Welcome to this week's rendition of the weekly upload, for all of your weeklong recruiting news, notes, and everyone's favorite tidbits. Invite your friends to read!
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The Portal Looms for Matt Painter and his Boilermaker Basketball Squad
As stated last week, Purdue is not immune to the transfer portal, even though Coach Painter has not seen a single player announce they are transferring yet. That is an impressive feat in its own right, proving the culture and foundation that he has built at Purdue makes this an even more difficult decision for these players. Last season, over 1,600 players entered the portal, and the numbers are quickly approaching that same level, and there are plenty of players in the portal that Purdue has reached out to already as well, as @Casey Bartley has been reporting this week.But, as stated, Purdue is not immune to this and it is thought that Matt Painter will eventually lose at minimum one player to the transfer market, but it is hard to gauge who that will be. Most arrows point to Brandon Newman, who many thought was on his way out last season, then came back, only to not start until March. It very well could be him, or another small forward/wing type, as from everything I have seen personally, it will be hard to keep ultra-athletic and skilled incoming freshman Myles Colvin off of the court.
If Zach Edey chooses to come back, do one of the bigs transfer? In this day and age, the arrow would point to yes. But, those players all seem to be closely tied together and maybe that chemistry they have built will keep them together.
A lot seems to rely on Zach Edey's choice, too. If he doesn't come back, does Purdue try and lure one of the more notable names from the portal to try and provide some star power? Right now it appears that Painter is looking for someone to fill more of a David Jenkins Jr., role, which is fair. It's hard to argue against the idea that Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer will only get better.. and they both just started 35 games for Purdue, so they are already seasoned.
What Purdue immediately needs though is another ball handler, whether that is a starting-caliber player or not. A scorer off the bench wouldn't hurt either, obviously.
A personal favorite in the portal, personally is Northern Arizona Transfer, Jalen Cone. He has spent time at the power 5 level already, playing at Virginia Tech, and can handle the ball, score, make difficult shots, and handle the pressure well. Purdue has reportedly reached out to Cone. He has a small frame at only 5-11 but has an elite shot-making ability, most importantly he is a career 39% shooter from behind the arc. Check out Casey's article for some more insight into the portal.
BoilerUpload - Update 3/29: Purdue Basketball - Transfer Targets
An updated list of potential targets and known contacts as Purdue searches the portal for back court help.
purdue.rivals.com
Purdue Reaches Midway Point of Spring Season
Seems like everything has gone very well in the inaugural Spring Season for Coach Ryan Walters. We are only allowed to see about thirty minutes of practice, with Jace going, but it seems like, as you can all guess, there is a youthful energy at practice. Players are having fun, coaches are energetic, and it is just a totally new era, thankfully.Hudson Card is as locked in as the starting quarterback as anyone in the nation is. The Texas Transfer can really spin it, he is deadly accurate in his short and mid-game, and I won't say he has a huge arm to just throw it deep at any given moment, but also, I am not sure that Purdue has a wide receiver to take the top off of the defense like that this year anyway. His intermediate passing game will be vital in the Air Raid.
Keep an eye out for Milton Wright, he is at Purdue and working towards his eligibility still as I reported a couple of weeks ago, Purdue would take him back on the roster if given the chance. Speaking of roster movement, Sione Finau jumped into the portal yesterday, he was being passed up on the depth chart by transfers and youth.
Sanoussi Kane is the best player on the defensive side of the ball this Spring, in my opinion. He was one of the best players overall on last year's roster as well, he will only get better under the commitment to the defensive side of the ball by the new staff.
Cornerback is rather thin, still, even with Salim Turner-Muhammad coming this summer, Purdue may look to the portal for some additional help there. Thin and young does not usually end well at that position in college football.
- https://purdue.rivals.com/news/tyrone-tracy-jr-making-the-most-of-full-time-move-to-running-back
- https://purdue.rivals.com/news/a-new-system-has-purdue-s-defense-excited-to-play-free-
Purdue Football Visitors
This trio was in from Wisconsin this week, they all play at the same high school, must be nice to be that head ball coach.
These guys were here last Saturday.
Charlie Jones' brother, Luke Jones will be here this summer, he is a 2023 PWO.
2023 Wide Receiver Luke Jones Commits To Purdue As PWO
Luke Jones announces he will be joining Purdue football as a preferred walk-on ahead of next season.
