Purdue Basketball Recruiting After Swanigan

Coach Painter has his big get with Caleb Swanigan as his first McDonald's All-American, but what does it mean going forward? Recruiting never ends in college basketball. The summer evaluation period is coming up and the Boilers currently do not have a single commitment for the 2016 class. Let's look at the scholarship grid to see what we have available:

So there are three spots open for 2016, and the boilers will lose a center, a guard/forward, and a point guard. There appear to be targets at all three spots:

Xavier Simpson - PG - According to many of the post-Swanigan rumors Simpson was going to announce his college choice last week, but stepped back after Swanigan committed. Simpson is a 5'11" point guard from Lima, Ohio that is ranked #122 on the Rivals150. That's the same area of Ohio as Dakota Mathias, so we might have an in there. Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern, and Xavier have all offered, and the scuttlebutt I have heard is that Xavier and Purdue are the top two spots.

Coach Painter was recruiting Simpson pretty heavily before C.J. Walker committed, and got back on him after Walker backed out. Both are similar types of players here. He would be a good addition.

Jarron Cumberland - SG - Cumberland is the No. 64 player nationally according to Rivals and he is a 6'4" shooting guard that is a pretty strong scorer. That could be very useful for Purdue. We have shooters and bigs, but we don't really have a volume scorer that can be "The Red Button" when we absolutely need a basket. Butler and Xavier are also recruiting him:

Jarron Cumberland can put the ball in the bucket. And he isn't exactly lacking confidence in that area.

"I'm known to be able to get a bucket whenever I want," said Cumberland, a 6-5 guard from Wilmington, Ohio.

Cumberland, a physical guard who is ranked No. 64 in the 2016 class by Rivals, has offers from Butler and Purdue and has visited both campuses. Purdue, in fact, was the first program to offer Cumberland.

"They are making me a big priority," he said of Purdue. "They said they need me as a scorer. They don't really have a guy who can play inside and out. They were the first team to offer me so that shows that they want me. They keep in touch almost every week with me."

Joey Brunk - C -The 6'10" center from Southport has long been a Purdue target. Almost the entire Midwest is after him as the No. 138 player nationally. He played for a very strong Southport team this season that was among the best in the state before getting upset in the sectional by Pike. I have not seen him play in person yet, so I can't really comment on his style. There is some video for him though:

Barret Benson - C - I feel like we have been after Benson forever. He has a ridiculously long list of offers so far, but we have been there early for the No. 89 recruit. I know it seems odd to say, but he is a bit small at 6'9" to be a center. That mostly comes from having A.J. Hammons as a 7-footer for four years followed by the Big Haas. Purdue should have a good shot, too. His dad played football at Purdue.

Eron Gordon - G - We're not getting Eron Gordon.

Who we get:

I am fine with getting Cumberland, Simpson, and Brunk. They would be good complimentary players and we're not really in on any of the top, top guys. There is now major in-state talent that is a must-have like Swanigan but the 2016-17 team will probably be one of those Purdue teams that is greater than its parts. If there are the right pieces it can continue what should be a decent upswing.