Kanon Catchings...has anyone on staff or Kanon himself commented on the status of his commitment?

[Peabodius]

I don’t think so because it is dependent on birthday. Someone correct me here but our biggest issue is he stays at OTE or other “semi-pro” route instead of coming to college next year.

OTE is a big step up from high school competition (although my understanding is that they do play some high school and prep schools too), but it doesn't compare to what he's going to experience in the Big Ten. This will be a great experience for him prior to heading to Purdue, where he will face even stiffer competition, still get paid, and earn a degree. No brainer.

DGL played in OTE last year. He averaged 20.4 ppg, 4.4 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.2 steals. Do you think he's going to have those numbers as a freshman at Illinois? Nope, B1G has better competition.

 

[ChoiceBeef]

Uh why would you say that? The level of competition is even significantly less than that of the G League. Sounds like it’s just prepping for his eventual pro career. Mom said it’s just a stop on the way to Purdue…

Level of competition is potentially better. OTE is another form of AAU where defense and winning take a back seat to packing your stats.

I hope I am wrong. I hope he plays at Purdue, even for 1 year before he is the #1 overall pick in the draft. I just think it is a weird world in college athletics.

I will gladly eat a huge slice of humble pie when I am wrong.

 

[HoosierfanJM]

This will be a great experience for him prior to heading to Purdue, where he will face even stiffer competition, still get paid, and earn a degree. No brainer.

“Traditional school has not been easy for him. With his goals (in basketball), there are things that Overtime Elite can offer from the business of basketball that you aren’t going to get in a traditional school.”

 

[Poprudy]

“Traditional school has not been easy for him. With his goals (in basketball), there are things that Overtime Elite can offer from the business of basketball that you aren’t going to get in a traditional school.”

I agree with this, but my only concern is we expect 17-20 year old kids to make the right decision. I'm "old school" and would prefer a "traditional" school because it's about youth and making mistakes vs. business at 17-20.

 

[Peabodius]

“Traditional school has not been easy for him. With his goals (in basketball), there are things that Overtime Elite can offer from the business of basketball that you aren’t going to get in a traditional school.”

That was a quote from his Mom comparing OTE to a traditional HIGH school. A college program like Purdue has top level facilities, coaches, trainers, and tutors, not to mention NIL opportunities.

I feel like you are cherry picking a little bit. Here's another quote from that article that you are leaving out: His Mom also says "He really wanted to sleep on it and pray on it and he came to the realization that this was probably going to be the best option to prepare him for when he gets to Purdue.”

 

[Poprudy]

That was a quote from his Mom comparing OTE to a traditional HIGH school. A college program like Purdue has top level facilities, coaches, trainers, and tutors, not to mention NIL opportunities.

I feel like you are cherry picking a little bit. Here's another quote from that article that you are leaving out: His Mom also says "He really wanted to sleep on it and pray on it and he came to the realization that this was probably going to be the best option to prepare him for when he gets to Purdue.”

His Mom sounds like she's running the ship. She seems like a level headed person and seems to be guiding him in the right direction for his future.

 

[SKYDOG]

His Mom sounds like she's running the ship. She seems like a level headed person and seems to be guiding him in the right direction for his future.

Hopefully she’s a better decision maker than Treed.

 

[Dryfly88]

Hopefully she’s a better decision maker than Treed.

That's not a very high bar!!

 

[SCBoiler1]

My guess is that if he has any level of success he won't come to Purdue. If you do a little research on OTE, it's the antithesis of what Purdue basketball is about. The focus isn't on academics or team play, it's about promoting the player's self-interest. Heck guys even get traded. By the looks of things on their website, most of their players don't even keep their college eligibility. OTE appears to be about self-study and tutoring. Not the best way to "prepare" for college. I find it laughable that a 17 year old would know what his "best option" was to prepare himself for success at Purdue.

His mom can say what she wants. I don't blame her. Why burn bridges. But going to OTE is not going to set her son up or greater success at Purdue unless he's enrolling at Purdue Global.

 

[ImRonBurgandy?]

My guess is that if he has any level of success he won't come to Purdue. If you do a little research on OTE, it's the antithesis of what Purdue basketball is about. The focus isn't on academics or team play, it's about promoting the player's self-interest. Heck guys even get traded. By the looks of things on their website, most of their players don't even keep their college eligibility. OTE appears to be about self-study and tutoring. Not the best way to "prepare" for college. I find it laughable that a 17 year old would know what his "best option" was to prepare himself for success at Purdue.

His mom can say what she wants. I don't blame her. Why burn bridges. But going to OTE is not going to set her son up or greater success at Purdue unless he's enrolling at Purdue Global.

I'm guessing she was speaking more to the Purdue basketball aspect. Higher level of competition = better preparation for B1G.

 

[purduedavie]

Level of competition is potentially better. OTE is another form of AAU where defense and winning take a back seat to packing your stats.

I hope I am wrong. I hope he plays at Purdue, even for 1 year before he is the #1 overall pick in the draft. I just think it is a weird world in college athletics.

I will gladly eat a huge slice of humble pie when I am wrong.

#1 pick? That’s a helluve prediction, if you’re correct you’ll get mad props. What’s he ranked right now?

 

[BNIBoiler]

“Traditional school has not been easy for him. With his goals (in basketball), there are things that Overtime Elite can offer from the business of basketball that you aren’t going to get in a traditional school.”

Sounds to me that he is not a good student. What is so difficult in a "traditional" school setting other than keeping up with your grades?

 

[Dryfly88]

Sounds to me that he is not a good student. What is so difficult in a "traditional" school setting other than keeping up with your grades?

I thought that was an interesting comment too. I'm like you, the first thing I thought was he must not be a very good student. Maybe that isn't what was meant?

 

[johnboiler123]

Sounds to me that he is not a good student. What is so difficult in a "traditional" school setting other than keeping up with your grades?

Could mean anything. Could mean it’s difficult being a 5 star talent and future NBA player, while attending a small town high school. Probably has to deal with a lot of iu idiots.

 

[Boileratthebeach]

My guess is that if he has any level of success he won't come to Purdue. If you do a little research on OTE, it's the antithesis of what Purdue basketball is about. The focus isn't on academics or team play, it's about promoting the player's self-interest. Heck guys even get traded. By the looks of things on their website, most of their players don't even keep their college eligibility. OTE appears to be about self-study and tutoring. Not the best way to "prepare" for college. I find it laughable that a 17 year old would know what his "best option" was to prepare himself for success at Purdue.

His mom can say what she wants. I don't blame her. Why burn bridges. But going to OTE is not going to set her son up or greater success at Purdue unless he's enrolling at Purdue Global.

Based on what? It’s a prep school like others except they probably teach the business of basketball (pretty sure mom said that). The kid has nba aspirations and talent. Why take Latin vs money management? This isn’t the equivalent of the G league. It’s his final year of high school. Which, not sure how many of you had or have high school seniors, etc but it’s basically 60% of a full year because come march it’s full coast time anyway.

 

[ChoiceBeef]

#1 pick? That’s a helluve prediction, if you’re correct you’ll get mad props. What’s he ranked right now?

No idea where he would project as of now. Granted, he has the things NBA execs love with his size and versatility. Can he continue to improve and build strength is the question.

 

[SCBoiler1]

t

Based on what? It’s a prep school like others except they probably teach the business of basketball (pretty sure mom said that). The kid has nba aspirations and talent. Why take Latin vs money management? This isn’t the equivalent of the G league. It’s his final year of high school. Which, not sure how many of you had or have high school seniors, etc but it’s basically 60% of a full year because come march it’s full coast time anyway.

No it's not a "prep school like others". OTE is not a school. Overtime Elite partners with Xceed Prep, an accredited online school, which grants the players their high school diplomas. Online school may work for a lot of guys but the focus is clearly on basketball.

 

[bonefish1]

I thought that was an interesting comment too. I'm like you, the first thing I thought was he must not be a very good student. Maybe that isn't what was meant?

If you're a scholie athlete, you have to work at not being able to stay eligible. Of course, we get some talented guys who just don't realize how good they have it (Milton Wright) until it's too late. But, with the entire idea of the academic support system for athletes being to keep the talent on the field, you have to really be bad at it.

 

[bonefish1]

t

No it's not a "prep school like others". OTE is not a school. Overtime Elite partners with Xceed Prep, an accredited online school, which grants the players their high school diplomas. Online school may work for a lot of guys but the focus is clearly on basketball.

No offense to anyone out there (well, when has that ever stopped me), but I always find it comical when people make a big deal out of getting a high school diploma. It's pretty damn easy to do the minimum and still get by.

 

[Boiler79]

t

No it's not a "prep school like others". OTE is not a school. Overtime Elite partners with Xceed Prep, an accredited online school, which grants the players their high school diplomas. Online school may work for a lot of guys but the focus is clearly on basketball.

Exactly. It's an actual league with their own gym in Midtown Atlanta that has multiple teams. They have raised over $250M in funding from the likes of Drake, Kevin Durant, Bezos Capital, etc. to fund the league and the digital side of their business.

 

[New Pal Boiler]

If you're a scholie athlete, you have to work at not being able to stay eligible. Of course, we get some talented guys who just don't realize how good they have it (Milton Wright) until it's too late. But, with the entire idea of the academic support system for athletes being to keep the talent on the field, you have to really be bad at it.

Joey Harris, Chris Booker, Kyle Ingraham… really haven’t had too many in my lifetime.

 

[Purdue Grad in Texas]

Joey Harris, Chris Booker, Kyle Ingraham… really haven’t had too many in my lifetime.

We will know ^ more ^ tomorrow.

 

[Do Dah Day]

If you're a scholie athlete, you have to work at not being able to stay eligible. Of course, we get some talented guys who just don't realize how good they have it (Milton Wright) until it's too late. But, with the entire idea of the academic support system for athletes being to keep the talent on the field, you have to really be bad at it.

As a student athlete mentor (not tutor, but mentor) for 8 years, you are more or less right. The less is that Purdue does NOT write papers or pull strings on tests for athletes. My athletes often complained that their friends at other schools (often SEC) got their papers written for them. The more is Purdue does provide lots of mentoring and tutoring. But we were NEVER ALLOWED to touch a keyboard when an athlete had a paper pulled up. We could NOT provide them words or sentences. Only suggested things to think about.

 

[ChoiceBeef]

As a student athlete mentor (not tutor, but mentor) for 8 years, you are more or less right. The less is that Purdue does NOT write papers or pull strings on tests for athletes. My athletes often complained that their friends at other schools (often SEC) got their papers written for them. The more is Purdue does provide lots of mentoring and tutoring. But we were NEVER ALLOWED to touch a keyboard when an athlete had a paper pulled up. We could NOT provide them words or sentences. Only suggested things to think about.

My chemistry lab partner my freshman year was a TE on the football team. He got 5-10 pts higher on every single lab even though it was identical labs we turned in. I don't think he got help on tests but those 5-10 pts over a semester on labs certainly gave him a bigger cushion to screw up on tests that I wasn't afforded.

I am glad now because I would have hated being a lab rat instead of doing things I actually like.

 

[New Pal Boiler]

My chemistry lab partner my freshman year was a TE on the football team. He got 5-10 pts higher on every single lab even though it was identical labs we turned in. I don't think he got help on tests but those 5-10 pts over a semester on labs certainly gave him a bigger cushion to screw up on tests that I wasn't afforded.

I am glad now because I would have hated being a lab rat instead of doing things I actually like.

I had Com 114 with a basketball player back in the mid 90s… saw him once.

 

[Smokestack91]

I had Com 114 with a basketball player back in the mid 90s… saw him once.

I'm surprised, because Gene did make them go to class. We had a basketball player who lived on our floor, and it was common for the someone to come knocking on his door early in the morning when it was time to go to class.

 

[DrEss]

I had a class at Krannert my Senior year that Kevin Stallings was in. I can’t say he was there every session because I wasn’t.

 

[Boiler79]

I'm surprised, because Gene did make them go to class. We had a basketball player who lived on our floor, and it was common for the someone to come knocking on his door early in the morning when it was time to go to class.

I saw Cam Stephen’s and Jamaal Davis receiving tutoring in the 1st semester of ‘97. It’s clear Gene didn’t interfere with their academic issues. I don’t think either of them lasted very long.

 

[Do Dah Day]

My chemistry lab partner my freshman year was a TE on the football team. He got 5-10 pts higher on every single lab even though it was identical labs we turned in. I don't think he got help on tests but those 5-10 pts over a semester on labs certainly gave him a bigger cushion to screw up on tests that I wasn't afforded.

I am glad now because I would have hated being a lab rat instead of doing things I actually like.

There are instructor/profs known to like athletes. That is diff from receiving direct help

 

[Wolegib]

I had Com 114 with a basketball player back in the mid 90s… saw him once.

In the late 70’s I had psych with 3 starting members of the basketball team! They were present the first day and I saw them at the final exam. I felt rather dumb actually going to class!

 

[BoilerFan#35]

I get the concern of him staying at OTE but his both aunt and mom had big college careers. Cant imagine them telling him that OTE is the way to go when hes set to graduate.

 

[ChoiceBeef]

I get the concern of him staying at OTE but his both aunt and mom had big college careers. Cant imagine them telling him that OTE is the way to go when hes set to graduate.

When the rumors started flying that he might reclassify, the discussion was he was close for credits to graduate and go to college. Age and physicality were his issues.

 

[cgnops]

My chemistry lab partner my freshman year was a TE on the football team. He got 5-10 pts higher on every single lab even though it was identical labs we turned in. I don't think he got help on tests but those 5-10 pts over a semester on labs certainly gave him a bigger cushion to screw up on tests that I wasn't afforded.

I am glad now because I would have hated being a lab rat instead of doing things I actually like.

Lab classes and lectures are different classes, 5-10 pts in lab doesn’t get you any points in the lecture course. The labs are also all graded by a different graduate student teaching assistant than the tests in lecture. Grading labs the TA basically is in their own, during exams the TAs sit with the professor and all grade together. Generally one TA in the group does the same question, another TA does another question. So even though we divvy up grading assignments the whole section gets graded the same (in theory). Lab classes the graduate student TA has a lot of lee way and may or may not “play favorites.”

 

[northside100]

His Mom sounds like she's running the ship. She seems like a level headed person and seems to be guiding him in the right direction for his future.

Um, she played in the WNBA, I'd hope that she's guiding his basketball decisions.

 

[northside100]

No offense to anyone out there (well, when has that ever stopped me), but I always find it comical when people make a big deal out of getting a high school diploma. It's pretty damn easy to do the minimum and still get by.

I'm going to sound like my kids and say that you're making pretty big assumptions there around home life when you say that. I was fortunate enough to grow up in an environment where it was easy, I had friends who were not.

 

[SCBoiler1]

Th

I get the concern of him staying at OTE but his both aunt and mom had big college careers. Cant imagine them telling him that OTE is the way to go when hes set to graduate.

Then why is he there in the first place. His focus appears to be on basketball. Even if he goes to Purdue, I don't believe his intention would be to stay 4 years and get a degree. He's going to do what's best for him from a basketball stand point. As someone who is a huge Purdue fan, I think he'd be making a mistake coming to Purdue if his goal is simply to play in the NBA.

OTE had 4 guys drafted last year. Purdue has 1 former player in the NBA. If he's wants to be a one and done there are far better options than Purdue. Kentucky has 21 former players in the NBA. Hell, OTE plays its games in Atlanta so its not like he's coming to Purdue to be close to home.

My prediction..... He gone.

 

[BoilerDaddy]

Th

Then why is he there in the first place. His focus appears to be on basketball. Even if he goes to Purdue, I don't believe his intention would be to stay 4 years and get a degree. He's going to do what's best for him from a basketball stand point. As someone who is a huge Purdue fan, I think he'd be making a mistake coming to Purdue if his goal is simply to play in the NBA.

OTE had 4 guys drafted last year. Purdue has 1 former player in the NBA. If he's wants to be a one and done there are far better options than Purdue. Kentucky has 21 former players in the NBA. Hell, OTE plays its games in Atlanta so its not like he's coming to Purdue to be close to home.

My prediction..... He gone.

Look who Kentucky recruits. Correlation does not necessarily imply causation. Painter would have those 21 guys in the NBA, as well.

 

[Hausta01]

Look who Kentucky recruits. Correlation does not necessarily imply causation. Painter would have those 21 guys in the NBA, as well.

Exactly - the 4 guys OTE got drafted were getting drafted no matter where they went. Purdue has done a great job getting guys like Dakota Mathias and Trevion Williams even to the point where they are getting on rosters.

 

[bonefish1]

I'm going to sound like my kids and say that you're making pretty big assumptions there around home life when you say that. I was fortunate enough to grow up in an environment where it was easy, I had friends who were not.

Yeh, I know people come from different backgrounds and circumstances, but completing high school is mostly just showing up and doing the minimum.
But, if you at least do the homework assigned (instead of smoking weed, skipping class, playing video games, etc) and go to class, you have about a 95% chance of graduating taking the minimum requirement classes.

 

[New Pal Boiler]

Yeh, I know people come from different backgrounds and circumstances, but completing high school is mostly just showing up and doing the minimum.
But, if you at least do the homework assigned (instead of smoking weed, skipping class, playing video games, etc) and go to class, you have about a 95% chance of graduating taking the minimum requirement classes.

This is true. But graduating from high school and gaining athletic eligibility at Purdue are not the same thing.