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Purdue has already filled its one need by landing transfer guard Spike Albrecht. Had one of Purdue's forwards left early, it still might not have needed to add somebody (and not sure there would have been anybody left worth adding anyway).
Now, obviously, Purdue keeps on Wisconsin forward Kostas Antetokounmpo, for whom Caleb Swanigan returning holds no bearing decision-wise. Different players, different roles. Antetokounmpo seems to be just looking for someone else to visit for comparison's sake. Maybe that's happened already and we don't even know. Very possible.
Anyway, the only possibility we'd see out there would be a multi-year transfer big man if Purdue can find one, because it has the scholarship space to absorb the only lay-out, but a potentially urgent frontcourt need next season, because it just had two forwards test the NBA waters and a center who could have or even should have.
Purdue will likely lose somebody next season, logic says, making this an important season and making a year from now at this team a situation where Purdue could need immediate frontcourt help.
It would be a welcomed scenario to find a good player, get him in the program for him to develop and learn, then add him to the mix next season. Obviously, the 2017 class is a big one for Purdue in the high school ranks, but Purdue may have the scholarship resources to take multiple people now and still sign a robust 2017 class.
But it would be a bit surprising still if Purdue signed multiple multi-year spring recruits, because of that urgency in 2017, from which we have good reason to believe it to be a leader for Jaren Jackson, Xavier Tillman and Malik Williams and maybe the leader for Nojel Eastern. We'll see what this new rush of offers means for Kyle Young, but Purdue's long been strong there, also. (BN)
Swanigan Saga 2016 took several turns Wednesday, swinging a bit into a “Twitter vigil” that was hauntingly familiar to Swanigan Saga 2015.
Last year (on April 10, to be exact), Swanigan tweeted his plans to attend Michigan State over Cal and Purdue, only to decommit a few weeks later. Few times have situations bounced back-and-forth so often, only to do so again a year latter.
Perhaps no one cares about this inside stuff but us, but Wednesday was a bit of a hectic day, in terms of figuring out what was what. We woke up to intel from a couple of sources thinking that Swanigan was leaning toward coming back to Purdue. But by about 1:30 p.m., that all changed when the sources said the opposite was true.
Situations like these can become a bit of a challenge — when nothing appears clear — because of concern that the tail is wagging the dog, so to speak. Are sources just sourcing reports that are sourcing other sources?
But at 2:56 p.m. indications — more solid ones this time — flipped back to Swanigan saying he was going to take his name out of the draft. Then, about an hour later, Swanigan tweeted his intentions.
The end of a crazy day. (staff)
"I'm just focusing on being able to lead a team, vocally," Edwards said, "and also just trying to become more consistent on my jump shot, having better percentages, and just controlling a team from the point guard position."
Edwards agreed that there will be an adjustment for him going from playing in an extremely up-tempo high school system to playing at a high level in college,
"That just comes with being a point guard and (learning) to play in the halfcourt," he said. (BN)
"It just comes down to how he's going to interview," the source said. "They know he's talented. What we're hearing is he's the most talented big man in the draft skill-wise. We'll see how it goes from here."
Hammons' team has heard 15-25 of the first round as a potential range.
"It's just the waiting game now," the source said. "He has to make a good impression."
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com said that's the biggest piece of the puzzle now for Hammons, who'll obviously deal with some consternation over his age come draft night.
The effort topic is still following Hammons, even though he came a long way at Purdue.
"As great a year as he had, there were still a lot of moments where he left you feeling like he was operating in the third gear," Givony said, "and that he has an on-and-off switch.
"That's scary, that he was that good not play hard all the time. I think some teams can look at that as a positive and say, 'Look at how good this guy is when he's not even really trying that hard. What's going to happen when he does?'" (BN)
• One name, which we have mentioned before, that will likely be in the mix for Purdue’s AD position is Northern Illinois’ Sean Frazier.
The Huskies' athletic director has football experience as a linebacker at Alabama from 1987-90 and served as an assistant football coach at Maine before getting into athletic administration.
He was on the athletic department staff at Wisconsin from 2007-13, including his last three years as deputy athletic director for the Badgers. Frazier has an infectious personality and is known in the industry for being very aggressive and an AD on the rise. The reason why we think Frazier will get a long look is simple: The search firm helping Purdue is DHR International, including primary consultant Pat Richter, the former Wisconsin AD. Frazier was hired at Wisconsin by Barry Alvarez, but Richter has kept close ties to the Badger program since his retirement just over a decade ago.
Richter and DHR’s Glenn Sugiyama were in Lafayette in April to conduct a focus group with Boilermaker donors on what they were looking for in an AD. So Richter has his hands in the Purdue AD search.
We believe interviews with the search committee will begin in the next few weeks and it is our thoughts that a new AD would be in place by the time football camp begins in early August. (staff)
• The search for a new baseball coach is only in its very early stages — and might not get started in full until after teams are eliminated from league tournament, which are this weekend — but we’ve put together a list of possible candidates.
Purdue, we think, might be willing to offer a multi-year contract, something it has historically shied away from with Olympic sports coaches. It might have to, if it wants to successfully lure away a top candidate. Many head coaches, and frequently top assistants in major conferences, are getting multi-year contracts nowadays. And there’s the AD issue too; a new baseball coach might want assurances that he won’t be replaced by a new boss in 12 months.
We don't think Purdue is going to wait for a new AD before hiring a new coach. With a dozen-plus incoming freshmen and another recruiting class to build, it can't afford to. Sport administrator Ed Howat, who led the soccer coach search a couple years ago, is leading this one also.
Following is our list of guys we think Purdue could consider:
Spencer Allen: The former Purdue assistant (2008-09) was integral in the recruiting efforts that ultimately led to the 2012 Big Ten title. He (along with fellow assistant Jaime Sailors) picked up commitments then from Kevin Plawecki, Cameron Perkins, Barrett Serrato and others in building the championship roster. But Allen, who also helped Illinois to a 50-win season as the Illini’s associate head coach in 2015, just finished his first year at Northwestern, lessening the likelihood that he’d be ready to move on. He also has a multiyear contract, probably with a buyout. The rebuilding Wildcats, who have significantly upgraded their facilities, were 15-39 in Spencer’s first season.
Drew Dickinson: A former Illinois pitcher — and fifth-year Illini pitching coach — Dickinson has been a big part of their recent run. In 2015, he helped the staff to a 2.55 ERA, the fifth-best in the nation, when the Illini advanced to their first Super Regional. Five pitchers were drafted after the season, including Tyler Jay, who went sixth overall. Dickinson has also been a lead recruiter, having secured a pretty good foothold in the state of Illinois.
Jeff Duncan: The first three seasons Duncan spent as Purdue’s top assistant — he left to take the head coaching job at Kent State after 2013 — might have been the best in the program’s history. The Boilermakers won 115 games from 2010 to 2012, including the 45-win Big Ten title season. Guided by Duncan, who served as the primary hitting coach, Purdue hit a Big Ten-best .316 in ‘12. But some might see Duncan as a reason why the Boilermakers have skid of late, with his recruiting efforts resulting in the current 13-man Purdue senior class that won only 10 games last season. However, in three years at Kent, Duncan is 109-57 (.657), including 42-12 this season. His multiyear contract at KSU, which apparently includes a buyout, could be a complication.
Jeff Isom: The former Boilermaker pitcher — the West Lafayette native played at Purdue ‘til 1993, then seven years professionally — is the third-year coach of the Joliet Slammers, of the independent Frontier League. He’s coached in the professional ranks, either in the minors or independent, since 2000, giving him a wealth of experience. But Isom has not had collegiate experience, which Purdue might see as a must. Been told, however, that Isom would be highly interested in the opening.
Greg Lovelady: Lovelady has had a solid run as the three-year head coach for Wright State, after a long run as an assistant coach for the Raiders. Since taking over for Rob Cooper, who is now rebuilding Penn State, Lovelady has a 119-54 record, with two wins in a ’15 NCAA Regional. Provided WSU wins the Horizon League tournament, the Raiders will make their second-straight NCAA. While serving as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, Lovelady helped Wright State to regionals in 2006, ’09 and ‘11. The former catcher is also a two-time national champions at Miami, being a captain on the 2001 squad.
Rich Maloney: Maloney has had a long, successful coaching career, with two tenures at Ball State and one at Michigan, where he had a .583 winning percentage from 2003-2012. As the Wolverine head coach, he guided UM to consecutive Big Ten titles from 2006-08, being coach of the year the latter two seasons. Michigan won a regional championship in 2007. But he was let go in 2012 after the program started to slip in his final four seasons. But his second stint at Ball State, where he’s the program’s winningest coach, has been as good as the first. This season, BSU is 32-25, its fourth consecutive 30-plus win year since Maloney returned. But Maloney could comfortably end his career in Muncie, where his son is the starting shortstop, rather than start again in the Big Ten.
Andrew See: A late addition to our list, See is in his first year as the pitching coach at Clemson. A Michigan native, See has experience at Duke and Ohio, where he spent six seasons. (Jim Schaus is the AD there). See interviewed for the open job at Northwestern last year, before Allen was hired.
Eric Snider: The Louisville assistant knows the area well, having spent the last two seasons as the Cardinals’ hitting coach and recruiting coordinator after 16 seasons as an Illinois assistant. Probably only a matter of time until Snider gets a head coaching gig. In his two years at UL, the Cardinals have 94-28 record, with a regional appearance in ’15 and likely one this season, plus he helped Illinois to regionals in 2011 and ’13. He might be a good fit, considering he spent so many years at a similar school in Illinois. He is an assistant with a multiyear contract that probably pays well. (KC)
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