\u201cDon\u2019t worry about anything but being where your feet are\u2026\u201d
Purdue\u2019s offensive coordinator, PJ Thompson, has seen a lot at Purdue. After a full playing career under Matt Painter, Thompson returned to Purdue to coach alongside Painter and eventually take over Purdue\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been in charge of an offense that lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and that has gotten all the way to the last game of the season. There\u2019s not much about Purdue basketball that Thompson hasn\u2019t seen.<\/p>\n
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One thing Thompson hasn\u2019t seen though? Someone figure out Purdue\u2019s complicated system right away. That goes for Thompson\u2019s newest toy on offense, Omer Mayer, too. Despite all the polish and skill, Mayer is still learning Purdue\u2019s system, but it appears he\u2019s already found his place on the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think he\u2019s in the process of figuring out our system,\u201d Thompson told me after the first official practice media got to witness on Wednesday that included Omer Mayer as a full participant on display to the media for the first time. <\/p>\n
Mayer was a late addition in the recruiting process to this Purdue team. The Israel guard shot onto the scene, dominating international play over the summer, and choosing Purdue despite Purdue already having the best point guard in the country on its roster.<\/p>\n
That not getting it right away might be one of the biggest challenges for Mayer who comes to Purdue with a unique basketball history. He missed a good portion of the summer because of his international slate where he starred on two different Israel national teams. Before that, Mayer has been playing for a professional basketball team in Tel Aviv the last couple seasons. He\u2019s not used to not dominating on the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cEuropean basketball is different than American basketball,\u201d Thompson told me before adding. \u201cBut we [Purdue] also differ from American basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Purdue does not just send fives to the top of the key and play pick and roll. Purdue also doesn\u2019t rely on isolation like many teams around the nation. Instead, Purdue\u2019s DNA is built on similar motion concepts that thrive on European courts.<\/p>\n
But more than just being comfortable with Purdue\u2019s playbook, Thompson and Purdue also needs Mayer to adopt a new mindset on the court.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe biggest thing I tell him is we need him to score the ball,\u201d Thompson said. He went on, \u201cYou\u2019re not gonna be a great passer if they don\u2019t guard you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayer looked to be taking that to heart during Purdue\u2019s competitive drills and five on fives. Mayer was looking for his shot where he\u2019s an elite shooter off the dribble. He\u2019s also shown off his strength at getting to the hoop where he has a variety of moves to leverage his strength and pace at the basket.<\/p>\n
Mayer\u2019s passing goes without saying. Still, Mayer\u2019s a target at practice.
Braden Smith was integral in getting Mayer to Purdue. Despite ultimately playing the same position, Smith was involved directly in recruiting Mayer to join Purdue\u2019s program. Mayer was good enough to go to college and find a team that would make him the cornerstone of its offense from the start. Instead, Mayer will fit in next to the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and best point guard in college basketball last season.<\/p>\n
Smith took it to Mayer every chance he got on the defensive end. Smith looked unleashed on the defensive end, using his quickness and flurry of hands to make every dribble uncomfortable. He grabbed at Mayer, pressed into him, around, and Mayer looked to revel in the competition.<\/p>\n
Mayer\u2019s power at point guard is a fascinating contrast to the blur of Smith. The two colliding together feels like a cold front and a warm front swirling in the sky. Both players play in so much control, but Mayer\u2019s does his with heft and threat, a jump shot that can come from anywhere. For Smith, it\u2019s the lightning first step, the incessant, constant movement and probing that never steps.
Both of them see the entire floor, launching passes before the play even seems to open up. They play at a pace that is entirely their own. Smith was a big reason why Mayer chose Purdue. Smith is now doing his part to pay that faith off by making Mayer better with each rep by not letting up an inch.<\/p>\n
Omer Mayer\u2019s life has carried a weight that most on Purdue\u2019s campus can\u2019t imagine. Even on the basketball court, his journey is a unique one for an 18 year old.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s played in Euroleague games,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cHe\u2019s been part of war, where he\u2019s at home all day and missiles are flying around.\u201d<\/p>\n
West Lafayette is a new setting, a new world, and the adjustment hasn\u2019t been a subtle one, but there\u2019s benefits from being so far from home, too, in a college basketball landscape that\u2019s kinder to teens than pro basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been amazed that everyone here wants to help,\u201d Thompson said of Mayer. Pro basketball is filled with basketball lifers, professionals, and practices and rosters are dealt with in that capacity. At Purdue, the coaching staff isn\u2019t just a resource for basketball knowledge, but a safe space for teens to expand as people and players.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe can kinda sit and coddle you a little bit,\u201d Thompson added. \u201cThat\u2019s not how pro basketball is. He needed to be loved on a little bit\u2026 This change on him has been hard on him mentally because it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Purdue has carved its place in college basketball under Matt Painter. Purdue players have thrived, at Purdue, and after. It was enough to pull a kill from Israel who could have had his choices of places to play. Mayer\u2019s potential is near limitless on a basketball court. In a lot of ways, that\u2019s why Purdue players have chosen Purdue \u2013 to be the best form of themselves possible.<\/p>\n
But to do that, Mayer first has to settle in living in the present, and to trust in the place he\u2019s put himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry about anything but being where your feet are,\u201d Thompson told me he told Mayer this summer. \u201cThis place is set up for success. He\u2019s good. He\u2019s learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayer seems to already be sure of his choice to join Purdue.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited to be here. I\u2019ve been here for almost two months, I couldn\u2019t ask for a better place for this stage of my career,\u201d Mayer told Field of 68 in an interview a week ago. \u201cI didn\u2019t know I could enjoy basketball as much as I do right here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cDon\u2019t worry about anything but being where your feet are\u2026\u201dPurdue\u2019s offensive coordinator, PJ Thompson, has seen a lot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183633,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[402,8790,8784,108231,398,400,401,108229,108230,8674,99],"class_list":["post-183632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-basketball","tag-basketball","tag-braden-smith","tag-matt-painter","tag-mayer","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-basketball","tag-ncaabasketball","tag-omer-mayer","tag-pj-thompson","tag-purdue","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}