Chad Threewits

I normally sit back and laugh at how ignorant opposing fans are about PURDUE but, when it’s national media purposefully trolling Zach Edey and Purdue for clicks with nothing to back it up - well, welcome to my long-winded rant. Firstly, we know the casual national media just started watching CBB this past weekend. And what two games triggered them the most? Purdue vs. Michigan State and Purdue vs. Wisconsin. And, of course, these casual, non-ball-knowers, can’t understand how one team can shoot more free throws than another team *gasp*! What amazes me is how so many ppl who claim to know basketball don’t understand that fouling Purdue is strategy. It was literally in MSU and Wisconsin’s (and northwestern’s) gameplan. Foul the shit out of Zach Edey whenever he is close enough to dunk or lay it in. And then bitch and complain about the officiating for the entire game, hoping they don’t call all the fouls. Let’s unwrap some of what I just stated for these trolls that don’t understand basketball: Purdue is the third best offense in the country, averaging 1.18 points-per-possession (PPP). Against Michigan State, Purdue shot 15 more free throws while Michigan State attempted 8 more field goals than Purdue. If you average 1.18 PPP, Would you rather shoot 67% from the foul line or be given 8 more offensive possessions to score 2-3 point field goals? Too small of a sample size? Let’s go to the Wisconsin game then. Purdue shot 23 more free throws than Wisconsin yet Wisconsin attempted 23 more field goals than Purdue. Again, which would you rather have? Of course these “purposefully ignorant (and) intellectually dishonest”, as @brianneubert put it, clickbait artists can’t look beyond the free throw disparity. And Zach Edey gets all the shit simply because the referees call fouls when he’s fouled. What pisses me off is the narrative that this is how Purdue plays. It’s not. PURDUE hasn’t lost to a non-big ten Power 5 team since before Covid. Why? Because no other conference plays hack-an-Edey goon-ball. They play Purdue straight up and get abused. Which takes me back to point 1 - these teams - WI, MSU, NW - do this on purpose due to their personnel and gamplan. (NW literally went into both Purdue games saying they have 4 bodies and 20 fouls to throw at Edey) And it’s smart for them to do, clearly. It sometimes works. Limit Purdue’s field goal attempts, dare them to shoot 80%+ from the charity stripe and hope they have careless TO’s. That’s the formula to beating Purdue. So it’s funny when fans of these teams blame Purdue for muddying the game up. That’s the last thing Purdue wants. And these same opposing fans don’t understand basketball enough to actually credit their coaching staff on their gameplan - yes, they are smart for playing Purdue this way! Secondly, and what pisses me off the most, is all the flack Zach Edey gets for how often he is fouled. Do you think he wants to be fouled 15+ times per game? Do you think Purdue wants that? No and no. But it’s Zach Edey’s fault for the opposing team’s gameplan. Such a pathetic narrative pushed by national click-bait morons like credit-card-thief-Gottlieb and Aaron Torres. I would wager that 95% of the trolls that attack Edey can’t even dribble left handed, shoot a free throw, or play longer than 5-10 minutes in a CBB game. Zach Edey plays 35 mpg at 7’4. And 100% of the trolls who call him unathletic can’t throw 80 mph off the mound or clock triple digits on a slap shot. The hate Zach Edey gets is based purely on two things (unless you’re a TN fan and then it’s racism): ignorance and jealousy. The fact no opposing coach or player would ever say any of this stuff about Edey is all you need to know.