Preview of the Purdue 09-10 Season

08-09 Overall Record: 27-10
08-09 Conference Record: 11-7 (T-2nd)
08-09 Conference Efficiency Margin: +0.07 (T-3rd)
Percent of Returning Minutes: 81.6
Percent of Returning Freshman Minutes: 12.3

I could tell you that Purdue fans should expect big things this year. I could tell you that the Boilermakers return a lot of minutes from a very strong team, and that defensively, they have few peers. I could tell you that, sure, the offense wasn't spectacular, but with another year of experience it should get better. And I could tell you that Purdue is a favorite to win the conference title thanks to their unmatched starting lineup.

But all of those things were true last year, right? So I'll focus instead on what's different.

1. The players that left: Nemanja Calasan was about as soft as they come in the Big Ten. That said, he did figure out how to make the ball go into the hoop in his senior season, which is more than can be said about Marcus Green, who was about 3 inches too short for his skillset. Bobby Riddell was great for converting free throws after technical fouls were called, and for winning games of H-O-R-S-E, but he's overmatched at this level. Overall, the losses were not significant.

2. Hummel's back: It's healthy, right? Hummel may never match the eye-popping efficiency of his freshman season, but simply being on the floor more will represent a big boost to this team. This is especially the case because of Purdue's shaky rebounding.

3. The freshmen: D.J. Byrd appears to be the most talented, but minutes at shooting guard will be tough to come by. The good news is that everyone else is 6-6 or taller, and there's minutes available for anyone who can rebound.

4. Lewis Jackson's eventful offseason: With his legal issues mostly resolved, Jackson's punishment has been handed down: one game suspension.

Assuming things go according to plan, I can see the Boilermakers making some big strides, especially if Keaton Grant and E'Twaun Moore find their shooting strokes. But it would be nice if the Boilers found some offensive rebounding as well. Or shot more 3s. But they ought to do one of the two. While overall the Boilers kept the turnovers in check, a breakdown shows it was a very different story in the conference season:

The offensive rebounding, however, was mediocre throughout the season, despite the fact that Purdue was balanced between 2s and 3s. If Matt Painter expects the rebounding to, well, rebound, then there's no need to change the style. However, if he does not see the offensive rebounding getting much better, perhaps it's time to open up the perimeter attack, which would cut down on the turnovers. This probably depends on which Robbie Hummel shows up, however. The 2007-08 version was an excellent offensive rebounder, last year's version, however, was not. Whatever the case, the "step forward" that Painter is looking for has to take place on offense, because there aren't many more gains to be had on defense.