Smith celebrates comeback victory

Smith celebrates comeback victory

Purdue vs. Maryland player ratings: Smith celebrates comeback win

No. 8 Purdue (8-2) came back against Maryland (8-2) on Sunday, making a run and building momentum over the course of the second half.

Junior point guard Braden Smith led the Boilers with 24 points and 10 assists.

Below are the player stats, ratings follow:

Camden Heath: B+

Many of his 15 points came late, but Heide shined in this area with sporadic “wow” plays. Many came with rebounds or loose balls, it seemed extremely unlikely that he would reel them in, but he did. He had a handful of dunks.

He’s a freak and Purdue is lucky to have him in that role.

Braden Smith: A

There was this one shot, in transition, with about five minutes left to play.

Smith dribbled in transition and could have kicked Heide on the wing, but instead went toward the right elbow. Then, seemingly instantly, he decided to pull up from a height of about 25 feet. And it clattered home.

Well, then there was the other thing, with three minutes left. Maryland falls, Smith shoots. Bang.

He really got going today. When he tallied 22 points and 10 assists, he became the first person to do so since Troy Lewis in 1988.

Fletcher Loyer: B

Loyer was hot when everyone else was cold. He helped keep the crowd inside. After his second attempt in the second half, he went from 3% to 57% on 37 attempts on the season. Unconsciously.

He also grabbed seven rebounds, the most of his career.

Trey Kaufman-Renn: B+

The two-man game he was able to play with Braden Smith for much of the second half was nearly unstoppable. Then the game got really exciting, both on the track and on the scoreboard.

Myles Colvin: B-

Colvin did a good job of navigating screens and harassing Ja’k Gillespie. The Terrapin guard scored 18 points, eight of them in the second half, on 6 of 13 shooting. Most of them were 3s.

The sophomore’s highlights included three (by my count) high-flying offensive rebounds in the first half, two of which he converted into put-backs. These were important momentum plays in a game where momentum was worth its weight in gold.

CJ Cox: C-

The grade would have been lower had he played more minutes, but as it stood, Cox didn’t have much of an opportunity to impact the game.

Where is the CJ Cox who single-handedly brought Purdue back against No. 2 Alabama? Today, the freshman showed some serious nerves: He fumbled with the ball after a pass and double-dribbled in the first half, and minutes later he nearly poked the ball into traffic on a half-court move.

In the second half he managed a pull-up attempt from medium distance. This is his chance.

Gicarri Harris: C-

Very little effect in its 10 minutes. He just didn’t touch the ball much. Defensively, he beat Gillespie and didn’t allow himself to be asserted.

Caleb Furst: B-

Furst filled in for Kaufman-Renn in the first half when he had some foul trouble. He did a good job against Derik Queen in his five minutes.

Somehow the senior missed an open dunk at the end of the first half, but was able to make up for it with a few points later, including a strong one-pointer midway through the second half.

Raleigh Burgess: W

Burgess was the first to come on, and he may have had some nerves as a rookie. He missed an open layup on a nice Smith feed in his first minute on the court. It wasn’t because he was tired.

He only played a total of four minutes as Caleb Furst was the preferred substitute in that game.

How I do it

A lot of it has to do with Game Score, a metric invented by John Hollinger that (rather imperfectly) estimates a player’s box score contributions. It’s just to anchor the notes and it’s readily available.

During the game, I focus primarily on observing defensive reps, box outs, offensive moves/involvements, and unassisted passes. I add to these ratings all the off-ball value that my eye can catch.

Furthermore, these are role-dependent – my grades answer a question that goes something like: “How well did a player take advantage of the opportunities given to him?”

Late-game heroics earn bonus points, but the opposite is true for important mistakes. Oh, and I hate missed free throws.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *