Purdue Basketball to Play in 2018 Charleston Classic

Since NCAA rules allow for one “exempt” tournament for each team every year these events have flourished. The Maui Invitational is still the gold standard, while the Battle 4 Atlantis, Puerto Rico Shootout, Paradise Jam, and others are solid (shout out to the Great Alaska Shootout, which will hold its final tournament this year). each year Purdue plays in one now, usually as one of the featured teams, and next year we now have our event:

This field is not as strong as this year’s Battle 4 Atlantis, but Purdue is not expected to be as strong next year. Carsen Edwards, Ryan Cline, and Matt Haarms will likely be the leaders of a very young and inexperienced 2018-19 edition of Purdue.

Still, there are challenges here. Alabama and Virginia Tech bring in major conference competition. Wichita State has almost beaten Kentucky twice and reached a Final Four in recent seasons, so they have been ranked in the top 10 already this year. Ball State is primed for a big year in the MAC this season, while Davidson and Appalachian State are nearby schools. the final school is Northeastern, who definitely plays college basketball.

Past winners of this event include Miami (FL) (Twice), Northwestern, Virginia, and Villanova. This year’s field has Indiana State, Auburn, Old Dominion, Temple, Clemson, Ohio, Dayton, and Hofstra.

So it is a good middle-tier event, but Purdue next year will have possibly five or newcomers (the three freshmen, plus the redshirting Sasha Stefanovic and Aaron Wheeler). We’ll need an easier tournament, and this is perfect.