What Purdue Coach Matt Painter Said After Win Against Florida A&M
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — No. 1 Purdue basketball improved to 13-0 on Thursday with an 82-49 victory over Florida A&M, the team's final nonconference matchup of the regular season.
Here's the complete transcript of coach Matt Painter's postgame press conference, including the full video attached to this article:
On Brandon Newman elevating his play in the win...
Painter: We've struggled shooting the basketball. I like our skill level. So obviously, him knocking down some 3s really helped us, I thought he was really active. He had five blocks in the game, which from a guard's standpoint is pretty impressive. But no, he's a weapon from an offensive standpoint, there's no question about that.
Anytime you can come into the game, he's got to find himself into games. He's got to get comfortable and take what comes his way. Sometimes when he starts forcing things, he puts himself in binds. But when he just takes his shots and takes his opportunities, he's been very effective.
On Braden Smith's decision-making in the pick and roll...
Painter: As we've grown with Braden, he obviously didn't play in the summer with us because he was hurt, but we play post-up basketball with Zach [Edey]. And then being able to use him and then [Fletcher Loyer] some, David [Jenkins] in ball screen stuff. But if we could shoot and knock down some shots, he would have a ton of assists.
He's really finding people, then you'll look at the stat sheet and say, oh, he did good. He had four assists. When in reality, he set up about 10 to 12 people for plays. He's just got a great knack of knowing where people are and reading the defense and kind of using that hesitation dribble, getting people on their heels and understanding ball-screen D.
You don't see everything, but you see most everything in nonconference. When you get to our league, we probably play a little bit more drop ball screen defense coverage than most, I would think, just because of our size in our league. So he'll see more of that, but he's done a really good job whether people have switched or hedged or dropped. He's done a really good job of just kind of manipulating the defense and making the right decision.
On if this team being ready for the rest of Big Ten play...
Painter: Probably, I think we've played hard. I think when the ball has gotten loose, you didn't see as much tonight, we didn't have as many opportunities to dive and get on the floor. I think that gets contagious, just making those effort plays and being able to get long rebounds or loose balls. But no, they've done a good job.
They've done a good job collectively, obviously today, we shared minutes. But they've rebounded the ball. I like our effort, even though sometimes we're not getting rebounds, we're keeping them alive. Whether it's a free throw box out, those guys are giving their effort.
What they have to learn to do, especially Caleb [Furst], Trey [Kaufman-Renn] and Mason [Gillis], you can't get frustrated. Because all three of those guys deserve to play more. But you're gonna have games where one guy steps up and plays really well, like Caleb did in the second half of the Davidson game, like Trey Kaufman did in the last game when he had 24, the other two aren't gonna play as much. It's just kind of the way it is.
Zach was out of the last game, so they did. But when he's going to be in there, you have to understand that. Well don't get mad and frustrated about it, maximize it. Whatever minutes you get, make the most of it. And that's what those guys are doing. All those offensive rebounds, it's easier to kind of see when it opens at a free throw box out. But in the game, those guys are giving great effort, and sometimes the ball just doesn't come their way. But as long as they just keep their motor going and their effort, it really helps us.
On preparing players for shared minutes in the final nonconference matchup before resuming Big Ten play...
Painter: It's the same for everybody. So like, even though you've got a short stretch to prepare, you've been preparing since June. You've really been preparing your whole life if you're a player. So the guys that don't get familiar, I worry about them, because you should be watching other teams in the Big Ten, right?
It's your passion, it's everything that you've put into it. You've put so much time into it. Now, to play Big Ten basketball and play and try to win a conference championship is what it's about. It's very, very difficult with 14 teams. And it's very difficult starting off even though we've played two games, you still have a separation. You kind of look at this as kind of a start really, because that's the way it used to be.
Rutgers has just been fabulous for our league. How hard they've played, coach [Steve] Pikiell has been great. They're just tough, they defend. They come at you, they can score in different ways. We're going to have our hands full, and our guys know that. Our guys have watched them and understand that. That's what it's about, that's what we're looking forward to.
On Mason Gillis taking on more of a leadership role this season with Purdue basketball...
Painter: He's earned it. We vote for our captains, and so that's what his teammates think of him. I think that's usually the best way. Sometimes if you don't have a disciplined and mature team, they'll vote for their buddies. And we always try to say don't vote for your best friend, vote for the people that embody what a leader should be. And he's done a great job with it.
Part of leadership is when it doesn't go your way, being happy for other people. He's done a great job of that. Him and Brandon have been here for four years. You want them to be able to use those experiences that you've had and help everybody else out. But Mason has done a great job leading. It's hard because he spent, what was it seven to 10 days, I don't know what the actual time was, where he was away. And now trying to come back, you want to be able to play more to get that feel. So that's frustrating, that's really frustrating. But he's done a great job as a leader. Him and Ethan [Morton] have done a great job as our captains.
On Mitch Daniels, the president of Purdue University...
Painter: He's just a great guy, and he's been great for our institution. Obviously, a lot of students like the tuition freeze. They enjoy it. Their parents probably enjoy it more. He's just a fair guy, a straight up guy. Someone that you could sit down and have a normal conversation with, you would never think he's been the president of Purdue for 10 years, or the governor for eight years. He came in here with an open mind and really helped our institution grow in so many ways.
For us, obviously, for athletics, he was always a huge supporter, with us and men's basketball and all the sports. It's just great to see your president actually coming to your games. And Dr. Jischke was the same way, they come to the games and support you. And that's pretty cool.
On what the rest of the Big Ten looks like heading into the rest of the conference schedule...
Painter: Well, we were in the same position last year. We were the only school in the country to be undefeated in the last two years nonconference, and we didn't win last year. So that should kind of show that we can go back and watch three to four games at the end of games. You don't like to go backwards, but it's frustrating because it was there for us. Not to take anything away from anybody, but it was right there.
But this is just the start of it. All the teams are going to be able to guard, all the teams are going to be physical. But there's just a lot of weapons across the board. And we've lost a lot in our league, but then you see other guys improve, new faces that are really good. So every night is going to be a chore. There's not one team to me that stands out.
I think we got the best record, I think we got the best resume. That doesn't mean we have the best team, it just means we played the best in certain situations. And a lot of people look at that and they argue those things. If everybody played the same opponents on the same day at the same time, which is impossible, you'd have variables that were consistent. You have floating variables across the board, so we do the best we can, and we rank teams, and that's where it lies. It doesn't guarantee you're going to go forward and be that team. But it is the best predictor of the future. It's the only thing that we have, the games that we've played so far.
But when you go into a beehive like the RAC, or you go into the Breslin Center or Assembly Hall, there's no comparison to a neutral game on the West Coast. There just isn't. So like, this is not a little kids league. We're gonna find out real quick, but I'm excited about it. I think we have some great teams in our league. Obviously, we have great coaches and players. It's gonna be a fun ride.
On Ethan Morton's willingness to become one of the team's top defenders...
Painter: He's one of those guys that in his first two years, I talked about it a lot up here, I already talked about it today, you know, it's not fair. When you get to be that eighth, ninth and 10th man in a rotation, and sometimes that rotation doesn't go that far, it's not fair. You get used when you're needed. And then not every game you're needed.
And that's really hard for your confidence because if he was coaching with us, he'd understand it. But when you're playing, you look at it like what did I do wrong? And that's not the case at all. But you just have a good team, you have a talented, deep team. So he's been there, and he's been able to stay positive, and keep working and keep getting better. And when you do that, and you have a lot of time to watch, and you're intelligent — which he is — you figure out how can I find my way here? Because if you can get yourself on the court, now the other things will take care of themselves.
So he's smart, like he understands we got to get Zack involved. He understands you got to give Braden space, got to get Fletcher space, you got to find those guys when they're open, you know, things of that nature. So he's a very, very instinctual, good offensive player. He's not a high-level scorer at this level. But he can still score. He's missed some shots here of late, but he'll he'll knock those down.
But he's figured it out, like if I'm the best defensive player out here, he's going to have me on the court a lot, especially when you get into sticky games. He's really mature and understands that, and it's smart.
Some players never understand that. They never understand like, they want everything to conform to them. Especially from scoring, you can form to your top two or three scorers, and then you work around that. Now, everybody's gotta guard, right? And everybody's gotta rebound. That's the non-negotiables.
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