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Welcome to this week's “BOILING OVER,” GoldandBlack.com’s weekly information-clearinghouse and analysis column meant for our site members and site members only. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation in helping us keep what is sometimes delicate or proprietary information confined to this message board. This feature allows us to be more flexible in our reporting, to our readers' benefit, and we lose that ability if we can't keep this feature secure and the value of our site's membership at its peak. Additionally, we address recruiting and hiring processes in-depth and often without filter in this feature and we do it behind a subscription-protected barrier for a reason, in hopes of avoiding situations where our reporting can impact the recruiting process, which can happen occasionally.
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PURDUE BASKETBALL RECRUITING
So today came the unsurprising news that Kansas State guard Nijel Pack has entered the transfer portal, weeks after the coaching change in Manhattan. He will be Purdue's No. 1 transfer target. Purdue will have a few targets, but we're comfortable calling him No. 1.
We think he may be visiting Purdue as early as next weekend, after this weekend's Final Four dead period.
Purdue does have background with Pack, who went to Lawrence Central in Indy. Purdue did seriously recruit him, but got Jaden Ivey and Ethan Morton early in that class. That coupled with modest reservations about Pack's size, a year after Purdue had signed Isaiah Thompson, precluded Purdue from offering. It liked him, though, and had the circumstances been different, he might have been a guy Matt Painter was really drawn to, especially after watching him that whole breakout summer while tracking AAU teammates Ivey, Caleb Furst and Kiyron Powell, who wound up at Houston.
Purdue's draw now would become fairly obvious. Proximity to home plus all the minutes and scoring opportunities a transfer import could hope for. Familiarity could help Purdue to some extent as lord knows how many schools come after Pack now.
The other thing is that we think that Pack and his family do like and respect now former K-State coach Bruce Weber and that Weber would obviously put in a good word for Painter and Purdue and has.
Pack averaged 12.7 points and 3.8 assists and shot 41 percent from three as a freshman at Kansas State; this season, he went for 17.4 and shot nearly 44 percent from three.
This one would seem to make all the sense in the world for both sides, and this is the one Purdue's been waiting on, but the challenge now is to get him locked up.
This will be a national deal.
Now, Purdue does have scholarship capital to be flexible, too.
Rob Phinisee, we do know that he's been very interested in finishing up at Purdue for weeks now, if not months, but we'll see what Purdue does there. They'd have to get more of a scorer and shooter along with a player like Phinisee. And at the end of the day, Phinisee and Purdue alike would have to consider the simple weirdness of it all if an Indiana player were to transfer within the rivalry, Lafayette native or not.
But Painter's always been complimentary of Phinisee's "winning qualities" when playing against him and if this is a two- or three-man transfer class, there might be room for a rank-and-file sort of Intangibles guy.
The other two guys we know Purdue has been on are Bellarmine's Dylan Penn and Indiana State's Tyreke Key, but we have no new information on either of them.
Purdue got kinda screwed In the Big Ten race this year by the COVID year, but now could benefit If they get any of these one-year, fifth- or sixth-year guys.
That's what has to be balanced too, the use of one's scholarships, even in this whacky transfer era. One-year guys are manna from heaven, because if they're just filling empties, great, and they don't jack up your scholarship numbers moving forward.
I'd expect this to be a two-man transfer class at this point, the best case scenarios all involving Nijel Pack.
More names will emerge, for certain, but we'd anticipate this solely being a backcourt search at this point. (BN)
PURDUE FOOTBALL RECRUITING
• Warren Central wide receiver Joe Walker did not make it to Purdue this past weekend for its junior day, as his mother had a work conflict, but says he will get up there as soon as he can to meet with new receivers coach Garrick McGee.
Walker said he wants to wear No. 3 this season for the Warriors because of David Bell, and that connection should be a real plus for Purdue.
• Purdue seems to have a good chance to land the two portal offensive linemen who visited last weekend: Kent State’s Daniel Johnson and Northern Colorado’s Grant Stephens. And it possibly would take both if each wanted to commit.
Johnson is strictly a tackle, while Stephens could slide inside to guard, if needed. Not sure if either player is starting-caliber, but they would no doubt add needed veteran depth. Johnson, who lacks strength, had knee surgery last year. Stephens is stronger than Johnson, athletic and stout, but he played vs. FCS competition.
• Virginia RB Wayne Taulapapa also visited last week. Not sure if he’ll commit. There is thought he could return to play in his native Hawaii. Taulapapa is a solid player who would help add veteran depth, but he likely wouldn’t be an upgrade over King Doerue.
• Purdue is recruiting Nebraska portal wide receiver Will Nixon, but he looks like a long shot for the Boilermakers and figures to land elsewhere. He saw action in three games in 2021 against Fordham, Buffalo and Northwestern, catching one pass for five yards.
In 2020 as a true freshman, the 5-11, 185-pound Nixon suffered a season-ending knee injury during summer workouts.
The Waco, Texas, native is the son of Carolina Panthers assistant coach Jeff Nixon. He found himself in a logjam at wide receiver, as the Huskers added five more scholarship players to their roster over the offseason under new position coach Mickey Joseph. (TD/staff)
PURDUE BASKETBALL
Purdue's exhibition trip to Europe this summer is being postponed 'til next summer. It's a weird time in the world geopolitically, there's still a pandemic going on and Purdue does have some health matters to tend to this summer, as Brian Waddell's coming off an ACL injury, Braden Smith has some foot issues to get clear of, and at one point, Caleb Furst was looking at the possibility of needing a procedure done on his foot. Whether that's still the case or not, we don't know yet.
But the trip's being postponed 'til next summer, and along with it, Purdue's alumni game festivities which were slated for August, after also being pushed from last summer.
• We don't want to say anything with 100-percent certainty at this point, but our strong belief right now is that Brandon Newman will stick it out at Purdue. We don't foresee any other transfers beyond Isaiah Thompson, but again you never know.
• As you know, Purdue assistant coach Terry Johnson didn't get the job at Ball State, which went to Michael Lewis. That could be a break for Johnson, as he'll be in the mix for Butler should it open soon, whether it be now or after next season. LaVall Jordan's status remains up in the air.
But unless Butler opens now and Johnson gets it, Purdue's could be looking at a rare off-season (lately) of no staff turnover.
Butler would be interesting, though. Johnson would be a top name on the list. You wonder if they'd make a call to Micah Shrewsberry, whose A.D. at Penn State is on her way out. Jeff Boals at Ohio would probably be in there, too, as he's part of that Xavier-Butler-Ohio State tree that started with Thad Matta, who himself probably wouldn't go for that job, but you never know. (BN)
