NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. - Today marked the opening of Nike's Sweet Sixteen tournament for junior teams as a precursor to tomorrow's tip-off of the Peach Jam.
Purdue did not have any coaches in the building today for the junior EYBL round, but will have people tomorrow when the seniors-to-be first play.
We did see a couple players Purdue is showing interest in in the Class of 2017 today and will pass along some observations below.
(Note: This was to be our Class of 2017 focus day on this trip, but we do not have media privileges here at the Peach Jam, only entry to the facility as spectators, so unfortunately, observations will be all there is for today.)
Ikey Obiagu: The 6-11 center from Decatur, Ga., and top-25 player nationally by Rivals.com already looks like a man physically and at first look, seems to be much further along as a defensive player. He is a real presence at the rim and aggressive shot-blocker who looks stronger than the 220 pounds he is listed at online. He looks like he has a body like A.J. Hammons has right now, maybe a little lighter, but well developed nonetheless. He moves OK too.
Considering the dearth of true 5 men now, here is guessing that Obiagu is going to be a very highly sought-after young man.
He took just two shots in the game we saw parts of tonight, but was credited with 11 blocks and nine boards.
Da'Monte Williams: The son of former Illinois standout Frank Williams doesn't have his dad's wide body, but he does have length, great athleticism, tight handles, some wiggle to him as a slasher and a jumper that was often short in the game we saw today but looks sound.
Illinois has already offered Williams and one would think they will be attractive to him, as would be Kansas should the Jayhawks come at him hard. Purdue has been watching him and may have had him on campus for an elite camp at some point, can't remember. He was at the Boilermakers' team camp in June.
Williams was dominant in a narrow Mac Irvin Fire loss tonight, finishing with 21 points and seven boards and making a bunch of big plays late in the game. He was the only reason his team had a chance at the end.
Christian Negron: The top-100 6-6 swing man is fielding interest from Purdue and has already scored offers from Iowa, Illinois, DePaul and others. He's a big, relatively physically mature player who looks like that true small forward type. He was very good at Spiece in the spring in the games we saw and was OK tonight. He can rebound for his size.
Tyler Polley: The stretch-4 from Florida has a Keita Bates-Diop look to him from a physical perspective, but might not be as tall, as long, or as explosive. But he is really, really skilled and seems to have a good sense about him basketball-wise. Seems like a Matt Painter type of player at the 4 and that 2017 class might be the year Purdue looks for Vince Edwards' eventual replacement, though there are some moving parts there.
Polley looks like a true face-up forward, but he has to get bigger and stronger. That much is very apparent.
Polley is ranked 92nd nationally by Rivals and was one of the juniors Purdue reached out to pretty quickly once college coaches could start calling 2017s.
Wish we had interviews with some of these guys, obviously.
Instead, I'll try to turn around a banked story later tonight from the Under Armour event.
Tomorrow, we'll see Purdue 2016 targets Zach Norvell, Rodney Miller (for the first time because he missed the Lexington EYBL I covered with a finger injury), along with point guard targets Xavier Simpson, Carsen Edwards and others.
Simpson said that he is still targeting an August visit to Purdue, by the way.
Fire away with questions if you have any.
Purdue did not have any coaches in the building today for the junior EYBL round, but will have people tomorrow when the seniors-to-be first play.
We did see a couple players Purdue is showing interest in in the Class of 2017 today and will pass along some observations below.
(Note: This was to be our Class of 2017 focus day on this trip, but we do not have media privileges here at the Peach Jam, only entry to the facility as spectators, so unfortunately, observations will be all there is for today.)
Ikey Obiagu: The 6-11 center from Decatur, Ga., and top-25 player nationally by Rivals.com already looks like a man physically and at first look, seems to be much further along as a defensive player. He is a real presence at the rim and aggressive shot-blocker who looks stronger than the 220 pounds he is listed at online. He looks like he has a body like A.J. Hammons has right now, maybe a little lighter, but well developed nonetheless. He moves OK too.
Considering the dearth of true 5 men now, here is guessing that Obiagu is going to be a very highly sought-after young man.
He took just two shots in the game we saw parts of tonight, but was credited with 11 blocks and nine boards.
Da'Monte Williams: The son of former Illinois standout Frank Williams doesn't have his dad's wide body, but he does have length, great athleticism, tight handles, some wiggle to him as a slasher and a jumper that was often short in the game we saw today but looks sound.
Illinois has already offered Williams and one would think they will be attractive to him, as would be Kansas should the Jayhawks come at him hard. Purdue has been watching him and may have had him on campus for an elite camp at some point, can't remember. He was at the Boilermakers' team camp in June.
Williams was dominant in a narrow Mac Irvin Fire loss tonight, finishing with 21 points and seven boards and making a bunch of big plays late in the game. He was the only reason his team had a chance at the end.
Christian Negron: The top-100 6-6 swing man is fielding interest from Purdue and has already scored offers from Iowa, Illinois, DePaul and others. He's a big, relatively physically mature player who looks like that true small forward type. He was very good at Spiece in the spring in the games we saw and was OK tonight. He can rebound for his size.
Tyler Polley: The stretch-4 from Florida has a Keita Bates-Diop look to him from a physical perspective, but might not be as tall, as long, or as explosive. But he is really, really skilled and seems to have a good sense about him basketball-wise. Seems like a Matt Painter type of player at the 4 and that 2017 class might be the year Purdue looks for Vince Edwards' eventual replacement, though there are some moving parts there.
Polley looks like a true face-up forward, but he has to get bigger and stronger. That much is very apparent.
Polley is ranked 92nd nationally by Rivals and was one of the juniors Purdue reached out to pretty quickly once college coaches could start calling 2017s.
Wish we had interviews with some of these guys, obviously.
Instead, I'll try to turn around a banked story later tonight from the Under Armour event.
Tomorrow, we'll see Purdue 2016 targets Zach Norvell, Rodney Miller (for the first time because he missed the Lexington EYBL I covered with a finger injury), along with point guard targets Xavier Simpson, Carsen Edwards and others.
Simpson said that he is still targeting an August visit to Purdue, by the way.
Fire away with questions if you have any.
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