Purdue Basketball’s Spring 2012 Recruiting Strategy
With the grind of AAU basketball tournaments every weekend and the crazy competition for top 150 recruits, high major programs must figure out their strategy to land the best prospects possible. Purdue is no different.
With Purdue already having four class of 2012 signees and three class of 2013 verbals, a lot of Purdue’s future roster is already planned. Without a doubt, the commitments in hand dictate Purdue’s current recruiting strategy.
The Boilers have gotten ahead of the curve and focused its main attention on the 2014 and 2015 classes. Meanwhile, most coaches are trying to nab top 2013 players (over 110 of the Rivals’ top 150 are still uncommitted). The added attention Purdue can devote to younger players should help them establish themselves as a player with many 2014-2015 players.
Only time will tell whether this recruiting strategy will pay off for Purdue because they have not received any commitments from 2014 players yet. Even though the Boilers have offers out to 2015 players, I wouldn’t expect any commitments soon.
Let’s break down the recruitment class by class:
2012
The class of 2012 is already settled, unless Caris Levert unexpectedly commits to Purdue. It’s unexpected because Levert has plenty of influence to choose Michigan over Purdue and signs point to him choosing the Wolverines (LINK).
On another note, Goldandblack.com has recently tweeted that 5th year senior transfer Julius Mays (Wright State) could possibly head to Purdue.
May 2, 2012 4:50 pm via Twitter for AndroidReplyRetweetFavorite
Hold the phone though…Mays to Purdue is not a sure thing, especially with the University of Kentucky showing interest.
If Purdue does not land either Levert or Mays, there are no clear ideas of who it would turn to next to fill the void of John Hart and Kelsey Barlow’s departures. There’s a good chance the Boilers would stick with the 11 scholarship players that it has and turn to the class of 2013 for its next recruit.
Needs: with the departure of John Hart and Kelsey Barlow, Purdue could use another ball handler. That’s why they’ve expressed interest in Mays and Levert.
2013
Purdue already has commitments in the bag from Bryson Scott, Kendall Stephens, and Basil Smotherman. All three are having good spring AAU seasons, but I’ll save that story for another day. If Purdue does not find another multi-year scholarship player like Levert, they’ll likely add a fourth recruit to this class.
Purdue seems to be playing the waiting game on the class of 2013 to determine whether they’ll have scholarships to offer. Until then, here is a cursory list of 2013 players that Purdue will at least track, if not recruit more heavily if a ride opens: Nigel Hayes, forward; Tanner Lancona, forward; Trevor Thompson, forward/center; Monte Morris, guard; and others.
Needs: The Boilers may look to find a skilled forward (which is what they had before Derek Willis decommitted). They may also look for another perimeter player if they are not happy with their guard play.
2014
At this early juncture, Purdue has three openings in the 2014 class. Here are the outstanding offers: Vincent Edwards, Keita Bates-Diop, Tyler Wideman, Dmitri Thompson, Trevon Blueitt, JaQuan Lyle, and Paul Turner.
Purdue has a lot of other recruits it’s showing interest, like 6-6 Jacob Johnson from Mooresville. And there will be players that develop and garner Purdue’s interest later, like I expect Sam Logwood to get more looks.
Needs: Purdue really needs a skilled forward or two, plus a big body in the paint. An ideal class would be Edwards, Thompson, and Wideman.
Note: Vincent Edwards seems very impressed with Purdue’s recruitment, so he could be a real possibility to commit at some point. They also may have a good shot with Bates-Diop and they’re currently the only high major for Tyler Wideman. It’s really hard to say whether Purdue has any shot with the other mentioned players.
2015
The Boilers only have two slots for this class right now, but they’re hard after a few prospects, including point guard Hyron Edwards. They also have an offer to Jordan Ash.
Right now, Painter and company are showing interest in plenty of others, like Gary Bonds, Jalen Coleman, and Chandler White.
Needs: Purdue will take a point guard in this class, plus either a center or forward.
2016
Last but not least, Purdue already has out an uber early offer to Eron Gordon. He has not played in a varsity game yet.
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