Stefanovic ‘Feels Good,’ Ready to Return to Purdue Lineup on Saturday

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – It’s been a long 17 days for Sasha Stefanovic since the Purdue guard tested positive for COVID-19. He missed three games because of the virus and the Big Ten’s protocols for return, but he’ll be back on the floor Saturday when the Boilermakers take on Northwestern,

And not a minute too soon.

Stefanovic, who’s still leading the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage (41-of-90, 45.6 percent), is an important piece in Purdue’s offense. During his absence, Purdue lost twice – to Michigan at home and Maryland on the road – with the only win coming against Minnesota at Mackey last Saturday. 

Three-point shooting has been an issue while he’s been out.

Purdue shot well in the second half against Minnesota, but in the other five halves, they shot 6-for-34 from long range, just 17.6 percent. So they will welcome Stefanovic back, but his playing time will  be closely monitored after this long layoff. Friday was his first full practice where he participated through all of it. He was limited in parts of  Thursday’s practice since returning from 10 days of isolation.

“I really don’t know (about playing 30 minutes, his season average is 31.1),” Purdue coach Matt Painter said when asked about Stefanovic’s availability on Saturday. “I really need to watch him play in the game and see how he does. Everything should be good. He practiced (Thursday), he should be full go (Friday). He feels good, and he looks fine.

“But he just hasn’t had the reps, and that’s important. When you’re over in the Hampton Inn all by yourself, you definitely don’t get any reps. He went 10 days where he did nothing. Even though he knows what to do, he still didn’t get those reps. You have slippage. So we’ll play it by ear and see how he is, and we’ll see how other people play. It’s all a gauge, like most things, and you’re waiting for them to give you the answer.”

Stefanovic had symptoms for several days starting on Jan. 20 and wasn’t feeling good, but he was isolated from the rest of the team immediately. There were no other positive tests inside the program. He started to feel better at the end of his isolation period, but then he’s been through another full battery of tests this week, per the Big Ten’s protocols.

COVID is such an unknown that everyone has to be careful with athletes returning. Painter said there’s been plenty of conversations with the medical experts. 

“I wouldn’t say (there have been questions asked) about the pace (of a player’s return), but there’s been a lot of dialogue within our conference, and our doctors with other institutions in our league and their medical staff and training staff,” Painter said “We’re all just trying to be transparent, trying to help each other. We’ve all had similar issues but there’s been differences. I think that transparency has really helped.”

Others have had to step up in Stefanovic’s absence, most notably freshmen Brandon Newman and Jaden Ivey. So minutes will have to be spread out differently now that he’s ready to play again.

“It’s an adjustment when someone leaves for three games, and it’s an adjustment when they come back,” Painter said. “We’ll have to see where he is more than anything. He knows what he can do and what he can’t do. 

“Like I’ve said, the thing that worries me about anybody’s who been out, whether it’s COVID or an injury, is the fact that you haven’t practiced and had the same reps. Practice is so important, and you really need to be detail oriented and keep it simple as you adjust back into things.”

Painter isn’t worried about his junior guard trying to do too much. When it comes to basketball IQ, no one is better than Stefanovic. 

“He’s smart. He’s that guy, but everybody has to deal with that,” Painter said. “You get so eager when you sit out that you want to do things to make up for lost time, and that’s just not the way it works. 

“Sometimes when you don’t have the reps, it’s the physical. You hear it all in football all the time. He’s not practicing with the ones, not practicing with twos, he’s our third-string quarterback. He got no reps and people say ‘what are you talking about? He’s at practice.’ But it’s just not the same.”

Stefanovic has shot so well from deep this season that he could miss his next 17 three-pointers and still lead the Big Ten in perimeter shooting. Iowa’s Jordan Bohannon is next at 38.3 percent. Painter said just having him on the floor again will make a difference, and he said during his absence, there were too many times when Purdue’s offense ”would get stuck.”

Stefanovic is averaging 11.1 points per game, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He’s also made 80 percent of his free throws (32-for-40).

Purdue is 12-7 overall and 7-5 in the Big Ten, and they’re looking to close out the season on a high note and then make some noise in postseason tournaments. Stefanovic will help with that.

This is Purdue’s only meeting with Northwestern this season. The Wildcats started out the Big Ten season with three straight wins, but have lost eight in a row since. Northwestern is 6-9 overall and 3-8 in the league.

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