Purdue freshman point guard Nojel Eastern 'starting to click' at perfect time

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The Boilermakers take a 12-game winning streak into Saturday’s game at “The Barn.” Nathan Baird/Journal & Courier

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Believe it or not, Purdue freshman Nojel Eastern doesn't wear a smile on his face 24 hours a day.

The combo guard knowingly joined a program with established starters at three guard spots and veteran help on the bench. He's a jubilant, vocal supporter of those teammates when he's not playing backup minutes.

Don't let Eastern's infectious smile on the bench fool you — he wants to be on the court as badly as anyone else.

"Of course you feel down — 'Aw, I'm not playing as many minutes as I expected,' " Eastern said. "But you have to stay positive. When the opportunity comes, you have to be ready."

Opportunity came Tuesday night at Michigan. 

Twice in a 57-second span of the second half, Eastern out-hustled and outmuscled for an offensive rebound basket. Both put-backs answered Michigan scores that had cut Purdue's vanishing lead to one point. The Boilermakers eventually won by one.

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Purdue has generally cruised during its current 12-game winning streak. Eastern piled up low-leverage minutes late in games in which the outcome had already been decided. 

Until Tuesday, that is, when Purdue might not have won at Crisler Arena for the first time since 2012 without Eastern's contribution. After grinding throughout the summer and the first half of the season, the value of such positive reinforcement can't be overstated.

"Everything's starting to click," Eastern said.

"When you know you did something that affected or helped the team win, it always feels great. Even those games where they're getting blown out and I get more minutes, I'm going to continue to build off that as well, so I can continue to gain confidence, continue to become better as a player."

Eastern's 12 minutes Tuesday represented his greatest participation in a game that doesn't qualify as an easy Purdue victory. He entered with 13:03 remaining in the game, when P.J. Thompson picked up his third foul, and didn't leave for over six minutes.

Those two put-backs among his five rebounds gave Eastern 14 points and 14 boards in 35 minutes over his last three games. That surge coincided with the resumption of Big Ten Conference play. 

In other words, when defending league champion Purdue needed him the most.

"It's tough for point guards to keep somebody who's 6-6, 220 pounds off the glass," Purdue coach Matt Painter said of Eastern's effort against Michigan. "He just pursued the basketball and did a good job. 

"In those situations, you build off of that. Have quality minutes the next game and keep getting better."

Eastern also didn't commit a turnover against a solid Wolverines team in a hostile environment. Compare that to Nov. 12 at Mackey Arena, when he committed six turnovers in 17 minutes against Chicago State. 

In other words, Eastern is on schedule. Painter has emphasized bringing Eastern's decision-making in line with his exceptional passing skills. Yet like any freshman he needed a period of adjustment. By mid-season, the game had started to "slow down."

"It's tough coming in at this level being a freshman — especially as a point guard, when the ball's always in your hands and you have to make decisions," senior guard Dakota Mathias said.

"Early he was a little sped up, which is natural. Everybody goes through that. He's really matured and he's in a good spot right now. He lets things come to him and makes good decisions."

While Purdue works on developing Eastern's point guard skills — for both the immediate and long-term future — his natural gifts allow him to contribute in ways other point guards might not.

His three offensive rebounds at Michigan gave him 20 for the season. Only frontcourt starters Vincent Edwards and Isaac Haas have more.

Purdue can post Eastern up on offense, and that length helps him shoot over opponents at any range and spread the floor more.

Defensively, his size can take a toll on opponents, as Purdue's point guards typically jam their counterparts as the opponents bring the ball up the court.

"Whenever P.J. needs a rest, Nojel knows his role," junior guard Ryan Cline said. "He's going to go up there and jam the ball and obviously work as hard as he can to pressure the point guard and make it tough for him.

"Especially in the Michigan game, he was wearing the point guards down. Against Nebraska, he was wearing those point guards down."

Eastern's size-related contributions offset the fact that he doesn't yet possess the shooting skills associated with guard play. 

Purdue has plenty of shooters right now. What it needed from Eastern on Tuesday was the will and effort to grab two rebounds and put them right back in the basket.

"Coming off the bench being ready to jam, guard rebound and run offense and take care of the ball  — those are the qualities he has to have for his minutes to go up," senior forward Vincent Edwards said. "His productivity for us in those areas will help us win."