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Louisville Moore D-end J.J. Weaver said last night that he’s scheduled to officially visit West Lafayette the weekend of June 8-10.
If you ranked Purdue’s targets, regardless of position, Weaver would probably be a top-10 sort of player if not higher, a player they’ve been on forever and have had on campus at least three times now.
He’s a priority for Purdue, but for other people, too. Louisville is going to be there ’til the end and Georgia and Miami (Fla.) have offered verbally, and that’s a distinction we’re going to start drawing on every recruit the rest of the spring until the written verifications comes in. Written offers can go out Aug. 1, the date that targets are separated from just offers, funny as that sounds.
But now, if a school brings a player in for a spring or summer official visit, then they’re a legitimate target, clearly.
Weaver, obviously, is.
So is Dontay Hunter, who’s booked for an OV, he said, the weekend of June 15-17.
And Sulaiman Kpapka from Texas, a player Purdue wants badly as well, seemingly as a rush-end type. Kapka said last night he’s visiting Purdue this summer, but just doesn’t have a date yet, that he was supposed to talk to assistant coach Derrick Jackson today about it.
Vandy and BC are two others he’s looking at, but the Dallas area native sounds very interested in Purdue.
It does not sound like Purdue will bring George Karlaftis over for an official visit in the summer, but rather hold on to it for December in order to get him in right before the December signing date, when Karlaftis absolutely will sign because he’s a mid-year graduate.
DE is a key position in this class, again. Here’s our review of some of the top targets from yesterday.
In other official visit news, or non-news, I guess, Brownsburg wide receiver Bryce Kirtz is supposed to be deciding soon and said last night that he’s not going to take an early official visit to Purdue, “because it’s so close.”
To our knowledge, Kirtz hasn’t visited since a junior day in the winter, but track season has kept him from making many visits other than the Michigan trip a few weekends ago. (BN)
We do know Oregon and all its “bling,” for lack of a better term, and its success, of course, have Okoro’s attention and long have, but we also know that Purdue makes all the sense in the world and it has numerous people around him that would prefer it, part of the reason this was all Purdue not long ago.
Currently, it may be a matter of the player leaning one way, but his circle nudging him the other, and confusion setting in. This isn’t an overnight decision he’s making, but not a fully flushed out one either, because of the reclassification. He has been preparing for a spring signing for months, but it’s still a shortened runway and a situation where he’s been all over the map in terms of what’s most important to him, things like that.
So while it may look like Oregon right now, we think it is very much subject to change and Purdue may very well be it. From the outset of this, most everyone with any knowledge here — as opposed to Twitter blowhards who don’t know anything – have said they’d be surprised if he went too far away, and that academics and big man development would matter. Purdue would win all those boxes, by any objective measure.
Those things matter. It’s just a matter, in the end, of what winds up mattering most.
As has always been the case, if Purdue gets him, good for them. This is a player they wanted for 2019 and they got in deep enough with to where they simply couldn’t just walk away once it became a 2018 deal, but it goes into this knowing that if Okoro comes, almost a third of its scholarship space is tied up in centers, single-positional players unless Matt Haarms can move out or Trevion Williams can trim down considerably and move out.
That’s far from ideal, but Okoro is a high-ceiling player with an NBA body and you take those players when you can get them, even if it may not be less than ideal. (BN)
It will be an unofficial visit.
Purdue would love to get Graham wrapped up, but if not, then keep its momentum going with him.
Funny thing: Purdue has a clear hierarchy at safety and the two targets are figurative neighbors.
Graham and Marvin Grant are the two safeties Purdue wants and both players know it and if Purdue can get one, it may help with the other.
Grant postponed his May 5 announcement plans and will now visit Kentucky before making his decision, a UK program that’s never easy to recruit against. Grant visited Purdue two weekends ago, so the pushing of things back may not have been ideal, but they’ll be there in the end nonetheless. (BN)
A planned visit to Michigan has been called off at Michigan's hand and with the competition for the 2-guard now reduced by one, Purdue's chances to land Reaves may be stronger now, though he still has really good options. ARHoops.com reported Reaves is down to Purdue, Okahoma, Iowa State and Northern Iowa.
Reaves is from Arkansas, but apparently has some family connections to Indiana that might make for some appeal and a depth chart situation - if that matters as much to transfers - that might be favorable considering Ryan Cline will be clearing out after this season and Carsen Edwards will either be headed into his senior season or headed to the NBA this time a year from now.
The 6-5 Reaves was a 43-percent three-point shooter in an average of 20-plus minutes for Wichita State this past season and both shocked and disappointed their program and fans with his decision to transfer. Sounds like he was becoming something of a fan favorite in addition to a standout player.
Wherever he goes, Reaves will have to sit out next season, then will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Purdue has recruited a number of sit-out transfers in recent years — a market that, in our opinion, would suit them well to get into — but hasn't had much luck. (BN)
“We’re going to do that some,” Brohm said. “We’ve got tentative plans, but nothing concrete because everything has changed a little bit based on where we’re being more active and where we feel like we have a better chance. We will be at some.” (staff)
"It would be cool,” George Karlaftis said. “We're kind of different personalities, but I think he'd like to play with me and I'd like to play with him.”
Assuming Purdue holds on to George, it could have real advantages with Yanni, because of the family connections that mattered so much to getting George committed early.
George has visits set up with to USC and Florida in June. We’d be surprised if either was able to flip him.
Michigan would be the one you’d probably most worry about because it’s not as far and because of Jim Harbaugh’s knack for turning things on their side, as he did in the first place with all this, but we do think Purdue’s good here. Obviously there’s some doublespeak involved here in a player saying he’s absolutely committed but also taking visits elsewhere, but as we’ve said all along, the reasons he committed in the first place aren’t changing, and when push comes to shove, it’s one thing to turn down the hometown school and another to commit to it, then spurn it.
But we’ll see.
From Purdue’s perspective, you never want your commitments standing on the campuses of places like Florida or Clemson or having coaches like Harbaugh in their ears, but Karlaftis is a big-time player and they don’t come easy and sometimes you have to play it on their terms. The good news, we suppose, is that there’s no new offer that could come that would change things because everyone’s already offered. (BN)
Purdue is still going to have a strong chance at Jack Kiser even after he was offered by Notre Dame, but we can tell you that that’s an offer Kiser was going to work for this summer, and there was probably a reason for that. Purdue is entrenched, though, and has built a strong relationship, and the days of it summarily losing recruits like this at hello from somebody else seem to be fading.
He’s not as name-recognizable a target, but DT Isaiah Gibson does have a Purdue official visit set up. The offer he just got from Wisconsin, though may be a big one.
Note: Verbal offers are what they are. We can usually speak to who’s a priority for Purdue, but only Purdue.
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