Boilers win game, but rebounding needs work
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 11/05/2009
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The Purdue men’s basketball team beat California of Pennsylvania by 34 Tuesday night, but lost the rebounding battle.
The Boilers were outrebounded 43-41 in Mackey Arena by the Division II Vulcans, despite having a significant size and skill advantage. That is something that can’t happen this year, head coach Matt Painter said afterward.
“The concern, obviously, is the rebounding part of it,” Painter said. “We have to do a better job. Nobody did their job on the glass.
“In the grand scheme of things, when you are a positive 15 in rebounds and turnovers (combined), you are going to win those games ... but if you are going to get outrebounded, eventually that’s going to catch up to you. That’s something we have to do a better job of, no matter how many minutes our experienced guys play.”
None of Purdue’s starters played more than 22 minutes, but Painter said that is no excuse for the weak rebounding effort. Senior guard Chris Kramer and freshman forward D.J. Byrd led the team with five rebounds apiece. Purdue’s starting forwards, juniors Robbie Hummel and JaJuan Johnson, combined for seven rebounds in 42 minutes.
Purdue’s first four off the bench - freshmen Kelsey Barlow Byrd and Patrick Bade, along with sophomore Ryne Smith - added just nine boards.
“We still have quality players coming off the bench,” Painter said. “Even though they’re inexperienced, they’re still good players, and everybody has to rebound ... Whether it was our reserves or our starting five, nobody did their job on the glass.”
After the game, Johnson said the Boilers realized during the first half that they were in a rebounding deficit, but weren’t able to recover in the second half.
“We were especially aware of it at halftime when we saw we were down in rebounding,” Johnson said. “That’s still one of the things we need to get better at. Hopefully, as the year goes on, we will get better and better at it.”
Purdue’s next exhibition game is Monday. The Boilers open the regular season Nov. 13 against Cal State Northridge.