Hoops Mailbag: Who needs to make the biggest jump?
Off and on throughout the year, GoldandBlack.com fields readers’ questions to provide in-depth, long-form analysis on Purdue basketball topics we might not ordinarily cover. Today …
Q: In your opinion, which player needs to make the biggest performance jump for this team to be most successful next year?
A: I think this question has to be taken in the context of expectation and projected responsibility, so I’m not going to go with guys like Will Berg or Caleb Furst who obviously have paths to real minutes post-Zach Edey should they make the sort of jump being talked about here. Camden Heide obviously will have a chance to branch out some in an expanded and probably different role.
But the two right answers here to me are pretty obvious: Trey Kaufman-Renn and/or Myles Colvin. Both would be ideal.
TKR made his big Year 1 to Year 2 jump last summer and that’s why he started every game this season, but things change for him now. That go-to post-scorer role comes with tremendous decision-making responsibility and defensive know-how. And he is not a finished product his his body, his quickness and his shooting, so there’s all that. He’s going to be a critical player this season.
But so will Myles Colvin, and that’s where this year’s freshman-to-sophomore-bump could come. Colvin sure seemed to take his ups and downs this past season productively. Needed to defend and rebound and did all that well enough to be trusted in the most important games of the season.
He’s slotted for minutes and shots this year. Becoming a more complete player, that’s not a finished deal yet, nor is understanding of the offense. It can’t be. The offense isn’t in yet. I’m sure Purdue will run stuff for Colvin this year, so it’s going to be a big details summer for him. But he’s right on schedule, in my opinion.
The great thing for Purdue here is that both these guys mentioned here have impeccable work ethics, by every account.
Last thing: And this dials back to TKR: But who’s going to click with Braden Smith in pick-and-roll? It amm remains to be seen, but that’s a big deal.
