Biggest Observations From Purdue Basketball’s Open Media Practice

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue’s trip to Canada in July gave us a great first look of the 2026-27 Boilermakers, playing four games in five days. We learned a lot about this particular group during that week, but it’s far from a finished product.

Fast forward to September, and Matt Painter’s squad is still working to improve in certain areas. On Friday, the program opened up practice to the media, now that we’re less than one month away from the first exhibition game (Oct. 18 vs. Ball State).

Advertisement

Here are a few observations from Friday’s practice at Cardinal Court.

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter speaks during practice. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Enzo Shahrvin is more athletic than you think

Shahrvin is often talked about because of the physical presence he brings to Purdue’s frontcourt, and rightfully so. The 6-foot-9 forward has a big frame, gets aggressive in the post and provides the Boilermakers with a fiesty rebounder. What gets overlooked, though, is his athleticism.

Multiple times during Friday’s practice, Shahrvin was used as a lob threat in the pick-and-roll. He doesn’t possess the same length as Daniel Jacobsen, but he does have the ability to find the ball in the air and throw it down.

Advertisement

Shahrvin isn’t a player who will blow you away with his scoring ability down low, but the combination of strength and athleticism is something Purdue can use in the post. You can understand why Painter hopes he’ll be cleared by the NCAA soon.

Antione West Jr. is still shooting the lights out

To the surprise of nobody, West is still knocking down shots from everywhere on the floor. Friday was no exception, knocking down several long three-pointers, but also using his dribble to get to the rim in certain 5-on-5 and 3-on-3 situations.

After practice, guard Omer Mayer had an interesting comment, saying he wishes “fans could have seen Antione practice last year.” He spoke about how the Purdue guard lit up last year’s team during practice. At times,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/biggest-observations-purdue-basketballs-open-160528732.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-09-26 16:05:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.