten a few good shots in a row against single coverage. Gillis traps hard here and Kofi can't do a thing, first getting blocked, and then committing the turnover.
Gotta love Painter yelling to slow down as Ivey slices up the defense

"I'm him"
Yes you are Jaden Ivey

This ball screen was set higher up, and Ivey used that to get a full head of steam. He does an in-n-out to freeze the defender some and has the crafty finish

Why not