Busting Brackets
Fansided

Purdue Basketball: Breaking down Boilermakers 2019-20 rotation

By Toby Brown

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Nojel Eastern #20 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a dunk against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 28: Nojel Eastern #20 of the Purdue Boilermakers goes up for a dunk against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at the KFC YUM! Center on March 28, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – FEBRUARY 03: Trevion Williams #50 of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts during the second half of the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Mackey Arena on February 3, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – FEBRUARY 03: Trevion Williams #50 of the Purdue Boilermakers reacts during the second half of the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Mackey Arena on February 3, 2019 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Small Forward/Power Forward

Minutes Breakdown: Aaron Wheeler (28), Mason Gillis (10), Trevion Williams (27), Evan Bodreaux (15)

Purdue does not have good depth when it comes to their Forwards. Coach Painter over the past couple years has had various types of teams. Going into this year he knows that he is going to have smaller lineup. With that being said these forwards will have to play a step above their competition to keep Purdue in contention for the Big Ten title.

Aaron Wheeler will start at the Small Forward position in my eyes. Even though he did not get a ton of minutes through out the year last year, I believe that his play during the NCAA Tournament showed the country that he deserves to be out on the court. Wheeler may be the most all around skilled player that Purdue has this year. He can score from any position on the floor as well as guard above his position. He will definitely be a big key to the success in West Lafayette.

At the Power forward position the Boilermakers should see Trevion Williams. Williams showed college basketball fans all over the country that he deserves to be playing more minutes. Many Boilermaker fans were upset with Coach Painter last year for not playing him more in certain situations. He has the ability to take over the game down low with his tremendous slate of post moves. He is easily Purdue’s best rebounder and he will be a great compliment to Matt Haarms down low on defense as well. The only question mark I have for Williams is whether or not he is in good enough shape to play more minutes this year.

The backups for both of these positions will have to step up and play some quality minutes much of what the guards had to do last year once Cline and Edwards came out to rest. Bodreaux has experience playing in the Big Ten from last year so I am not concerned on how he will handle coming off the bench. He was a great role player last year that did not make a lot of mistakes with the little minutes he was allotted. The biggest question mark will be Mason Gillis, a freshman out of New Albany Indiana. He is built a lot like former Boilermaker, Vince Edwards, but he will still have to go out and prove that he can be trusted to make the plays on the court.

Overall I can see these positions changing a lot throughout the season to see who fits the best during different times of the game.

Home/Purdue Boilermakers