As I try to recover still from getting back in town at six am after the game last night, I wanted to jot down a few things as portal business picks up across college basketball and how it pertains to Purdue.
If you haven't heard, Brian Waddell is the first Boiler to enter the portal. Travis picked that up at noon while I was still sleeping. This isn't a shock. Waddell joined Purdue late in the recruiting cycle out of Carmel and was a bit of a surprise pick up. Still, Waddell flashed with surprising athleticism, a decent shot, and good length. An ACL injury derailed things pretty quickly for him. He never really got all the way back, it didn't seem, and even if he had, he was always fighting an uphill battle to playing time. It was likely never going to happen at Purdue so hopefully Waddell can find a place where he can finally get on the court and showcase a unique blend of size and skill that should have him excel in the mid-major market.
I would imagine that Waddell will be followed by Will Berg for similar reasons in the not so distant future. This isn't something I've heard directly from Berg or his camp, just a pretty obvious reading of the tea leaves. While Berg did an admirable job, it's clear that on the court he's not provided the size or physicality that Purdue really needed this last season. He had never really gotten a chance and it was clear Painter felt he owed him that. Jacobsen's leg injury offered an opportunity but Purdue moved pretty quickly to a two man big rotation with Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn besides some small moments of Berg in the tournament. With Painter's answers last night of wanting to add more physacility to the roster, center is obviously an area where he will look to do that. Purdue needs more physacility and it needs more rebounding. Berg should look to find a school where he can comfortably get 20-30 minutes to get more comfortable with the game at this level. That just won't be available at Purdue.
Which is a good chance to focus on what Painter said last night while talking about the portal. He pretty much said Purdue didn't have the physacility it needed on its roster and that was on him. He also indicated that he's going to fix that this off-season. It doesn't take mind reading to know that physicality isn't something you look for from freshman. Painter's portal pursuits will be about adding heft, size, toughness, and rebounding to a roster full of very skilled players.
I don't expect any movement from the guard room. Purdue will bring in Antione West Jr. who Painter has raved about. He's going to be good, though I would guess that he's almost certain to redshirt this coming up season. Purdue's guard room is full with Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, CJ Cox, and Gicarri Harris in addition to adding redshirt freshman Jack Benter next year.
That said, elephant in the room. Braden Smith is and is going to receive very large, multi-million dollar offers from just about every school that has those kinds of funds. Especially after that showcase he just put on against Houston. National media is raving about Smith's performance, coaches will be, too, and it's just inevitable. Smith has a chance to set the all-time assists record next season and will stand as a favorite for national player of the year and Purdue will be, if he returns, a national title favorite. Which my gut tells me is how it will play out. While I think some of Purdue's players were rubbed the wrong way by fan reaction to its first real extended losing streak since being at Purdue, Smith's relationship with Painter and especially PJ Thompson is something special. Purdue has also given the keys to Smith, built the house, designed the floor plan, and let him have full operation of Purdue's offense. Coach's will promise Smith that at their school, too, I'm sure, but it's a proven commodity and has worked at Purdue for three years now. Purdue will cough a considerable amount of money to soothe Smith's pocket books I would imagine and have been told they have already been working on it.
In the same vein, I'm sure there will be money thrown in Kaufman-Renn's direction, but he's one of the few players that have specifically mentioned coming back next year. Particularly in regards to taking on Michigan again. Those aren't exactly legally binding words, but I would be shocked if Kaufman-Renn has any real interest in leaving at this stage when the offense operates through him as much as it does and him telling Painter before his sophomore season that he could wait one year, but not two.
That said, Purdue is going to lose a surprise player, I'd almost guarantee it. The math of minutes doesn't work out with Purdue bringing back Daniel Jacobsen from injury, and most likely another big, and probably at least one more player from the portal. Jacobsen alone means that TKR moves back to the four for good portions of games, eliminating even more minutes for Myles Colvin and Camden Heide, who both could probably do with an expanded role and minutes next season. And while Heide and Colvin could also play more as a three or potentially even a guard like role, that runs up against the glutton of guards Painter has with Smith, Loyer, Harris, and Cox.
There's also just the fact the offense runs so much through Smith and Kaufman-Renn that it could be appealing to go to another school where someone's offense can offer more opportunities for play making and having the ball in their hands.
This week I'll get more into who Painter is targeting and how they'd fit with Purdue, but for now, I expect Painter to get one splash transfer - probably a center that might end up being Purdue's starter next year, leaving Jacobsen to play off the bench. Especially if Painter gets some of the bigs he's targeting currently. Purdue is going to rebound the ball well next year and it'll probably need to add a physical, defensive minded wing or forward along with the big.
As a sneak peak of who Purdue will be looking at in the portal: Welcome South Dakota State's big man, Oscar Cluff, who will be visiting with Purdue this weekend after averaging 18 ppgs, 12 rpgs, and maybe most importantly, 3 apgs. He's maybe the best rebounder in the country and would instantly catapult Purdue's roster to another level.
I'll have more about the portal and more from the locker room and interviews from yesterday throughout the week.
If you haven't heard, Brian Waddell is the first Boiler to enter the portal. Travis picked that up at noon while I was still sleeping. This isn't a shock. Waddell joined Purdue late in the recruiting cycle out of Carmel and was a bit of a surprise pick up. Still, Waddell flashed with surprising athleticism, a decent shot, and good length. An ACL injury derailed things pretty quickly for him. He never really got all the way back, it didn't seem, and even if he had, he was always fighting an uphill battle to playing time. It was likely never going to happen at Purdue so hopefully Waddell can find a place where he can finally get on the court and showcase a unique blend of size and skill that should have him excel in the mid-major market.
I would imagine that Waddell will be followed by Will Berg for similar reasons in the not so distant future. This isn't something I've heard directly from Berg or his camp, just a pretty obvious reading of the tea leaves. While Berg did an admirable job, it's clear that on the court he's not provided the size or physicality that Purdue really needed this last season. He had never really gotten a chance and it was clear Painter felt he owed him that. Jacobsen's leg injury offered an opportunity but Purdue moved pretty quickly to a two man big rotation with Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn besides some small moments of Berg in the tournament. With Painter's answers last night of wanting to add more physacility to the roster, center is obviously an area where he will look to do that. Purdue needs more physacility and it needs more rebounding. Berg should look to find a school where he can comfortably get 20-30 minutes to get more comfortable with the game at this level. That just won't be available at Purdue.
Which is a good chance to focus on what Painter said last night while talking about the portal. He pretty much said Purdue didn't have the physacility it needed on its roster and that was on him. He also indicated that he's going to fix that this off-season. It doesn't take mind reading to know that physicality isn't something you look for from freshman. Painter's portal pursuits will be about adding heft, size, toughness, and rebounding to a roster full of very skilled players.
I don't expect any movement from the guard room. Purdue will bring in Antione West Jr. who Painter has raved about. He's going to be good, though I would guess that he's almost certain to redshirt this coming up season. Purdue's guard room is full with Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer, CJ Cox, and Gicarri Harris in addition to adding redshirt freshman Jack Benter next year.
That said, elephant in the room. Braden Smith is and is going to receive very large, multi-million dollar offers from just about every school that has those kinds of funds. Especially after that showcase he just put on against Houston. National media is raving about Smith's performance, coaches will be, too, and it's just inevitable. Smith has a chance to set the all-time assists record next season and will stand as a favorite for national player of the year and Purdue will be, if he returns, a national title favorite. Which my gut tells me is how it will play out. While I think some of Purdue's players were rubbed the wrong way by fan reaction to its first real extended losing streak since being at Purdue, Smith's relationship with Painter and especially PJ Thompson is something special. Purdue has also given the keys to Smith, built the house, designed the floor plan, and let him have full operation of Purdue's offense. Coach's will promise Smith that at their school, too, I'm sure, but it's a proven commodity and has worked at Purdue for three years now. Purdue will cough a considerable amount of money to soothe Smith's pocket books I would imagine and have been told they have already been working on it.
In the same vein, I'm sure there will be money thrown in Kaufman-Renn's direction, but he's one of the few players that have specifically mentioned coming back next year. Particularly in regards to taking on Michigan again. Those aren't exactly legally binding words, but I would be shocked if Kaufman-Renn has any real interest in leaving at this stage when the offense operates through him as much as it does and him telling Painter before his sophomore season that he could wait one year, but not two.
That said, Purdue is going to lose a surprise player, I'd almost guarantee it. The math of minutes doesn't work out with Purdue bringing back Daniel Jacobsen from injury, and most likely another big, and probably at least one more player from the portal. Jacobsen alone means that TKR moves back to the four for good portions of games, eliminating even more minutes for Myles Colvin and Camden Heide, who both could probably do with an expanded role and minutes next season. And while Heide and Colvin could also play more as a three or potentially even a guard like role, that runs up against the glutton of guards Painter has with Smith, Loyer, Harris, and Cox.
There's also just the fact the offense runs so much through Smith and Kaufman-Renn that it could be appealing to go to another school where someone's offense can offer more opportunities for play making and having the ball in their hands.
This week I'll get more into who Painter is targeting and how they'd fit with Purdue, but for now, I expect Painter to get one splash transfer - probably a center that might end up being Purdue's starter next year, leaving Jacobsen to play off the bench. Especially if Painter gets some of the bigs he's targeting currently. Purdue is going to rebound the ball well next year and it'll probably need to add a physical, defensive minded wing or forward along with the big.
As a sneak peak of who Purdue will be looking at in the portal: Welcome South Dakota State's big man, Oscar Cluff, who will be visiting with Purdue this weekend after averaging 18 ppgs, 12 rpgs, and maybe most importantly, 3 apgs. He's maybe the best rebounder in the country and would instantly catapult Purdue's roster to another level.
I'll have more about the portal and more from the locker room and interviews from yesterday throughout the week.
