2016 Purdue Basketball Recruiting: Jalen Hudson

A new name has emerged as a possible incoming transfer for Purdue. According to ESPN's Jeff Goodman, Jalen Hudson from Virginia Tech is interested in coming to West Lafayette:

Transfer Jalen Hudson told ESPN has been contacted by: Purdue, Fla, UNLV, Butler, Creighton, Auburn, Ill., VCU, Richmond, Dayton, Tenn, Cal

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 14, 2016

Hudson just finished his sophomore season for the Hokies, so  he would have to sit out the 2016-17 season before having two seasons of eligibility left. Let's learn a little more about him:

Jalen Hudson

6'5" 195 pound guard

Freshman season: 32 games played, 3 starts. 6.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.2 apg, 47.9 FG%, 28.3% 3FG, 64.4% FT

Sophomore season: 35 games played, 24 starts. 8.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.6apg, 40.1% FG, 34.6% 3FG, 67% FT

Hudson is an interesting prospect. Out of high school he was a 3-star according to Rivals and a 4-star according to ESPN. He comes from Lebron James' high school in Akron, Ohio, where he was just outside of ESPN's top 100 prospects for 2014. By comparison, Isaac Haas was No. 87.

This past season he started slowly, but had some really big games. In a 73-68 overtime win over NC State on January 2 he dropped 23 points on 10 of 21 shooting. In a 91-83 loss against Louisville on January 27 he dropped 27 on 7 of 14 shooting while getting to the line 14 times (hitting 12). His best game came in the NIT opening win over Princeton, where he scored 28 points on 10 of 18 shooting in an 86-81 overtime win.

The best game of his freshman season was 23 points on 9 of 20 shooting in a 91-86 overtime loss to Duke. It looks like he is not a player that relies on the three too much. Yeah, he can shoot it, but his game is getting to the basket, so much so that he has an alter ego of "Tyrone":

"I've said since Thanksgiving that Jalen was our most talented player, but he didn't play hard enough to be that every game. He knows that. He's as smart as Christian Beyer is. When he plays hard, he's really good, and when he doesn't play hard, he's just a 6'4" guard that doesn't play hard. He's growing up just like the rest of the freshmen are. I don't think that we strategically did not run a play that we haven't ran in the last three games. It was just the mentality of how we ran the play."

As we know, he will have to play hard if he comes to Purdue. He had several games this past season where he was "Tyrone", and that seems like a good thing. He is a player trending upward.

Because we are a full service blog, here is some video:

So is he worth it? Getting him is a three year commitment, taking one of the valuable 2017 scholarships away. It is not so much a concern for 2016-17 as, if Kendall does not return, Purdue has four open spots and can easily accommodate him during his transfer year, but what about the 2017 class, especially if Purdue also adds Desmond Bane?

Of course, things could change depending on who goes pro after next season (if anyone). Ideally, having three guys go pro is a good thing because it means Purdue has an outstanding season and they have earned it. Hudson is an experienced player that had success in the ACC, so he would be an interesting addition.