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Purdue Basketball: Analyzing Boilermakers depth chart for 2020-21 season

By Jackson Downs

MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 16: The Purdue Boilermakers mascot cheers in the first half against the Vermont Catamounts during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 16, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 16: The Purdue Boilermakers mascot cheers in the first half against the Vermont Catamounts during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 16, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /
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WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 11: Eric Hunter Jr. #2 of the Purdue Boilermakers (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
WEST LAFAYETTE, INDIANA – FEBRUARY 11: Eric Hunter Jr. #2 of the Purdue Boilermakers (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

Purdue’s Guards

The Boilermakers will have quite a bit of depth in the guard position next year with nine players including five freshmen playing in the guard position. However, who will actually get playing time is a different story.

The two returning juniors Eric Hunter Jr and Sasha Stefanovic started over 20 games last season and figure to be key players next season. Hunter Jr averaged 10.6 PPG and Stefanovic averaged 9.1 PPG with both shooting over 38% from 3-pt range. While both are more scoring guards, these two probably will spend a lot of time on the court together as the main two guards or in a three-guard lineup.

In looking at the other two non-freshman, Isaiah Thompson is a sophomore and averaged 5.6 PPG off the bench last year. I’d expected him to be a solid bench contributor again this year behind Hunter Jr and Stefanovic. Jared Wulburn is also a sophomore and only played in nine games last season as a preferred walk-on. I wouldn’t expect him to play much expected for blowouts.

Of the five freshmen, the two that could make an impact are Ethan Morton and Jaden Ivey. Both are four-star recruits according to 247 sports, and Ivey comes from Indiana hopefully leading to a crop of homegrown talent. If either shows the talent to become a solid distributor, then a lot of playing time could be in store in the opening season. However, I expect Painter to ease them in behind the other three guys.

Furthermore, Brandon Newman returns from his redshirt. A three-star recruit from last season has the talent to make a major impact, but he’ll have to compete with Ivey and Morton to get on the court at all.

Chase Martin and Carson Barrett are also listed on the Purdue roster as walk-ons; I don’t expect them to play a role for Purdue at all.

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