Purdue women's basketball primer: Five items of interest as official practice begins
The Boilermakers transition from summer workouts to traditional practice Wednesday, six weeks before the season opener.
The official start of college basketball practice is just another date on the calendar. It used to be special, a sign to let the anticipation build.
Midnight Madness has given way to two-hour workouts twice a week in the offseason, and if you’re going on a foreign trip - like the Boilermakers did - 10 additional practices.
The Boilermakers will hold their first official practice on Wednesday afternoon, transitioning from offseason workouts to traditional sessions. Teams can go longer than two hours, and all of this leads to the opener against Purdue Fort Wayne in six weeks. There’s the secret scrimmage and the exhibition game before the first matchup.
Here are five preseason items of interest:
REPLACING FIVE STARTERS
While that phrase appears daunting, it’s not as scary on the surface.
Only three players - Rashunda Jones, Jayla Smith and Alaina Harper - have started games for the Boilermakers. They accounted for 10 starts last season, and Smith has started five times in her career.
But the four transfers - forwards Reagan Bass (Akron) and Mahri Petree (UTEP) and guards Destini Lombard (Stephen F. Austin) and Ella Collier (Marian University) - have started a combined 288 games.
Yes, they’re not Big Ten games. Yes, they’ve played at different levels. But starting experience and extended minutes count for something. The veteran presence of the transfers is already paying dividends, and there were signs on the overseas trip.
It’s been noticeable in practice and should continue leading up to the start of the season.
ROLE OF RETURNERS
The top two returning scorers from last year’s team - Jones and Sophie Swanson - are expected to use their experience to help push this team forward.
Jones flashed her skillset numerous times and is a pest on the defensive end, but she must improve her outside shooting and find a consistent level of play.
Once Swanson found her stride, she was an effective offensive player. She made 41 3-pointers in 27 games and shot 39% from beyond the arc during Big Ten play. Coming off a knee injury suffered in high school, Swanson was eased into the lineup and wasn’t just a 3-pointer shooter by the end of the season.
As a returner, Swanson looks to take a step forward defensively but must be effective from the 3-point line again. Harper and Mila Reynolds will see time inside, and McKenna Layden and Smith will fight for minutes on the perimeter.
We’ll see where everyone fits over the next six weeks.
IMPACT OF THE TRANSFERS
Needs to be significant.
Bass is expected to start and play in the post, mainly at the power forward spot. Petree will see time at multiple positions, giving coach Katie Gearlds options depending on the situation. Lombard brings defensive qualities, but her outside shooting is better than expected. Collier, a two-time NAIA National Player of the Year, looks to provide a scoring boost from 3-point range but can find points from other areas.
FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTIONS
Two of the three are set to play big minutes at the start of the season.
Posts Lana McCarthy and Kendall Puryear have demonstrated they can handle a big role at the start of their careers. Granted, they’ve faced each other and their teammates and played three games against players from Spain and Portugal in August. The competition will certainly increase, but they bring a physical element and push each other. McCarthy likely has a chance to crack the starting lineup at center going into the opener.
It’s unclear when the third freshman - Jordyn Poole - will be available. Poole is dealing with a stress fracture and has been sidelined for most of the summer. The Fort Wayne Snider graduate is earmarked as the backup point guard, and she’ll find that role once she’s healthy.
The idea is Poole will see the floor at some point this season.
NEWCOMERS
The roster features eight newcomers who didn’t play for the Boilermakers last season.
The four transfers. The three freshmen. And Amiyah Reynolds.
Reynolds redshirted last season after suffering a severe foot injury at the end of her high school season at South Bend Washington. The overseas trip was Reynolds’ first game action in 17 months.
She’ll likely begin as the starting point guard and certainly has the skills and the savvy to make immediate contributions. However, Reynolds will be playing her first season of college basketball, and an adjustment period is expected.
Jones will likely be the backup point guard at the start of the season.
ODDS AND ENDS
• Purdue officially announced Gearlds’ contract extension more than three months after the school’s board of trustees approved the new deal. Here’s my story from June.
• Fan Day for both basketball teams is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 19, one day after the football team plays host to Oregon. The volleyball team has a match against Indiana in Mackey Arena on Oct. 19. Fan Day will be completed by early afternoon, and the volleyball match likely won’t start until the evening.