Swanigan Update: Magic 8 Ball Edition

Well, it's Thursday and we still don't know anything "new" regarding the Caleb Swanigan decision.  I thought we could have a little fun with it, so I asked my fellow writers to submit their prediction on where they thought he would end up.  I coupled their answers with Magic 8 Ball responses because we can't afford an actual crystal ball like those fancy recruiting sites.

Travis Miller:  "Reply hazy, try again."

I have no idea what Caleb is going to do, and I don't think anyone outside of his house really does, either. To me it is very bizarre that a decision has not been made, but it is also bizarre that he did not originally sign his LOI with Michigan State after his announcement. He has had several weeks to do so and he still has a week to go on that. At this point nothing would surprise me short of him signing with Chicago State. He could go back to Michigan State, sign with Purdue, wait for Cal, or one of the big programs like Duke or Kentucky could swoop in and steal him at the last minute. I would love for him to come to Purdue, be the key piece that puts us over the top, and he goes down as a legend as the player that finally pushes Purdue above the level of "occasional Big Ten contender" to "regular national contender". The potential is there for a very special season with him and I don't necessarily think he is a one-and-done.  Unfortunately, we just do not know what is going to happen.

Andrew Ledman (JumboHeroes):  "Outlook good."

Asking me where a recruit is going to end up is the equivalent of asking me where my future, and as yet unconceived, children will go to school. I hope Purdue, but honestly I don't know. I have no great insight into the process of this young man and those around him. My experience with recruiting comes from my high school days getting phone calls from extremely low level and lower division schools to come run for them. I know nothing of the high pace and high intensity issues that a big time burger boy like Swanigan would go through. With that disclaimer out of the way let's get into some speculation shall we?

When Swanigan decommitted from Michigan State all speculation pointed toward Purdue as his likely landing spot. It made sense for a number of reasons. Roosevelt Barnes, Swanigan's guardian, has the deep Purdue connections, and Swanigan seemed to have an interest in Purdue even in spite of that information. Swanigan wants to play the four in college and Purdue has two fives on their roster that would allow Swanigan to easily and exclusively play the four. The longer this takes though the more nervous all of us Purdue fans get. We've been down this road before where something is "done" or a "L O C K" for Purdue but then BAM something happens and the player goes elsewhere. We've become a cynic bunch of fans. In this one I'm going to maintain my optimism and say that eventually, sometime next month, Swanigan will be a Boilermaker. This will be Painter's first Indiana Mr. Basketball and first McDonald's All-American. It won't be his last.

Casey Bartley:  "My sources say no."

When I heard the initial Dakich report I was at Walmart with the lady looking for a fan to combat the oncoming heat wave. So when I started dancing out of nowhere she had some questions. Ten minutes later I was talked into Swanigan, what it could mean for us as a program, and a particularly lovely swivel fan. Now, days later, it seems pretty obvious where this all ends. This stuff happens to Purdue, not for Purdue. Next March will come around, Swanigan and C-Mart will have an extended run together until their hopes are derailed by the untouchable fighting Izzo's in the elite eight. Purdue will make a sweet sixteen and we'll talk ourselves into next year, the next recruit. In other words: all remains the same, but at least I'll be cool.

Andy Zimmerman:  "Signs point to yes."

There's an unbelievable amount of speculation going on here from every single direction.  Sources are popping out of the shadows every day claiming to have new information.  What it all boils down to is figuring out who to trust, and that can be difficult.  The people that I do trust are saying that Swanigan is coming to Purdue, so that is what I'm going to stick with until I hear something more concrete from the Swanigan camp.  The longer this drags out, the harder it's going to be to separate the rumors from the truth.  I've decided to stick with my gut feeling that he is going to play for Matt Painter, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if he ended up at Cal (or anywhere else, really).  It's time to play the waiting game for a bit longer, I'm afraid.

So, there you have it: Two thumbs up, one thumb down, and one shrug.

Not exactly a L O C K, but i'll take it.