A Basketball Season In Review - Guards: Jahaad Proctor
***This article has been edited post publish thanks to further points brought to my attention by Reddit user: DeBarco_Murray. The original was so focused on Jahaad’s scoring that I felt it did not fully represent what Jahaad brought to the team and felt it necessary to clarify and touch on all of Jahaad’s contributions.
After giving a brief overview of what happened with the 2019-20 Purdue Basketball Season, let’s take a bit of a deeper dive into the different position groups and the individual players’ performance for the year. This isn’t going to be a game by game breakdown but more of a holistic view of each player and if applicable, what they need to work on moving into next year.
We will start with the Guards as they initiate the offense and are the point of the defense for any given night. In 19-20 Purdue had some issues with consistency from game to game. After a season watching Carsen Edwards run the team and score 15 points plus every night, it became more apparent that this team didn’t have a Carsen. This team needed someone to step up and make a play when the team needed it most. Certain guys showed flashes of this in different games, but no one seemed to take the reigns in every game and provide that steady performance the team could build off of. Moving forward to 2020-21, Purdue needs more consistent guard high-level guard play to take pressure away from the interior to always make the plays.
Jahaad Proctor
When Purdue lost Carsen Edwards to the NBA Draft, this coaching staff knew that this team would need more scoring to help fill in the void that was left behind. Enter the High Point graduate transfer Jahaad Proctor. He was brought in to help bridge the gap for this season and provide some play-making as the rest of the guards continued to grow, learn, and gain experience playing more minutes in the rugged Big Ten Conference.
After all, was said and done, Proctor never seemed to find his groove playing in the Big Ten. He started the season strong scoring in double digits in the first 11 of 12 games with his season-high coming in the season opener vs Green Bay when he scored 26 points. As the season wore on and the competition stiffened, he found it harder to make the same plays as he was against the non-conference opponents. After the game @Ohio, he only scored in double figures 5 times, while also posting 3 games where he never found the bottom of the net. Purdue could have used the consistent scoring he was brought in to do but sometimes these things happen.
I think looking back on his time with the team, I believe Jahaad’s biggest impact wasn’t the scoring that many people thought he would bring to the group. I think he made tangible impacts in statistical categories many may overlook at a glance. He finished the season averaging under 1 turnover per game while also playing the third-most minutes on the team. That shows that he came to Purdue as more than just a pure scorer many of us thought he would be. We only saw his scoring average from High Point and failed to see his game as a whole. He was one of Purdue’s most consistent guards on defense as you seldom saw a defensive mistake from him. This is quite impressive considering he only had so much time to learn Painter’s system before being thrown into the fire.
Then there were the intangible benefits, that are harder to see because they either won’t show up in a stat-line or will only be seen by those who pay enough attention to see them. For those who paid enough attention would see a player who played hard all game, who played smart all game, and who rarely made mental mistakes. While not being the most athletic player on the team; he always seemed to be in position on defense, and rarely was scrambling to find his assignment. He also brought the experience that only someone who played the game as long as he has to the locker room with many young guys who can benefit from that experience and wisdom. I don’t think you can ever overlook the value of having a veteran presence in the locker room and at practice. He can provide levity and drive home certain things into those players younger than him to help them focus and improve as players. To impress upon them potential issues to avoid or pitfalls that he fell victim to. These are the intangibles you don’t see that will garner results in months, not days.
Season Stats/Averages: [Taken directly from PurdueSports.com]
GP/GS/Avg Mins/FGM/FGA/FG%/3PT/3PtA/3Pt%/FTM/FTA/FT%/PPG/AvgReb/TotalAST/TotalTO/TotalSTL
31/18/25.6 /98/244/40.2% /28/88/31.8% /56/69/81.2% /9.0 /2.3 /54 /30 /31
Many Purdue fans focused on Jahaad and his scoring average coming from High Point during his transition to West Lafayette. Those that did were likely disappointed at the end of the season seeing him “only” average 9 points as a Boiler. But as touched on above, there are more to a players game than those recorded on the stat sheet. Jahaad averaged similar Rebounding, Assist, and Steal numbers to other guards on the roster while providing consistent defensive and transition effort, as well as not turning the ball over.
For those of you who do enjoy looking at the numbers, Jahaad shot around 40% from two, 32% from three, and a roster leading 81.2% from the FT line. Take the analysis from that as you will. I believe that his impact came more from off the sheet. Nonetheless, my favorite stats that are listed above are the last two. 30 Turnovers on the season and 31 season steals, he generated more possessions for Purdue than he lost, I think that shows his experience, never overreaching (unless it’s in the passing lane) and being where he needs to be.
Best Game
It wasn’t his highest-scoring game of the season, but considering all the factors in play, I’m saying the Virginia game was Jahaad’s best game. He scored 16 points, with 4 rebounds, 1 Ast, and 4(!!!) steals. When you look at this game as a whole, this was his first game of this magnitude and he delivered. In his senior night video, he talks about these kinds of games are why you come to schools like Purdue. To get to play against this level of competition, can you imagine being in his position? Especially coming to Purdue, getting to play the school that foiled their trip to the Final Four not but 6 months before? I can only imagine what it was like for him to experience that. He delivered 16 points against the then #5 team in the nation and I’m sure it’s a game he’ll never forget.
Final Thoughts
Even though Jahaad wasn’t the scoring presence Purdue needed him to be, he still provided immense value and he played hard every night. That isn’t something to be overlooked and hopefully, the younger players were able to take something from the senior that they will be able to use going forward.
Jahaad chose to come to Purdue for his last year to play against better competition but unfortunately, it wasn’t the season any of us envisioned. But, he gave his all to Purdue and for that, we should be very thankful.
Thank you for all your hard work this season Jahaad!
