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It may be a little early to think about 2016 basketball recruiting, especially since we have no one committed for 2015 yet, but one of the nation's top sophomores is right here in Indiana and he broke my heart this top 25 players for the 2016 class. Caleb Swanigan is a beast of a power forward already as a sophomore. ESPN rates him as 16th in the nation. Rivals has him 32nd nationally. Scout lists him as a5-star recruit and the No. 2 center in the class of 2016 nationally.
I watched Swanigan via webstream this morning in a 68-60 regional win over my beloved Kokomo Wildkats and the accoledes are deserved. The 6'9" 280 forward is a beast if a player.
Swanigan was physically dominant as a power forward. He actually put the "power" in power forward, as he had 18 points and an eye-popping 22 rebounds. He was also responsible for Kokomo playing one of its worst games of the year. Kokomo shot under 40% from the floor because he influenced a ton of misses in close. He also was responsible for foul trouble that knocked out Erik Bowen and Tayler Persons, two 2014 Indiana All-Star candidates and Kokomo's top two players, out due to fouls by the middle of the fourth quarter.
Homestead shot at least 39 free throws on the day because of Kokomo's foul troubles. Even then, Kokomo was in the hunt and down only two with about 4 minutes left when Swanigan disrupted a drive that would have tied the game. Homestead scored the next six points of the game and it was over, as Persons and Bowen fouled out within minutes of each other.
Purdue has not officially offered yet, but we have the open scholarships, he is in state, and Jack Owens was on hand to watch him this morning. If we don't offer, and soon, we're going to be well behind because this kid is a physically dominant player right now. It would be ridiculously stupid not to offer right now. Pair him with Isaac Haas in the 2016-17 season and Purdue has a badass frontcourt.
If you want to re-watch this morning's game against Kokomo and see for yourself it is right here. Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan State have already offered in the Big Ten. Cuonzo Martin at Tennessee has also offered, as have Pittsburgh and Georgetown. We need to get on this list. If you have a national top 25 player right here in state you can't miss out on at least offering him. He would help Purdue today, let alone in two years.