Playing Purdue

Coach Andy Mac · March 16, 2021

2 minutes ago, CMJ said:

I have to say, between reading their board and the Purdue folks that have made the trip over here, it's obvious the stereotypes about the state of Indiana and basketball are correct. Very knowledgeable fanbase.

Agreed very intelligent fanbase.

Boiler_81 · March 16, 2021

Believe me like any fanbase, we have are share morons.

I agree with the previous Boiler posters concerning the make up of this year's Purdue team. It will be interesting to see how Purdue's young team performs on the big stage against a capable opponent. As other's have said, the consensus pre season projection for this years team was a bubble team at best. They have far exceeded that.

tjreese · March 16, 2021

1 hour ago, Coach Andy Mac said:

Agreed very intelligent fanbase.

You may not be in Indiana if you don't see a basketball goal in most driveways. 😉 For the size of population Indiana produces a LOT of college talent. However, that less dense population base but talented players have 4 major programs competing for players. You have Purdue, then you have our little brother IU, Notre Dame and Butler and then smaller programs as well.

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · March 16, 2021

We have to show up offensively in the first 5 minutes. We would’ve beat Miss St, Loyola, and maybe WVU if the offense would’ve had any production.

Hopefully, since these guys are on a roll, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Boiler_81 · March 16, 2021

40 minutes ago, Boiler_81 said:

Believe me like any fanbase, we have are share morons.

I agree with the previous Boiler posters concerning the make up of this year's Purdue team. It will be interesting to see how Purdue's young team performs on the big stage against a capable opponent. As other's have said, the consensus pre season projection for this years team was a bubble team at best. They have far exceeded that.

... we have OUR share of morons.

Most of us are STEM grads, English is not our strong point.

CMJ · March 16, 2021

If I recall, the Memphis and Kansas State fans that visited mostly just talked crap. I'm sure they were knowledgeable (or some of them), but they were also kinda jerks and we didn't see much of them.

TastyGreek though had one of the all time troll jobs on the KSU board though, I remember they even said they'd miss him over there.

97and03 · March 16, 2021

11 minutes ago, CMJ said:

If I recall, the Memphis and Kansas State fans that visited mostly just talked crap. I'm sure they were knowledgeable (or some of them), but they were also kinda jerks and we didn't see much of them.

TastyGreek though had one of the all time troll jobs on the KSU board though, I remember they even said they'd miss him over there.

Too bad he is retired and isn’t funny anymore.

DOG · March 16, 2021

2 hours ago, CMJ said:

I have to say, between reading their board and the Purdue folks that have made the trip over here, it's obvious the stereotypes about the state of Indiana and basketball are correct. Very knowledgeable fanbase.

Hi CMJ,

I’ve been reading this thread with great interest as a Boilermaker and have noted that all the UNT fans on here have been very welcoming, thanks.

Regarding the stereotype image of basketball in the state Indiana, it is very much true. I suspect it is much like a Texans feelings towards and knowledge of football.

Most of grow up with a hoop in our yard. Mine was on a gravel drive that was on a slope so the left side of rim was a little over 9&1/2 foot off the ground and the right was a little over 10 ft. I learned to go left because I could dunk on that side!

We play in the snow and rain and mud and we do tend to learn how to play the game quite well. I think I spent more time playing ball than sleeping.

You guys have a pretty good idea of what your team can do and I do think it’s going to be tough game. My key to the game is going to be wether or not Simmons can keep first Williams and then Edey from getting deep post position when they set up on offense and run him through all the on and off ball screening actions they can in 20 or 30 seconds. If Simmons gets in foul trouble its going to be tough to stop Purdue. If that happens UNT will have to hit a ton of threes.

On the other hand, if Purdue is cold from outside and Simmons stays on the floor, UNT can win.

Good luck and enjoy!

DG

tjreese · March 16, 2021

1 hour ago, NorthTexasSportsNetwork said:

We have to show up offensively in the first 5 minutes. We would’ve beat Miss St, Loyola, and maybe WVU if the offense would’ve had any production.

Hopefully, since these guys are on a roll, that shouldn’t be a problem.

I expect your team to come out of the gate focused. You have an old team whereas Purdue is one of the youngest teams in the country. Matt (Purdue coach) has already said your coach is a good coach and in the past when he has talked about other coaches, he was proven correct. Matt is a straight shooter and is well known for his blunt honesty, which no doubt cost recruiting failures years ago, but now that his rep is out....players respect that. I expect NT to not be lacking in energy or effort and well focused due to the maturity. However, since Purdue players know they gave away another win against Ohio State, I expect effort and better focus from Purdue. It has been somewhat common that Purdue has not played a full forty minutes most games, but has also shown an ability to be very good in segments or runs in a given half which is the youth on display. I've seen enough games over the years to know that North Texas can beat Purdue, even though Purdue is favored. What I do know is that once that ball is tossed, the game takes on a life of its own and "most" of the game comes down to the players. It is the psychology of the game that coaches are always trying to figure out...reading the team...what buttons to push and how to do it for different players. Coaches do what they can, but we all know that each of our teams have degrees of focus over the different games and yet the coaches try to keep all on edge. It is always a bit unknown how teams will come out. In one respect the older team players sense this might be their last time playing adn could feel pressure, but will be focused, if not tight. Younger players will not typically be as tight, but perhaps not as focused.

I expect NT to really sag and help as they can on Purdue's bigs and defend Purdue as I have previously stated, If not Purdue will not be like WKU with Blassey not seeing the ball much(by Purdue's standards)...Purdue will get the ball inside almost every possession if NT doesn't prevent the entry. What happens from that point...who knows...but Purdue isn't shy about the bigs scoring. Your coach is fully aware and no doubt prefers Purdue shoot from the outside...which is what I expect early...and if not hitting...the whole game.

Hope that when the game is over all players walk off the court not wondering what if, but knowing they gave it all they could with a sense of satisfaction immune from the result as much as possible.

Edited March 16, 2021 by tjreese

NorthTexasSportsNetwork · March 16, 2021

9 minutes ago, tjreese said:

I expect your team to come out of the gate focused. You have an old team whereas Purdue is one of the youngest teams in the country. Matt (Purdue coach) has already said your coach is a good coach and in the past when he has talked about other coaches, he was proven correct. Matt is a straight shooter and is well known for his blunt honesty, which no doubt cost recruiting failures years ago, but now that his rep is out....players respect that. I expect NT to not be lacking in energy or effort and well focused due to the maturity. However, since Purdue players know they gave away another win against Ohio State, I expect effort and better focus from Purdue. It has been somewhat common that Purdue has not played a full forty minutes most games, but has also shown an ability to be very good in segments or runs in a given half which is the youth on display. I've seen enough games over the years to know that North Texas can beat Purdue, even though Purdue is favored. What I do know is that once that ball is tossed, the game takes on a life of its own and "most" of the game comes down to the players. It is the psychology of the game that coaches are always trying to figure out...reading the team...what buttons to push and how to do it for different players. Coaches do what they can, but we all know that each of our teams have degrees of focus over the different games and yet the coaches try to keep all on edge. It is always a bit unknown how teams will come out. In one respect the older team players sense this might be their last time playing adn could feel pressure, but will be focused, if not tight. Younger players will not typically be as tight, but perhaps not as focused.

I expect NT to really sag and help as they can on Purdue's bigs and defend Purdue as I have previously stated, If not Purdue will not be like WKU with Blassey not seeing the ball much(by Purdue's standards)...Purdue will get the ball inside almost every possession if NT doesn't prevent the entry. What happens from that point...who knows...but Purdue isn't shy about the bigs scoring. Your coach is fully aware and no doubt prefers Purdue shoot from the outside...which is what I expect early...and if not hitting...the whole game.

Hope that when the game is over all players walk off the court not wondering what if, but knowing they gave it all they could with a sense of satisfaction immune from the result as much as possible.

Interesting. I’m hoping you are correct.

People comparing our game against Western to this game and saying “they aren’t legit” or “Easy win for Purdue” clearly didn’t know that it was our 4th game in a row. With no Rubin Jones (our true freshman sixth man) it’ll be hard depth wise to compete all 40 minutes. I do have faith though.

Excited to see what happens

TIgreen01 · March 16, 2021

18 hours ago, greenminer said:

If by some miracle we make a S16 run, it would be my dream UNT scenario (short of an actual national title).

We might wake up half the alumni in DFW, never see the name "North Texas State" announced erroneously again, and Denton might not even be recognizable. Campus would go bananas for Grant and Co.

Even though we’ve never done it, had the tournament been held last year I was fully expecting at least one, if not more wins. That was the strongest team we’ve had since at least the 90s and proved they could play with top 15 teams. Dang COVID.

Our seniors are gutting it up this year, but the team lacks depth. I agree with others who are saying this game is going to come down to guard play. We will hold our own in the post unless Purdue either starts hitting from outside or are able to draw fouls on Zach/Bell. If we keep both of things from happening we might just pull out an upset.

denton_days · March 16, 2021

Dang was really excited to come into the boards throwing elbows, but all the Boilermakers are really nice. No matter the outcome, honestly think this will be a fun game. imo may be hard to analyze this North Texas team based on our WKU game. As others have mentioned, that was our 4th game in 4 days. We were running on fumes.

Edited March 16, 2021 by denton_days

BoilerMKT · March 16, 2021

3 minutes ago, denton_days said:

Dang was really excited to come into the boards throwing elbows, but all the Boilermakers are really nice. No matter the outcome, honestly think this will be a fun game.

LOL. Be patient. I'm sure a couple of our village idiots will show up between now and game time.

tjreese · March 16, 2021

38 minutes ago, BoilerMKT said:

LOL. Be patient. I'm sure a couple of our village idiots will show up between now and game time.

They may not know who Purdue is playing yet...or consumed with who IU might hire as a coach. 😉

tjreese · March 16, 2021

5 hours ago, Coach Andy Mac said:

Agreed very intelligent fanbase.

Thought your fans might enjoy this video when teams were announced and the work Purdue staff is putting into studying North Texas...just in case someone thought Purdue didn't take North Texas serious you can see coaches and analyst at work

https://twitter.com/FinalFour/status/1371804799994359814?s=20

Edited March 16, 2021 by tjreese

MeanGreenTexan · March 16, 2021

56 minutes ago, tjreese said:

Thought your fans might enjoy this video when teams were announced and the work Purdue staff is putting into studying North Texas...just in case someone thought Purdue didn't take North Texas serious you can see coaches and analyst at work

https://twitter.com/FinalFour/status/1371804799994359814?s=20

Whoa! I didn't know you guys had Steve Lutz on staff!

He was a guy we were seriously considering as HC around here before McCasland was hired. Great coach!

BillySee58 · March 16, 2021

22 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Whoa! I didn't know you guys had Steve Lutz on staff!

He was a guy we were seriously considering as HC around here before McCasland was hired. Great coach!

Were we actually considering him or was that just the guy Tasty wanted?

MeanGreenTexan · March 16, 2021

1 minute ago, BillySee58 said:

Were we actually considering him or was that just the guy Tasty wanted?

I just remember his name being kicked around here (when I say "here", I mean GMG.com... not NT Athletics) a LOT during the search process. Not sure if it was just Tasty and/or others bantering here, or if it was a dropped name from "sources" along the way.

akriesman · March 16, 2021

1 hour ago, tjreese said:

Thought your fans might enjoy this video when teams were announced and the work Purdue staff is putting into studying North Texas...just in case someone thought Purdue didn't take North Texas serious you can see coaches and analyst at work

https://twitter.com/FinalFour/status/1371804799994359814?s=20

That is a really impressive video and facilities. I am starting to wish that the game was sooner. Your staff has too much time to keep us from sneaking up on you...LOL.

greenminer · March 16, 2021

Gonna throw this out there: A one-off Peach Basket release would be super awesome for this.

greenminer · March 16, 2021

INDIANA’S HALLOWED HARDWOODS

BoilerMKT · March 16, 2021

53 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Whoa! I didn't know you guys had Steve Lutz on staff!

He was a guy we were seriously considering as HC around here before McCasland was hired. Great coach!

Yeah, he's been there about 4 years now, maybe 5. He is in charge of the defense. Painter runs it like a football staff. Lutz for defense, Shewsberry (new Penn St HC) for offense and Brandon Brantley works with the bigs and player personnel in general. Before Shrewberry, the OC was Greg Gary (my cousin), who is now the HC at Mercer, who almost copied you guys with the 4-game tourney run, but run out of gas the last couple minutes vs. UNC Greensboro. Lutz will likely land an HC job this year or next.

Edited March 16, 2021 by BoilerMKT

tjreese · March 16, 2021

1 hour ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Whoa! I didn't know you guys had Steve Lutz on staff!

He was a guy we were seriously considering as HC around here before McCasland was hired. Great coach!

Steve handles the D for Purdue. The other black coach without the mask will become the head coach for Penn State next year. Steve will probably be gone in a year or two. Matt is getting some limbs off his coaching tree out there.

Edited March 16, 2021 by tjreese

tjreese · March 16, 2021

15 minutes ago, BoilerMKT said:

Yeah, he's been there about 4 years now, maybe 5. He is in charge of the defense. Painter runs it like a football staff. Lutz for defense, Shewsberry (new Penn St HC) for offense and Brandon Brantley works with the bigs and player personnel in general. Before Shrewberry, the OC was Greg Gary (my cousin), who is now the HC at Mercer, who almost copied you guys with the 4-game tourney run, but run out of gas the last couple minutes vs. UNC Greensboro. Lutz will likely land an HC job this year or next.

I should have read before answering. 😉

tjreese · March 16, 2021

30 minutes ago, akriesman said:

That is a really impressive video and facilities. I am starting to wish that the game was sooner. Your staff has too much time to keep us from sneaking up on you...LOL.

That was the point of the video...Purdue respects North Texas. I also thought some that may not have an idea of what a coaching staff may do would appreciate all the work that goes on behind the scenes. No, if North Texas wins it will not be a result of sneaking up on Purdue. 😉