Freshmen impress in opener despite turnovers
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 11/05/2009
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D.J. Byrd took advantage of finally being in a Purdue jersey, and not just in the stands of Mackey Arena in his debut Tuesday night.
The freshman guard from nearby Crawfordsville, Ind., has been a fixture at Purdue games for the past two seasons. In his debut Tuesday night, he scored 11 points and had the crowd screaming during the Boilers’ 78-44 exhibition win against Division II California of Pennsylvania.
Byrd hit 2-of-2 from behind the 3-point line and finished 3-of-4 overall, while also recording three rebounds before fouling out with 3:33 left in the game. He played 17 minutes.
“I felt fine. I got lucky getting some open looks and made some shots to get going. It got all the jitters out,” Byrd said. “(Today) came a lot quicker than I thought. I remember looking in the paper and seeing it was still 60 days until the first game.”
Two other Boilers – guard Kelsey Barlow and forward Patrick Bade – also made their debut Tuesday night. Barlow scored six points in 16 minutes while Bade put down six in 13 minutes.
Coach Matt Painter said with the Boilers’ current lack of front-court depth, Bade is going to be relied on to play. For him to be effective, he’ll have to calm down and let the game come to him, the coach said.
“Pat has to learn to do some things on the defensive end, in terms of post defense and hedging,” Painter said. “Offensively he can make shots, but sometimes he rushes some things. He just needs to take his time.”
Barlow, meanwhile, impressed Painter with his abilities. Painter also said he is the most likely candidate to redshirt this season, however, simply because of the Boilers’ depth at guard. That decision hasn’t been made yet though.
“Barlow brings good playmaking skills,” coach Matt Painter said after the game. “He’s going to be a good player here. He’s got to eliminate the one-handed passes across his body, but he really sees some things out there.”
The Boiler newcomers combined for nine turnovers – five from Byrd alone – in the opener. Painter said part of the blame for that goes on him. He didn’t want to play all the freshmen together much, but it happened.
“I think as the coach you have to be able to sit there and take it at times,” Painter said. “They get frustrated, I get frustrated, fans get frustrated, but you have to allow them some of those growing pains at times.
“I didn’t help by playing them together. That’s something that’s simply not going to happen during the season.”