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If A.J. Hammons make the unlikely move of staying all four seasons Purdue will have a pair of 7-footers to throw at teams in each of the next two years. Once he is gone it looks like Purdue could add a third one to pair with the incoming Isaac Haas. Today Purdue officially offered 2016 top prospect Barret Benson, a Purdue legacy that would be a solid addition to Purdue's basketball future.
First, the vitals. ESPN has not yet rated him, but he could appear on their top 100 list very easily. Rivals has him as a four-star prospect and he will likely be in the top 150 (they currently only have a top 60 for 2016). Scout lists him as a high three-star recruit. Most recruiting services have him between 6'8" and 6'10" and between 210 and 245 pounds. He is also a true center with some solid post moves.
Some video:
Benson is playing his high school ball Hinsdale South HS in Darien, Illinois, but the link to Purdue is solid. Both of his parents are Purdue grads and his dad played football for the Boilers, so he at least grew up in the right household.
A lot of the top Midwest programs (plus DePaul) are already on him. DePaul, Purdue, Indiana, Penn State, and Oregon State have offered with Xavier, Northwestern, Michigan, Iowa, and Georgetown are also showing interest. Here is what Indiana's Inside the Hall had to say about him:
"I talked to coach Crean and he said he really likes my style of play, he told me about Noah Vonleh and Cody Zeller," Benson said. "Those are the same guys that played the type of position that I'd be playing at Indiana. He talked about how successful they're going to be after playing in college. They like that I can score, defend and rebound and help other people score."
Say what you will about Zeller and Vonleh, but Zeller was a top 5 pick in the Draft and Vonleh could be a lottery pick next month. I would take that with Benson. As a legacy, we need to land him because the days of letting top players as children of Purdue grads going elsewhere needs to end. Plus, I wouldn't want to be ostracized out of house and home if he went to IU.