Purifoy position change

[Charhair 345]

http://www.scout.com/college/auburn/story/1780434-position-change-coming-for-purifoy

 

Quote

 

Auburn's Danjel Purifoy is expected to move to the wing next season and that's a move that Bruce Pearl believes will work out well.

Auburn, Ala.--The second-leading scorer and rebounder for the Auburn Tigers as a redshirt freshman while playing out of position at power forward, Danjel Purifoy is poised for bigger and better things as he transitions to his more natural position of small forward as a sophomore.

Shooting 37 percent from three-point range and 88 percent from the free throw line, Purifoy definitely has the shooting stroke to be a weapon for the Tigers on the perimeter. With his size he will also allow Auburn to be a much bigger team on the court next season, something Coach Bruce Pearl said should be a positive all the way around.

“I think Danjel had a really, really good year offensively, and believe it or not, he made plays for us defensively,” Pearl said. “I think when Danjel hurt his ankle against Ole Miss it was hard for him to be able to be as aggressive the rest of the season. Danjel is a great teammate and he's a terrific passer, and he knows what good shots are and he extends the defense.

“Now playing that small forward position, he's going to have to guard guards so there's going to be a bit of a change for him. We will lose some quickness, but this is a team that might be able to play a little bit more zone and use or length a little bit more. I want Danjel to keep doing what he's doing. He was a redshirt freshman. He had a really good year and I think next year will be even stronger.”

 

Purify looks to shot in Auburn's victory at UAB.

Averaging 14.2 points and six rebounds per outing prior to that game against Ole Miss, Purifoy was just starting to hit his stride when the ankle injury floored him. Going five games without scoring in double figures, he finished strong with seven double figure games in the last 10 contests for the Tigers.

Offense is what he does best and Pearl said moving Purifoy to small forward should allow him to expand his game and give the Tigers even more firepower for the coming season.

“Danjel offensively can play almost any position on the floor, but last year we had to play him defensively at the four and that was a real challenge for him,” Pearl said. “When you have Danjel playing the four and the other guys are Austin and Anfernee, who are both freshmen, so we were young and thin and lacked that weight and that size. Our guys are getting bigger and stronger in the offseason. And yes, I think moving Danjel to the three will now make us going from being somewhat undersized to having really good size.”

 

i like the sound of this as a lot of us have been hoping to see DP get moved back to the 3.

one of the parts I boldened has CBP mentioning that we might be playing more zone or using our length more, I'm hoping that means we keep Chuma at the 3 as well. 

[AuburnArch13 185]

Well, I'm sure Cole will be glad to hear this.

[ellitor 33,076]

1 hour ago, AuburnArch13 said:

Well, I'm sure Cole will be glad to hear this.

As will most AU fans. He played the 4 a lot out of necessity. With Chuma coming in he can be moved.

[ellitor 33,076]

3 hours ago, Charhair said:

I'm hoping that means we keep Chuma at the 3 as well. 

He is a 4 all the way for us.

[AuburnArch13 185]

2 hours ago, ellitor said:

He is a 4 all the way for us.

Hopefully he can put on an inch or two then, even if he does need to play taller than he is.

[ellitor 33,076]

35 minutes ago, AuburnArch13 said:

Hopefully he can put on an inch or two then, even if he does need to play taller than he is.

Pretty sure he is 6'8 at least now. I would think that's a solid height for a 4. Also he does player tall or has good technique or want to given he  was a very good rebounder.

[Charhair 345]

3 hours ago, ellitor said:

He is a 4 all the way for us.

That does seem better for our lineup/depth. We need the rebounding help too, hopefully that trait transfers well for chuma. 

Im sure he'll also have an opportunity for more minutes there if DP fully transitions to the 3. 

[AuburnArch13 185]

20 hours ago, ellitor said:

Pretty sure he is 6'8 at least now. I would think that's a solid height for a 4. Also he does player tall or has good technique or want to given he  was a very good rebounder.

Good to know. Last thing I'd seen had him at 6'-7". Not a huge difference on paper, but 6'-8"+ feels a lot bigger at that posisition. 

[AU64 10,122]

3 hours ago, AuburnArch13 said:

Good to know. Last thing I'd seen had him at 6'-7". Not a huge difference on paper, but 6'-8"+ feels a lot bigger at that posisition. 

I see him listed at 230 but that's hard to believe.  At the 4 position it might be nice for him to pick up a bit more heft that will help with the inside game.

[ellitor 33,076]

6 minutes ago, AU64 said:

I see him listed at 230 but that's hard to believe.  At the 4 position it might be nice for him to pick up a bit more heft that will help with the inside game.

He's got a strong frame on him. He's by no means pencil thin or anything like that.

[gravejd 3,269]

If we are able to move Purifoy to the 3 then that is great for our BBall team. I'm hoping we have the players to make that happen now. I'll be curious to see what the projected 2- deep will be going into next year and espeically for the 4 and 5 position. I imagine Wiley and McClemore will be 1 and 2 at the 5. But will McClemore also be able to play some 4 as well? Wonder where that Murray kid will play? He doesn't have great size for a 4 but that seems to be his game. Good that we are starting to get some options now instead of being forced to play folks regardless on if they are ready or not

 

[AuburnNTexas 7,133]

I believe you will see Wiley, McLemore and Spencer at the 5. I believe you will see Spencer, McLemore, Chuma, and Murray at the 4.  It will be interesting to see if Murray can play the 4 at the SEC level and it will also be important that Spencer can play the 4 as he has the size for it and the shot blocking skills for it but has basically played 5 until late last year. His growth at the 4 along with the other people will go a long way to determining how good we can be in the upcoming year as I feel pretty good about 1, 2, 3, and 5. Even though PG will be young. 

I am really excited to see how much Wiley will improve with a year of strength and conditioning and a years experience under his belt. He has a tremendous amount of potential.

[gravejd 3,269]

I had forgotten about Spencer. He'll be a very interesting piece of the puzzle down low for sure. Thats a pretty impressive starting five of 1. Harper/Davion 2. Heron 3. Purifoy 4. Spencer and 5. Wiley.......height and athleticism across the board with that group. Man I hope this team can put it all together this year

 

[Charhair 345]

56 minutes ago, gravejd said:

I had forgotten about Spencer. He'll be a very interesting piece of the puzzle down low for sure. Thats a pretty impressive starting five of 1. Harper/Davion 2. Heron 3. Purifoy 4. Spencer and 5. Wiley.......height and athleticism across the board with that group. Man I hope this team can put it all together this year

 

I wouldnt be surprised if we don't see Spencer and Wiley on the court at the same time much. I could be completely wrong but it seems like a big gamble to start both of them and risk both of them getting into early foul trouble, especially with Spencer being a pretty passionate rim protector. 

Having a strong two-deep center rotation will be good, look how Gonzaga used theirs last year. Of course I'm saying this even though my OP quotes CBP saying we are going to possibly be playing with more length. But i think Wiley/Spencer and McLemore/Okeke will be our two deep come day 1.

[ellitor 33,076]

2 minutes ago, Charhair said:

I wouldnt be surprised if we don't see Spencer and Wiley on the court at the same time much. I could be completely wrong but it seems like a big gamble to start both of them and risk both of them getting into early foul trouble, especially with Spencer being a pretty passionate rim protector. 

Having a strong two-deep center rotation will be good, look how Gonzaga used theirs last year. Of course I'm saying this even though my OP quotes CBP saying we are going to possibly be playing with more length. But i think Wiley/Spencer and McLemore/Okeke will be our two deep come day 1.

Only problem with that is Spencer plays much more like a 4 in Bruce's eyes than a 5. A-Mac is still likely the back up Center.

[Tiger 8,818]

34 minutes ago, ellitor said:

Only problem with that is Spencer plays much more like a 4 in Bruce's eyes than a 5. A-Mac is still likely the back up Center.

Not disagreeing at all, but I find it weird that Purifoy was forced to play as a 4 last year and if BP wants Horace at the 4 something is not adding up because they could not have more opposite skill-sets IMO. Does BP want a stretch-4/guy who can handle the ball a little bit at the PF spot or does he want a rim protector/bruiser type that Horace is? Unless he wants both? I understand Danjel was playing at the 4 last year out of necessity but he was on record after DP's good games saying "This is how the 4 man is supposed to play in our system" [loose quote]

[ellitor 33,076]

38 minutes ago, Tiger said:

Not disagreeing at all, but I find it weird that Purifoy was forced to play as a 4 last year and if BP wants Horace at the 4 something is not adding up because they could not have more opposite skill-sets IMO. Does BP want a stretch-4/guy who can handle the ball a little bit at the PF spot or does he want a rim protector/bruiser type that Horace is? Unless he wants both? I understand Danjel was playing at the 4 last year out of necessity but he was on record after DP's good games saying "This is how the 4 man is supposed to play in our system" [loose quote]

In an ideal world he would prefer a 4 that can be physical against other 4s (not Danjel's game) & handle the rock. Think of the last 4 at UT that he recruited but did not get to use because of being fired, Jarnell Stokes. He doesn't have that right now. Also with the lack of toughness & D on the team last year He's gotta play guys like Horace, Chuma, & Murray to instill those things, particularly Chuma & Murray on the toughness factor.

[mustache eagle 2,397]

Spencer showed a few early flashes of some offense around the time of the Hawaii trip.

i think he has it in him to score 10 a game, particularly if he can shoot FT's.  

Personally, if I had to pick my poison - I'd prefer a properly used DP at the 3 and a more defensive minded "tougher" player at the 4 like spencer/okeke/Murray.

that just about guarantees 4 scoring positions plus a little scoring from the 4 position.  

[casatiger 513]

So Heron at the 2 is for sure?

[ellitor 33,076]

14 minutes ago, casatiger said:

So Heron at the 2 is for sure?

2 & 3 are mostly interchangeable for Bruce in an ideal world.

[casatiger 513]

Well, Purifoy likes to shoot the 3 so that should get him more opportunities.  Heron seems to be more of a take the ball to the basket kind of player which is traditionally ideal at the 3 spot.  However, that is irrelevant if CBP's offense is non-traditional.   Honestly, I have not quite figured out our offense yet and that is not intended to be a swipe at Bruce.  Just a lack of observation on my part.  

[cole256 17,042]

I won't go quote it but like I said last year was close to a wasted year for him. This year we will still see some "rookie" mistakes we normally wouldn't see from a player in a program as long as him

[cole256 17,042]

And true chuma may be able to play the 4 but if he can play the three he can be special. I'd rather swing for special than average

[Charhair 345]

1 hour ago, cole256 said:

And true chuma may be able to play the 4 but if he can play the three he can be special. I'd rather swing for special than average

These were my thoughts about Chuma. 

But while I do like his upside at the 3, with Purifoy getting the majority of minutes there and other players possibly getting minutes there, I could see Chuma getting on the floor a lot more at the 4 this year and possibly even starting there at some point next season depending on where everyone else is playing at the 4/5. 

Chuma's ability to rebound, if it translates well, will be appreciated no matter where he plays, imo. And since that was one of our big holes last year, I say get him on the court as much as possible, if he can haul down a good amount per minute. 

[ellitor 33,076]

1 hour ago, cole256 said:

And true chuma may be able to play the 4 but if he can play the three he can be special. I'd rather swing for special than average

Question though is do we have anyone else that can play the 4 with the quality of play we need & stay out of foul trouble?