2013 Purdue Basketball Recruiting: Who Joins The Three?

Obviously Purdue now has major options in the recruiting game when it comes to adding to an already good 2013 class. Basil Smotherman, Bryson Scott, and Kendall Stephens are all top 150 players according to Rivals, giving Purdue a class that will likely be in the top 20 nationally, but with three new open spots the class has room to expand here in the spring period.

As mention many times, Purdue has 3 spots open for 2013-14 and five for 2014-15. Purdue can sign a graduate transfer and it won't effect much, but getting a JuCo player would be a two-year commitment that would go off the books after the 2014-15 season. A four-year player eats up a scholarship through 2016-17.

Purdue could get one of each and it would not be a bad recruiting strategy. The one-year transfer hurts nothing in the long run, while a two-year JuCo with a four-year player allows for young depth to develop and still brings in an immediate impact player that allows for flexibility with the 2015 class.

What follows are my picks, two of each type, for how to use the three open spots.

2013 High School Grads:

Alex Foster - Foster is the only non-committed 2013 HS grad that officially has a Purdue offer. He is a 6'8" 200 pound power forward out of Chicago that originally committed to Minnesota, but was released from his letter of intent when Tubby Smith got fired. Since Purdue did lose two post players he could be useful.

Austin Karazsia - I started pushing his candidacy a few weeks ago and I see in the comments it is gaining some traction. Karazsia is another 6'8" guy, but he is more of a shooter than a low post banger. He really does remind me of a poor man's Robbie Hummel in terms of similar skill set. He is also 200 pounds, so he could use some bulking up, but he shot better than 70% from the field this season and 36.3% from three. The reason he is very late to the game is that he was primarily a football recruit before announcing he was pursuing basketball more. He averaged 20.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.2 assists for the class 2A runner-up and played a great 29-10-3 game in the title game against a loaded Bowman Academy team. If I were to pick one kid to develop over four years it would be him. He could be a major steal.

Linton comes up short in state finals

JuCo Transfers:

DeShawn Delaney - Delaney is an Indiana kid that played at Vincennes the last two seasons and comes from the same program that produced Carl Landry. Bradley and New Mexico have offered the 6'4" 190 pound guard. He was a Third Team JuCo All-American two seasons in a row and he averaged 15.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. If you're looking for shooting, however, Delaney was only 10 of 41 from long range, but 51.6% from the field.

Deon Andrews - This one is a complete wild card, but in scouring the JuCo states for a good three-point shooter I came across this kid. He played for Highland Community College in Northwest Illinois as a sophomore this past season. He is a 6'2" 180 pound guard that averaged 16.6 points per game and shot 45.1% from three.

Graduate Transfers:

Tarik Black - Black is a 6'9" 262 athletic power forward that could have an immediate impact down low. He averaged over 21 minutes per game at Memphis and his graduating after three years as a regular in their lineup. With 949 points in his career he can be an effective scorer and he has shot better than 55% from the floor. He's also a decent rebounder at almost five per game over the course of his career. Minnesota is going after him hard.

Jerron Granberry - North Florida - He is a 6'5" guard that is 204 of 579 for his career from three that will graduate immediately. He has already played in Mackey Arena once, so coach Painter and company have already scouted him. He's even and 81% free throw shooter.