NCAA Basketball: Ranking the state of Indiana teams for 2020-21 season

2. NCAA Basketball state of Indiana power rankings – Purdue Boilermakers

Projected Depth Chart

PG- Eric Hunter Jr, JR / Isaiah Thompson, SO

SG- Sasha Stefanovic, Jr / Jaden Ivey, FR

SF- Brandon Newman, FR / Ethan Morton, FR

F- Aaron Wheeler, JR / Mason Gillis, FR

C- Trevion Williams, JR / Emmanuel Dowuona, SO / Zach Edey, FR

The best coach in the state resides in West Lafayette, and Head Coach Matt Painter approaches the 2020-21 campaign with a team returning 3 of its top 4 scorers.

Incoming junior and leading scorer Trevion Williams (11.5 pts, 7.6 reb, 1.5 ast) will have a chance to be an All-Big Ten player, but the return of three guards- Eric Hunter (10.6 pts, 3.3 reb, 2.6 ast), Sasha Stefanovic, Isaiah Thompson- who all played 18+ minutes per game gives the Boilermakers one of the most experienced backcourts in the Big Ten. Unfortunately for Purdue, beyond that, there is not a ton of depth.

Aiding this depth issue were the unexpected transfers of Matt Haarms (8.6 pts, 4.6 reb. .9 ast) and Nojel Eastern (4.9 pts 4 reb, 2.7 ast), two starters a season ago. While this does not especially hurt Purdue from a statistical perspective, the loss of two bodies who saw serious minutes without anyone to fill those scholarships is tough to make up for on short notice.

The hope is that redshirt freshman and former top-150 recruit Brandon Newman can do a lot to make up for the departures. The 6’4 175 lb shooting guard was lauded as one of the best catch and shoot players in last seasons freshman class and should fit well alongside fellow three-point shooter, Sasha Stefanovic (9.1 pts, 2.4 reb, 1.7 ast) who hit a team-high 64 3-point shots in 2019-20. One of Purdue’s big problems in its 16-win, 15-loss season a year ago was the inability to make shots consistently. Newman’s insertion into the lineup should really help.

The post is where Purdue got hit hardest by departures and they are going to struggle to mask it in the Big Ten. The graduation of Evan Boudreaux and his five rebounds per game hurts as bad as the loss of Haarms, and frankly, the Boilers don’t have a quick fix. They are going to have to rely on Williams to reach double digits boards on a nightly basis and will hope that the teams other redshirt freshman in 6’7 Mason Gillis comes in ready to help immediately on the glass. Evan Wheeler at 6’9 could be another huge help inside. His only issue: he thinks he’s a guard and cannot seem to get off of the perimeter. Wheeler’s true value in his junior season will be playing on the block and that is going to be one of Painter’s big projects this offseason.

All things considered, with the guard nucleus returning as well as Williams’ break out season potential, a top 6 Big Ten Finish and another appearance in March Madness is very much in reach for the Boilermakers.