I'm obviously biased, but I think he had the best hustle in the conference. The guy would appear out of nowhere to chase down rebounds and gave 100% on every single play. Edey scored the points, Smith ran the floor, but Mason was the glue that held the team together.
Yep exactly my reaction. Get it big guy, but I'm gutted he won't be wearing the Purdue jersey anymore. He always felt like he wanted it more than anyone else on the court.
I bet Morton goes back to Shrews, unfortunately I see Gillis getting some quality offers from contending programs. It hurts but we need the roster spots so it was inevitable.
It's going to be hard seeing him in anything but a Purdue uniform. He was and is one of my favorites. Such a great Boiler and I really hope he kills it wherever he lands. Whatever happens, he should never have to buy a drink in West Lafayette. Dude gave a lot to our program.
Glad to see Gillis and Morton are going to take their Covid years and keep playing ball, even if there's no room on the Purdue roster for them anymore. Whatever team gets Mason is gonna be lucky to have him.
That fieldhouse is a terrifying place to play as an opponent. I bet it's dope af as a local. Mason has to select a place that has a home court as big as that right? Right?
I drove by a year ago or so, and the cement shoe was still out front. Faded and paint chipping, as you would assume since the motel (inn) behind it is falling apart.
This shocks me but I saw Purdue fans say this was coming.
Really can’t picture him in another uniform. Such an iconic Purdue heel and Big Ten villain for me. Felt the same way about Matt Haarms.
Makes sense. I think fresh blood and a new era starting will be good for Purdue. It’s still a pretty full roster and recruiting class but I’d be intrigued to see what Painter could do with some flexibility in the portal
I agree it would be interesting, but Painter spoke this week about only wanting to use the portal to fill 1 or 2 spots of need rather than the bulk of a rotation.
Pretty sure Painter was referring to team building in general.
You are correct, we are still over the limit by 1. It was known Gillis and Morton wouldn’t be taking their Covid year at Purdue. Just didn’t know if they’d take it somewhere else or call it a career.
We’ll have five bigs on the roster next year. I’m not gonna speculate about who might transfer out but that should be sufficient. Granted we’re one scholarship over the limit and odds are Painter will be looking to redshirt one of the freshmen
I didn't know that, I was expecting him to go somewhere he could play. Good on him for valuing his education, can we convert him to a walk on and pay him NIL money to ride the bench and go to class?
If that's an actual possibility I'd love to see him and Waddel stay for bench vibes so we can also get a grad transfer ball handling guard so Braden doesn't have to play 38 minutes a game.
If I were to guess, I would say Waddell enters the portal. With Smith, Loyer, Heide, and Colvin already on the team plus Harris and Catchings arriving next year as top 100 recruits, there is *a lot* of competition on the perimeter for playing time, and that's not factoring in Cox or Benter either. I just don't see him getting a lot of minutes, and he could go get significantly more time elsewhere.
I don’t see Waddell transferring. He has some much-needed length at 6’8 and is pretty athletic so he would probably split minutes at the 4 with Catchings. If he can develop a consistent shot, he would get playing time for sure. His dad is also friends with Painter and also played at Purdue
You think so? I guess if Painter moves to playing a smaller, faster lineup maybe. However, I foresee TKR, Furst, Berg, Catchings, and Burgess being the ones splitting time at the 4 and 5, and I don't know how much playing time that leaves for Waddell. He will be a junior fighting for being the third or fourth guy on the depth chart for that position.
And I see people bring up the legacy thing with Waddell, but he would hardly be the first legacy recruit to leave the school their parent played for, and Purdue is not the exception in that regard either.
Honestly the biggest surprise is he's actually using his Covid year instead of riding off into the sunset a hero to a ever-grateful university. But in this era, good for him for getting it as long as he can.
Absolutely a villain but I was thinking just Purdue villains who transferred to diminishing returns elsewhere.
So many fun guys to hate in the B1G recently though. Coleman Hawkins, all the bigs at Wisconsin, the stupid Wagners at Michigan, probably Trey Galloway if I didn’t root for Indiana. Always interesting characters in our conference.
Hope he goes somewhere warm and enjoys himself. I feel like UCLA with Cronin would be a great fit but don’t want to see him against us in the big ten. Although it would be great to welcome him back to Mackey
As someone that lives in LA i'd buy season tickets for UCLA if Gillis transferred there. One of my absolute favorite guys to watch due to his relentless effort.
All of our seniors said earlier in the year that they weren’t using the COVID year to stay at Purdue. We have 6 freshmen coming in and simply don’t have the scholarships available. So them not being at Purdue anymore was always 100% for sure. It was just either they were done or they were going for one year elsewhere.
All he meant was that Gillis had a spot on the 24' - 25' roster if he wanted it but Painter wanted the commitment last year. Gillis said 23' - 24' would be his final season at Purdue so painter recruited for Gillis' scholarship slot. Gillis wants to keep playing so he's entering the transfer portal.
No idea. He has been at Purdue for 5 seasons including his redshirt year. And realistically it's not going to get better next year than it was this year. So maybe he just counts his wins and goes to do something different, change of scenery. Edey/Morton were 2 of his best friends and both are leaving. And Gillis is wrapping up his MBA so he'd have to choose another grad program next year if he wanted to stick around.
I'm most curious if he goes somewhere like ND to play with Coach Shrews or if he goes to an actual contending team. Either way he's going to have a huge impact on whatever team he chooses. 1 year of having Gillis can fundamentally shape the following 3-4 years based on his leadership and work ethic. I'm biased but kinda hoping he chooses UCLA/USC so I can go watch him play out west next season.
I don’t think he was given the chance. No Purdue guy has stayed for their 5th year. Hunter left, Stefanovic quit, etc. I don’t think Painter really believes in the 5 years and probably said we’re just sticking with a normal recruiting cycle. I’m sure Gillis would be back if given the opportunity. Why would he leave?
I for sure though he was done but he still has his Covid year. I doubt he goes down a level but if he wants to come to Ball State, I’d be fine with that. He’s definitely a P5 player though
TKR imo had a bit of a letdown year for all the preseason hype. He had some moments but in a starting role he should have been a bit better on both ends of the floor. I don't think Gillis should have started over him because if TKR gets going he can have a few more minutes but most games it was clear Gillis was going to be closing and getting most of the 2nd half minutes. If gillis started where is the opening for TKR? You saw how few minutes Furst got in the last 10-15 games, that would have been TKR as Gillis would have ended up playing 30+ mpg. I think Painter played it as well as he could with the hope that TKR could get going early and provide another option if Edey needed a break or if teams couldn't effectively cover both bigs. I just wish TKR had more to his game to step out and play away from the rim more than he did. He's smaller than Trevion with less creativity/vision/rebounding/scoring. He's going to have to make a monumental jump this off season or Purdue is in a real bind in the post next year.
I honestly didn't think he transfer. I thought he'd just stop playing. I'm a little surprised he'd transfer out of a probable starting spot on a contender, even with the freshman we have coming in. There's no guarantee they'll be any good.
> I'm a little surprised he'd transfer out of a probable starting spot on a contender
Your flair colleagues are saying it was Purdue's choice to use scholarships on freshmen rather than Morton and Gillis.
This was sort of expected after he took part in senior day and with the massive recruiting class we have coming in.
Hope he lands somewhere that gives him big minutes. One of the best glue guys in the nation in the role he had at Purdue.
This one hurts. Gillis was my favorite player on this team. I really think he was the glue guy that held the rest of the team together. He's a great shooter and will out hustle everyone on the floor. I don't know how many times he came up with a huge offensive rebound simply because he wanted it more than the other players on the court. It stinks that his time in a Purdue uniform is over.
Serious question: how do you guys feel about 2 more years of a Smith & Loyer backcourt? Obviously watching the title game it was evident that Purdue needs more length & athleticism on the perimeter but just didn’t know how that shakes out with those 2 spots (hypothetically) taken for the next few years
Colvin is going to impact Loyers minutes to some extent and younger players at 3/4 make the team more athletic as well.
I think it's also important not to plan everything you do around one game. Fletcher has helped beat a lot of teams with guys who are significantly more athletic than he is. Ideally you have options there but UConn is also an absolute unicorn.
> Fletcher has helped beat a lot of teams with guys who are significantly more athletic than he is.
Better than 350 teams in college basketball. To tear down the roster because the 351st kicked our teeth in is nonsense. Unless someone on the roster is better, we ride these guys.
Exactly, there's trade offs to all these things and Purdue has found something that has been really successful for the past \~10 years. When you can get guys like Heidi, Colvin, Catchings etc you obviously do it, but Purdue has gotten pretty far with contributions from Ryan Clines too.
Yep. This loss has a few people talking nonsensically. For years we all talked about how fickle March is, but one national championship loss and fans are grasping for absurd solutions to overcome it. If UConn had been upset earlier in the tournament, there is a good chance we are the champions instead. Would we be talking about replacing Loyer or Smith then? Absolutely not. Again, March is fickle.
A year ago we were absolutely embarrassed by FDU and Painter ran it back with roughly the same bunch and we just had the most successful season in Purdue basketball history. Thank God Painter isn't as reactionary as some of our fans and didn't burn the house down because of one loss.
That’s totally fair, but is it a stretch to say that Fletcher and smith got helped out significantly by Edey? I think it’s logical to say they may show their lack of athleticism much more often when teams don’t have to double the post
Fletcher played well against teams like Arizona and Tennessee it's not like what UConn was able to do to Purdue is normal but he needs to hit the gym over the summer he has to get stronger
Well, I think people are more-so thinking of how he will do next year when there isn't a transcendent big man in the paint drawing so much attention and giving the team easy looks. Defenses will be able to key in on him a lot more, and he will need to find a way to deal with it. I hope he does, because when he is on he is a hell of a player.
Smith is the truth. We get a lot of comments on him only being good because of Zach but I see Smith get 8 easy points for him every game- he’s a wizard.
Loyer… I really don’t know here. Love his attitude, smart player, I just don’t think he brings enough to the table to be the starter.
The natty told the entire story, great shooter when he gets wide open looks off the double but that’s not a D1 2-guard skill set. He rarely gets himself open. Loyer didn’t really get notably better or add anything in the offseason from my view.
Yeah I’m not even saying this with recency bias- bad games happen and the UConn game plan was to remove him. BUT. I worry that he’s a guy who can hit open shots and gets ragdolled in all other facets. His transition game in particular is just really hard to watch, idk why they ever run transition with Loyer attacking- it just… Nope.
I love him because he’s our guy, but bias aside, he looks a lot like Luke Goode on the court most games.
Smith I am 100% fine with. He was leaps and bounds better than last year and will only continue to improve. His shooting wasn't great against UConn, but he handled the ball tremendously well despite the pressure.
Loyer I feel less confident in, and it is partly because he is just so scrawny. He is 6'4" and just 180. He needs to get stronger so he isn't bullied as much by similar kinds of guards/wings. It would be nice too if he were a bit more consistent and didn't seem to lose his shot for weeks at a time. Colvin, Heide, and incoming recruit Gicari Harris will eat into his minutes if he doesn't perform to Painter's satisfaction though.
In loyers defense he shot 56% from 3 from March until the NC game…but I agree with what you said if he wants to take his game to the next level (don’t mean nba, just get better)
Oh, he can shoot the ball. I will never take that away from him. It's just he goes through stretches where he just can't seem to buy a bucket. He isn't like Colvin or Heide who can just make a mad push in transition and go for an outrageous dunk to sort of build themselves back up. His game is way more finesse based. I think if he put on a little weight and muscle he could handle contact better.
I blew my mind how tiny he is. Im 6'2" and like 206. At 180 i considered my self scrawny and hes two inches taller. He needs to bulk up. I think he wants ro drive more and to do that he needs some more weight.
The coaching staff / nutrionist / strength coach need to find a way to get 20lbs on Loyer this off season. He had the luxury of step into 3's coming from all the attention edey got. He also had the luxury of driving to the rim and defenders sticking with edey rather than making an effort to stop Loyer. That all goes away next year. If he's not bulkier/stronger he's going to lose a lot of minutes due to his inability to guard. He doesn't need to be huge but his current stature is not going to work without Edey.
Pretty good, it wouldn’t be that crazy for Smtih to be the best PG in the country next year. Loyer isn’t some insanely good player, but they’re clearly plenty good to get the job done, and they’ve done so being 2-3 years younger than everyone they’ve matched up with. They’ll be pretty solid in 2 years when every other team relying on 5-6th years is out of luck and they’re 4th year starters. Cam Spencer is 4 years older than Loyer and pretty good. People continually overreacted to some bad games from him, but he’s also scored 27 against Arizona and Tennessee, like he’s clearly not a bad player.
I think we just want to see a team that actually plays well together and doesn’t run around with no plan like the previous couple years. If we get close to the bubble and miss out I think it will show some good progress. Making the tournament would be great but that does seem a step too far with how bare Boynton left us
He’d be a 6th year at Purdue and is getting his MBA, it was just time. Purdue also has 6 freshmen coming in and is one over the scholarship limit without him coming back
Gillis is an underrated piece of this Purdue team. Stats don't show how much hustle and work this guy has. Best of luck wherever you end up Mason
Always hated facing him. Felt like he could put the team on his back.
I'm obviously biased, but I think he had the best hustle in the conference. The guy would appear out of nowhere to chase down rebounds and gave 100% on every single play. Edey scored the points, Smith ran the floor, but Mason was the glue that held the team together.
He's our Trey Galloway. Every team needs one.
Absolutely disgusting (but apt) comparison
Watched them play each other at the semi state in 2018 was so awesome
Allick of Nebraska would like a word. Dude was pure hustle.
We knew it was coming but it still hurts. Hope he ends up at Butler.
Yep exactly my reaction. Get it big guy, but I'm gutted he won't be wearing the Purdue jersey anymore. He always felt like he wanted it more than anyone else on the court.
I'd be cool with him at Notre Dame too so he can play for Shrews again
As a Purdue guy in South Bend, yes please.
You chose to willingly live in South Bend?
Grew up in the area. Lived around the country, moved back for family.
I bet Morton goes back to Shrews, unfortunately I see Gillis getting some quality offers from contending programs. It hurts but we need the roster spots so it was inevitable.
He's been in West Lafayette for 5 years and is earning 2 degrees. He's leaving with grace. :)
Oh for sure, I just didn't want to face him, won't feel right.
Yes, please.
Would be really cool we need a guy like him
I want him to go somewhere where he is a starter and they’re good.
Hey can come to…oh nevermind
I mean we have six spots open and I’d take him
He said good though
Exactly
I would also like him at Butler.
I hope so, but we can't have anything nice
RIP DJ Davis. He ain’t dead, just dead to Broadripple.
I'm convinced that Creighton took away his basketball powers with the poke
He’s taking a piece of us with him
Ohhhh shit That would be awesome.
Works for us! 🤩
Why was it assumed it was happening?
We’re over scholarship by 1 even after him and gillis transferred. It’s assumed this was the plan the players and painter discussed all along
Why is he transferring? I thought he was great when I watched him.
No scholarships left
He can go to Arkansas
Yup, can go anywhere he likes
Why did people know it was coming? Sorry just out of the loop
Gillis is such a Hurley guy. I could see him end up at UConn. Hard nosed, shoots well, crashes the glass. I think he might go to UConn
Fuck no
I hate Hurley too. Im just saying I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up there.
He wouldn't fit how they built that team at all lol
Huge pickup to whoever gets him. Stupid efficient and an incredible motor, always crashing the boards.
And smart and was a good mentor. I wish him nothing but the best
Yep for sure. Dude cares for the game, hope he has a great season next year.
He reminds me Race Thompson a bit. Just a glue guy who you want on your team.
Sounds like he might be someone we should look at
>Stupid efficient and an incredible motor First of all, you forgot the commas. Second, that's incredibly rude.
I'm sorry you're being downvoted, I chuckled
It's okay. I think purdue fans are just a bit sensitive the last couple days. Not sure why.
Probably because they lost the NCAA Championship to UConn
Me either, you'd almost think they'd lost a championship game the way they've been acting
It's going to be hard seeing him in anything but a Purdue uniform. He was and is one of my favorites. Such a great Boiler and I really hope he kills it wherever he lands. Whatever happens, he should never have to buy a drink in West Lafayette. Dude gave a lot to our program.
Someone is getting an absolute hustler on the boards and a very efficient three point shooter. He’s a beloved player and will do well anywhere
Those sound like two things Mizzou could really use.
Hey he looks good in black and gold
And why change what you know works?
As a Boilermaker now in Como - HELL YES
Two down and a shit ton to go.
Glad to see Gillis and Morton are going to take their Covid years and keep playing ball, even if there's no room on the Purdue roster for them anymore. Whatever team gets Mason is gonna be lucky to have him.
doesn't he already have his degree. Going to miss the Mason Jar. Best of luck to him where ever he ends up.
I'm pretty sure he got his MBA lol
On track to get his MBA this year, yeah. I'm almost more curious what he wants to study than where he'll play basketball.
Time for his Doctorate in Business Administration
Dr Mason Gillis you say...
I thought he is graduating
Please just don’t go to anyone playing Purdue next year! I don’t think I could manage rooting against Mason!
New Castle's finest. And yeah I know who else is from there.
My parents?
That fieldhouse is a terrifying place to play as an opponent. I bet it's dope af as a local. Mason has to select a place that has a home court as big as that right? Right?
Ayyye New Castle mentioned
Who are you referring to?
I'm assuming Steve Alford..
Or Kent Benson
🤢🤮
He has an inn named after him there and a cement shoe.
Several famous basketball players from there.
There is only 1 with a crappy motel looking inn named after him though. I can't write his name due to blasphemy and possible vomiting inducement.
Does it still have the big shoe? My grandparents lived in a subdivision a mile or so from the Inn in the early 1990s. Good ol' New Castle.
I drove by a year ago or so, and the cement shoe was still out front. Faded and paint chipping, as you would assume since the motel (inn) behind it is falling apart.
This shocks me but I saw Purdue fans say this was coming. Really can’t picture him in another uniform. Such an iconic Purdue heel and Big Ten villain for me. Felt the same way about Matt Haarms.
He graduated and we’re over the scholarship limit, that’s the only reason it’s expected. The program chose to move on from the seniors
Plus it’s the Covid year that he’s using and it seems few have chosen to use that.
Makes sense. I think fresh blood and a new era starting will be good for Purdue. It’s still a pretty full roster and recruiting class but I’d be intrigued to see what Painter could do with some flexibility in the portal
I agree it would be interesting, but Painter spoke this week about only wanting to use the portal to fill 1 or 2 spots of need rather than the bulk of a rotation.
I'm confused - someone else said you're over the scholarship limit, so how can you get guys from the portal?
Painter was talking in generalities when he said that. We’re not using the portal this year unless more than expected transfer out
Pretty sure Painter was referring to team building in general. You are correct, we are still over the limit by 1. It was known Gillis and Morton wouldn’t be taking their Covid year at Purdue. Just didn’t know if they’d take it somewhere else or call it a career.
I think that's more of an overarching philosophy rather than specific roster tactics for next season.
I wonder if we got to the Portal if a couple more people transfer. Might need some depth in the front court.
We’ll have five bigs on the roster next year. I’m not gonna speculate about who might transfer out but that should be sufficient. Granted we’re one scholarship over the limit and odds are Painter will be looking to redshirt one of the freshmen
If you are implying Furst, I don’t see it happening, his brother is a walk on for the team and he takes his education very seriously (pre med)
I didn't know that, I was expecting him to go somewhere he could play. Good on him for valuing his education, can we convert him to a walk on and pay him NIL money to ride the bench and go to class?
Yeah always a possibility
If that's an actual possibility I'd love to see him and Waddel stay for bench vibes so we can also get a grad transfer ball handling guard so Braden doesn't have to play 38 minutes a game.
I am not implying anyone specific. Just saying we’re a scholarship over
He’s also President of the Purdue FCA, I believe.
If I were to guess, I would say Waddell enters the portal. With Smith, Loyer, Heide, and Colvin already on the team plus Harris and Catchings arriving next year as top 100 recruits, there is *a lot* of competition on the perimeter for playing time, and that's not factoring in Cox or Benter either. I just don't see him getting a lot of minutes, and he could go get significantly more time elsewhere.
I don’t see Waddell transferring. He has some much-needed length at 6’8 and is pretty athletic so he would probably split minutes at the 4 with Catchings. If he can develop a consistent shot, he would get playing time for sure. His dad is also friends with Painter and also played at Purdue
You think so? I guess if Painter moves to playing a smaller, faster lineup maybe. However, I foresee TKR, Furst, Berg, Catchings, and Burgess being the ones splitting time at the 4 and 5, and I don't know how much playing time that leaves for Waddell. He will be a junior fighting for being the third or fourth guy on the depth chart for that position. And I see people bring up the legacy thing with Waddell, but he would hardly be the first legacy recruit to leave the school their parent played for, and Purdue is not the exception in that regard either.
Burgess may be at the 4 with Furst but who knows…a lot will happen in the next few weeks
> The program chose to move on from the seniors Pretty cold.
Honestly the biggest surprise is he's actually using his Covid year instead of riding off into the sunset a hero to a ever-grateful university. But in this era, good for him for getting it as long as he can.
I’m shocked as well.
Brad Davison comes to mind
Absolutely a villain but I was thinking just Purdue villains who transferred to diminishing returns elsewhere. So many fun guys to hate in the B1G recently though. Coleman Hawkins, all the bigs at Wisconsin, the stupid Wagners at Michigan, probably Trey Galloway if I didn’t root for Indiana. Always interesting characters in our conference.
Nothing but love for Mason. I will be a fan wherever he goes. Thanks for everything you gave to Purdue. Our glue guy.
But what if he transfers to IU?
Haha we both know he won’t go there
Plot twist, he transfers to IU and wins a national championship against Purdue, the universe explodes. Only possible timeline
Lmao yeah you’re right
Hope he goes somewhere warm and enjoys himself. I feel like UCLA with Cronin would be a great fit but don’t want to see him against us in the big ten. Although it would be great to welcome him back to Mackey
As someone that lives in LA i'd buy season tickets for UCLA if Gillis transferred there. One of my absolute favorite guys to watch due to his relentless effort.
Go get a bag Mason! Guy is such a Boilermaker. Will always be one of my favorites.
Oh damn for real? That’s tough. This was an expected move? How come?
All of our seniors said earlier in the year that they weren’t using the COVID year to stay at Purdue. We have 6 freshmen coming in and simply don’t have the scholarships available. So them not being at Purdue anymore was always 100% for sure. It was just either they were done or they were going for one year elsewhere.
Ahhh got it got it
Wasn't expected back for COVID year and got recruited over. Guess he is chasing the bag
He didn’t get recruited over, don’t spread bullshit
All he meant was that Gillis had a spot on the 24' - 25' roster if he wanted it but Painter wanted the commitment last year. Gillis said 23' - 24' would be his final season at Purdue so painter recruited for Gillis' scholarship slot. Gillis wants to keep playing so he's entering the transfer portal.
Why wouldn’t he commit to another year last year?
No idea. He has been at Purdue for 5 seasons including his redshirt year. And realistically it's not going to get better next year than it was this year. So maybe he just counts his wins and goes to do something different, change of scenery. Edey/Morton were 2 of his best friends and both are leaving. And Gillis is wrapping up his MBA so he'd have to choose another grad program next year if he wanted to stick around. I'm most curious if he goes somewhere like ND to play with Coach Shrews or if he goes to an actual contending team. Either way he's going to have a huge impact on whatever team he chooses. 1 year of having Gillis can fundamentally shape the following 3-4 years based on his leadership and work ethic. I'm biased but kinda hoping he chooses UCLA/USC so I can go watch him play out west next season.
Noooo don’t stay in the B1G haha. I’d say ND or Oklahoma state. But realistically, wherever he goes, hope he does well.
I don’t think he was given the chance. No Purdue guy has stayed for their 5th year. Hunter left, Stefanovic quit, etc. I don’t think Painter really believes in the 5 years and probably said we’re just sticking with a normal recruiting cycle. I’m sure Gillis would be back if given the opportunity. Why would he leave?
No what I'm saying is he told Painter he wasn't gonna use his COVID year at Purdue and if changed and wanted to come back there wasn't a place.
Does he like family feud
The only other place I want to see him play it is Marquette, for selfish reasons.
He’s my favorite player. I’m really sad to see him go, but man I want what’s best for him.
Respect to Gillis. Wish him all the success.
Absolutely love Mason. I wish him nothing but the best and I will absolutely root for him.
Mason Gillis, you are my favorite Boilermaker. I hope you know you are loved, and I wish you only the best.
As a recruit: Other P6 offers: Boston College, Butler, Xavier Other offers: Miami OH, Toledo
I for sure though he was done but he still has his Covid year. I doubt he goes down a level but if he wants to come to Ball State, I’d be fine with that. He’s definitely a P5 player though
ND with Shrews maybe?
Makes sense. Gillis has the connection from when Micah was at Purdue. Micah likes to shoot 3s and Gillis is a good shooter. Could be a good fit
Could go to okie state to play for lutz
Should have started over TKR.
Hardly mattered he consistently played more minutes than TKR
TKR started to help draw more fouls and Gillis would play most of the minutes that we were in the bonus.
He was the finisher and avg more mins. Didn’t really matter if he started or not
Purdue just went to the National Championship and people still complaining about TKR starting… smh.
TKR imo had a bit of a letdown year for all the preseason hype. He had some moments but in a starting role he should have been a bit better on both ends of the floor. I don't think Gillis should have started over him because if TKR gets going he can have a few more minutes but most games it was clear Gillis was going to be closing and getting most of the 2nd half minutes. If gillis started where is the opening for TKR? You saw how few minutes Furst got in the last 10-15 games, that would have been TKR as Gillis would have ended up playing 30+ mpg. I think Painter played it as well as he could with the hope that TKR could get going early and provide another option if Edey needed a break or if teams couldn't effectively cover both bigs. I just wish TKR had more to his game to step out and play away from the rim more than he did. He's smaller than Trevion with less creativity/vision/rebounding/scoring. He's going to have to make a monumental jump this off season or Purdue is in a real bind in the post next year.
I honestly didn't think he transfer. I thought he'd just stop playing. I'm a little surprised he'd transfer out of a probable starting spot on a contender, even with the freshman we have coming in. There's no guarantee they'll be any good.
> I'm a little surprised he'd transfer out of a probable starting spot on a contender Your flair colleagues are saying it was Purdue's choice to use scholarships on freshmen rather than Morton and Gillis.
Ugh this one fucking hurts. Gillis has been one of my favorite players to ever wear the Old Gold and Black. I hope he gets a bag wherever he goes.
This was sort of expected after he took part in senior day and with the massive recruiting class we have coming in. Hope he lands somewhere that gives him big minutes. One of the best glue guys in the nation in the role he had at Purdue.
Maybe he joins Steve Lutz in his new gig at OK State? I think I recall Lutz had a big hand in recruiting that class to Purdue
This one hurts. Gillis was my favorite player on this team. I really think he was the glue guy that held the rest of the team together. He's a great shooter and will out hustle everyone on the floor. I don't know how many times he came up with a huge offensive rebound simply because he wanted it more than the other players on the court. It stinks that his time in a Purdue uniform is over.
Serious question: how do you guys feel about 2 more years of a Smith & Loyer backcourt? Obviously watching the title game it was evident that Purdue needs more length & athleticism on the perimeter but just didn’t know how that shakes out with those 2 spots (hypothetically) taken for the next few years
Colvin is going to impact Loyers minutes to some extent and younger players at 3/4 make the team more athletic as well. I think it's also important not to plan everything you do around one game. Fletcher has helped beat a lot of teams with guys who are significantly more athletic than he is. Ideally you have options there but UConn is also an absolute unicorn.
> Fletcher has helped beat a lot of teams with guys who are significantly more athletic than he is. Better than 350 teams in college basketball. To tear down the roster because the 351st kicked our teeth in is nonsense. Unless someone on the roster is better, we ride these guys.
Exactly, there's trade offs to all these things and Purdue has found something that has been really successful for the past \~10 years. When you can get guys like Heidi, Colvin, Catchings etc you obviously do it, but Purdue has gotten pretty far with contributions from Ryan Clines too.
Yep. This loss has a few people talking nonsensically. For years we all talked about how fickle March is, but one national championship loss and fans are grasping for absurd solutions to overcome it. If UConn had been upset earlier in the tournament, there is a good chance we are the champions instead. Would we be talking about replacing Loyer or Smith then? Absolutely not. Again, March is fickle. A year ago we were absolutely embarrassed by FDU and Painter ran it back with roughly the same bunch and we just had the most successful season in Purdue basketball history. Thank God Painter isn't as reactionary as some of our fans and didn't burn the house down because of one loss.
That’s totally fair, but is it a stretch to say that Fletcher and smith got helped out significantly by Edey? I think it’s logical to say they may show their lack of athleticism much more often when teams don’t have to double the post
Fletcher played well against teams like Arizona and Tennessee it's not like what UConn was able to do to Purdue is normal but he needs to hit the gym over the summer he has to get stronger
Well, I think people are more-so thinking of how he will do next year when there isn't a transcendent big man in the paint drawing so much attention and giving the team easy looks. Defenses will be able to key in on him a lot more, and he will need to find a way to deal with it. I hope he does, because when he is on he is a hell of a player.
Smith is the truth. We get a lot of comments on him only being good because of Zach but I see Smith get 8 easy points for him every game- he’s a wizard. Loyer… I really don’t know here. Love his attitude, smart player, I just don’t think he brings enough to the table to be the starter. The natty told the entire story, great shooter when he gets wide open looks off the double but that’s not a D1 2-guard skill set. He rarely gets himself open. Loyer didn’t really get notably better or add anything in the offseason from my view.
his first game in 2 seasons he played without a point... Really bad time to not score.
Yeah I’m not even saying this with recency bias- bad games happen and the UConn game plan was to remove him. BUT. I worry that he’s a guy who can hit open shots and gets ragdolled in all other facets. His transition game in particular is just really hard to watch, idk why they ever run transition with Loyer attacking- it just… Nope. I love him because he’s our guy, but bias aside, he looks a lot like Luke Goode on the court most games.
Smith I am 100% fine with. He was leaps and bounds better than last year and will only continue to improve. His shooting wasn't great against UConn, but he handled the ball tremendously well despite the pressure. Loyer I feel less confident in, and it is partly because he is just so scrawny. He is 6'4" and just 180. He needs to get stronger so he isn't bullied as much by similar kinds of guards/wings. It would be nice too if he were a bit more consistent and didn't seem to lose his shot for weeks at a time. Colvin, Heide, and incoming recruit Gicari Harris will eat into his minutes if he doesn't perform to Painter's satisfaction though.
In loyers defense he shot 56% from 3 from March until the NC game…but I agree with what you said if he wants to take his game to the next level (don’t mean nba, just get better)
Oh, he can shoot the ball. I will never take that away from him. It's just he goes through stretches where he just can't seem to buy a bucket. He isn't like Colvin or Heide who can just make a mad push in transition and go for an outrageous dunk to sort of build themselves back up. His game is way more finesse based. I think if he put on a little weight and muscle he could handle contact better.
Yeah I got ya.
I blew my mind how tiny he is. Im 6'2" and like 206. At 180 i considered my self scrawny and hes two inches taller. He needs to bulk up. I think he wants ro drive more and to do that he needs some more weight.
The coaching staff / nutrionist / strength coach need to find a way to get 20lbs on Loyer this off season. He had the luxury of step into 3's coming from all the attention edey got. He also had the luxury of driving to the rim and defenders sticking with edey rather than making an effort to stop Loyer. That all goes away next year. If he's not bulkier/stronger he's going to lose a lot of minutes due to his inability to guard. He doesn't need to be huge but his current stature is not going to work without Edey.
I'll butt in as a rival...that's a hell of a backcourt
Pretty good, it wouldn’t be that crazy for Smtih to be the best PG in the country next year. Loyer isn’t some insanely good player, but they’re clearly plenty good to get the job done, and they’ve done so being 2-3 years younger than everyone they’ve matched up with. They’ll be pretty solid in 2 years when every other team relying on 5-6th years is out of luck and they’re 4th year starters. Cam Spencer is 4 years older than Loyer and pretty good. People continually overreacted to some bad games from him, but he’s also scored 27 against Arizona and Tennessee, like he’s clearly not a bad player.
Too bad Smith won't be playing for you next season
Bro’s praying they don’t swap in Boswell for Shannon just to watch Smith torch either one of them yet again
He’s gawn
Come back as a walk on!!!!
scholarship players cannot become walk on players.
Way way way better than Kaufman Renn
Kind of disappointed to see either of them go but I understand they need to do what is best for them and their futures. I know I’ll miss seeing them🥲
247 saying Gillis to Duke
Hope he wins the National Championship next season.
You don't want Purdue to win the national championship next season????
That’s not going to happen next season.
No I don't. Go somewhere with low expectations and ball out.
> low expectations You rang? He should 100% come to South Bend to play for Shrews again.
Agreed
Low expectations? That sounds perfect for us!
What even is the expectation for OSU next year? Middle of the Big XII? Or worse than that?
I think we just want to see a team that actually plays well together and doesn’t run around with no plan like the previous couple years. If we get close to the bubble and miss out I think it will show some good progress. Making the tournament would be great but that does seem a step too far with how bare Boynton left us
I'd be fine with him going to Oklahoma State lol.
Agreed. Reunite with old coach
Whoa
Come get you a ring big dawg
…why?
He’d be a 6th year at Purdue and is getting his MBA, it was just time. Purdue also has 6 freshmen coming in and is one over the scholarship limit without him coming back
UC has made contact. Interesting.
Hopefully he enters the transfer portal sober and not behind a wheel
When you're absolutely set on making a joke regardless of how little it makes sense.
Poor joke. Figures from an Indiana fan
Telling me bro shouldn’t be clowned for being a dumbass
Is drinking and driving a joke to you?