Hi, me again.
Today, I spent the whole day over at Purdue watching the program's first big-school team camp and starting a collection of parking tickets.
Some intel on the three big prospects there today ...
It's June and winning and losing doesn't matter all that much this time of year, and Heritage Christian did lose the three games in which Colvin played extensively — he basically sat out the last game after kinda limping off early on — but the 2023 Purdue recruit was really good today, especially against Munster, a game in which Heritage snoozed through the first few minutes and fell behind 16-0 before going on to force overtime (only to lose in sudden death). Colvin carried his team to the extra session, raining threes and jumpers to buoy the comeback.
Colvin shot the ball at a really high level today, from three, from mid-range and all else.
He can make threes off the dribble and off the catch and did both today. He can make off-balance shots and he make shots with people up in his space.
I think he's an elite athlete and emerging physical force, but the shooting is absolutely a central piece to his value. All of that taken together makes for a hell of a package. The list of players Purdue's signed over the years who are as gifted as Colvin is a short one and I'm comfortable saying that Colvin's under-ranked by roughly a hundred spots, at least on Rivals, all due respect to the job our people do. This is an easy one to be off on, considering the visibility issue.
I mentioned before that Colvin's developing into a real physical force, getting bigger and stronger and playing like it. He bullied people in the post today for turnarounds and to create space for his shots. This is going to sound ridiculous, but I don't care: When Colvin posts on the wing, backs his man down, then fades to his back shoulder to shoot from the baseline, he does so with the same of explosive twitch and simple flick of the wrist that LeBron James does, going so far as to elevate then release the shot on the way down. Very distinct.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I AM NOT COMPARING MYLES COLVIN TO LEBRON JAMES AND IF YOU SAY I DID IN THREE YEARS I WILL NOT ONLY BAN YOU, BUT ALSO STALK YOU.
Anyway, that took a weird turn.
Colvin did showcase his usual above-the-rim acrobatics today on a bunch of authoritative dunks, but also missed at least four of them trying to bring the house down.
Offensively, Colvin's built for the wing, both as a finisher but also a pull-up shooter, but he's also a real weapon in isolation, because he's got a lot of game to him and physical advantages of every kind against almost anyone he'd encounter out in space.
A key to him being great at the next level will be his motor and his approach to the defensive end of the floor, where he wants for nothing from a tools perspective.
More of the same here: At minimum — at minimum — Catchings is gonna be a 6-9ish guy with length and defensive potential who can really shoot threes, a pure shooter.
At best, he's a top-shelf talent who can play basketball for a long, long time. That may sound like a mouthful about a player who's only recently become a notable prospect, but it's actually pretty obvious.
Catchings is a big-time shooter — a big-time shooter — and has shown some real ability to create his own shot, both with the dribble and his ability to create space physically. He's still kinda skinny, but he does throw his body around and generally plays bigger than you'd think with his body type. Three years from now, I'll bet he's 6-9, 185 or so and you'll forget the days he looked so raw physically, but right now, he does battle.
I've seen him get a bunch of contested offensive rebounds in crowds and put them back, including one today where he just reached through a crowd and willed himself to grab the board and score it. There's definitely some toughness there, too.
He turned the ball over a couple times today as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and can be a little loose with his handle at times, but all of this is part of the process for a player who's maybe 40 percent of the player he'll be one day, and I say that as someone who's probably seen him play more now than anyone who's not his coach, teammate or family.
But the most important thing here: Big-time shooter, with a great stroke. His makes are generally pure, and when he misses, it's rarely by much.
This guy ought to be an enormous priority for Purdue, and is, and I'm surprised he's not gotten any other offers since Purdue cracked the seal.
Here's the best way I'd put it with the Class of 2025er from Heritage Hills: If he was a senior-to-be, Purdue would still be all over him.
Instead, Sisley doesn't turn 16 'til August and he claimed a Purdue offer before he'd even played a high school game.
Not much new I can tell you here. Sisley can really handle the ball, can pass and his shooting might be the best thing he does. Smaller people he can kill in the post, and he does with extremely refined fundamentals reflective of a young player who's really been coached.
He's going to be bigger and stronger than he is now, obviously, and sometimes with advanced guys, the up-side might not be the same as for others, but Sisley's upside lies in his body developing.
He is also a plus athlete who easily can play above the rim as a finisher and shot-blocker, and gets off the floor with some real sudden-ness and bounce. He's a solid successive jumper, meaning he can jump, come down and pop right back up. Under-rated skill.
One other thing ...
• Penn's Markus Burton was good in the games I saw today, a scoring-minded guard who really uses his strength and physicality to his advantage. Can he be a point guard? Yeah, maybe.
Purdue's watching him, but has no scholarships to offer, so ...
Today, I spent the whole day over at Purdue watching the program's first big-school team camp and starting a collection of parking tickets.
Some intel on the three big prospects there today ...
It's June and winning and losing doesn't matter all that much this time of year, and Heritage Christian did lose the three games in which Colvin played extensively — he basically sat out the last game after kinda limping off early on — but the 2023 Purdue recruit was really good today, especially against Munster, a game in which Heritage snoozed through the first few minutes and fell behind 16-0 before going on to force overtime (only to lose in sudden death). Colvin carried his team to the extra session, raining threes and jumpers to buoy the comeback.
Colvin shot the ball at a really high level today, from three, from mid-range and all else.
He can make threes off the dribble and off the catch and did both today. He can make off-balance shots and he make shots with people up in his space.
I think he's an elite athlete and emerging physical force, but the shooting is absolutely a central piece to his value. All of that taken together makes for a hell of a package. The list of players Purdue's signed over the years who are as gifted as Colvin is a short one and I'm comfortable saying that Colvin's under-ranked by roughly a hundred spots, at least on Rivals, all due respect to the job our people do. This is an easy one to be off on, considering the visibility issue.
I mentioned before that Colvin's developing into a real physical force, getting bigger and stronger and playing like it. He bullied people in the post today for turnarounds and to create space for his shots. This is going to sound ridiculous, but I don't care: When Colvin posts on the wing, backs his man down, then fades to his back shoulder to shoot from the baseline, he does so with the same of explosive twitch and simple flick of the wrist that LeBron James does, going so far as to elevate then release the shot on the way down. Very distinct.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I AM NOT COMPARING MYLES COLVIN TO LEBRON JAMES AND IF YOU SAY I DID IN THREE YEARS I WILL NOT ONLY BAN YOU, BUT ALSO STALK YOU.
Anyway, that took a weird turn.
Colvin did showcase his usual above-the-rim acrobatics today on a bunch of authoritative dunks, but also missed at least four of them trying to bring the house down.
Offensively, Colvin's built for the wing, both as a finisher but also a pull-up shooter, but he's also a real weapon in isolation, because he's got a lot of game to him and physical advantages of every kind against almost anyone he'd encounter out in space.
A key to him being great at the next level will be his motor and his approach to the defensive end of the floor, where he wants for nothing from a tools perspective.
More of the same here: At minimum — at minimum — Catchings is gonna be a 6-9ish guy with length and defensive potential who can really shoot threes, a pure shooter.
At best, he's a top-shelf talent who can play basketball for a long, long time. That may sound like a mouthful about a player who's only recently become a notable prospect, but it's actually pretty obvious.
Catchings is a big-time shooter — a big-time shooter — and has shown some real ability to create his own shot, both with the dribble and his ability to create space physically. He's still kinda skinny, but he does throw his body around and generally plays bigger than you'd think with his body type. Three years from now, I'll bet he's 6-9, 185 or so and you'll forget the days he looked so raw physically, but right now, he does battle.
I've seen him get a bunch of contested offensive rebounds in crowds and put them back, including one today where he just reached through a crowd and willed himself to grab the board and score it. There's definitely some toughness there, too.
He turned the ball over a couple times today as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and can be a little loose with his handle at times, but all of this is part of the process for a player who's maybe 40 percent of the player he'll be one day, and I say that as someone who's probably seen him play more now than anyone who's not his coach, teammate or family.
But the most important thing here: Big-time shooter, with a great stroke. His makes are generally pure, and when he misses, it's rarely by much.
This guy ought to be an enormous priority for Purdue, and is, and I'm surprised he's not gotten any other offers since Purdue cracked the seal.
Here's the best way I'd put it with the Class of 2025er from Heritage Hills: If he was a senior-to-be, Purdue would still be all over him.
Instead, Sisley doesn't turn 16 'til August and he claimed a Purdue offer before he'd even played a high school game.
Not much new I can tell you here. Sisley can really handle the ball, can pass and his shooting might be the best thing he does. Smaller people he can kill in the post, and he does with extremely refined fundamentals reflective of a young player who's really been coached.
He's going to be bigger and stronger than he is now, obviously, and sometimes with advanced guys, the up-side might not be the same as for others, but Sisley's upside lies in his body developing.
He is also a plus athlete who easily can play above the rim as a finisher and shot-blocker, and gets off the floor with some real sudden-ness and bounce. He's a solid successive jumper, meaning he can jump, come down and pop right back up. Under-rated skill.
One other thing ...
• Penn's Markus Burton was good in the games I saw today, a scoring-minded guard who really uses his strength and physicality to his advantage. Can he be a point guard? Yeah, maybe.
Purdue's watching him, but has no scholarships to offer, so ...
