Purdue Recruiting: Stars Do Not Matter When You Can Develop

I have seen it so much lately with our recruits that are committed for 2018 or 2019.

“Well, he is only a 3*, he won’t be that good.” This is particularly with our basketball recruits, and even with Rondale Moore that just gave his verbal this weekend.

Guess what.

I don’t give a damn about stars.

Listen, let me tell you why.

Coach Painter can develop talent. There is no hiding that and right now I have readers saying “Hell no, Painter cannot develop”. I am here to tell you, yes he can.

Let us take a look at this senior class. There was one four star. Isaac Haas.

Does that surprise you? I think you could argue that Vincent is playing like a 5* forward, Dakota like a 4* guard, PJ like a high 3* guard and Isaac Haas plays like a 5* center.

I am here for a debate too.

Vincent has exceeded expectations. P.J. as well. Dakota too and oh Isaac Haas as well.

P.J. came to Purdue with people saying he couldn’t play in the B1G. He has only broke the Purdue record on assist to turnover ratio. Dakota came to campus being a great passer and shooter. He may be the defensive player of the year in the B1G. Vincent Edwards was a Small Forward that could do a little bit of everything. Now he is in the top 5 on the B1G in rebounding, a dominant scorer and can defend any position. Isaac Haas his freshman year couldn’t make a move without turning the ball over. Now he is the most dominant back to the basket center in the nation.

If you don’t think Painter can develop, you are insane.

We will be a top 10 team this week, it has been a long time coming. But do I dare say, we are better without our 5* McDonald’s All-American forward, Caleb Swanigan? It sure seems like it. We have five guys that can get you on any given moment, yes that includes P.J. Thompson, teams forget about him and he can hit open shots with ease.

I wrote an article yesterday on Isaiah Thompson. Many people complained about he only being a three star. No, he is not like his brother. He is a better scorer, more aggressive with the ball in his hands, more turnover prone. That all is okay, because guess what. Coach Painter will develop him.

Now, let’s look at Rondale Moore. I saw it on Twitter and on the Hammer and Rails comments. “Why are we getting so excited about a small 3* wide receiver?” Well, Rivals has him as a 3 star. God only knows why, ESPN has him as 4*. But, we need to check ourselves as a fan base. Get excited about this kid.

He is Kentucky Gatorade Player of the year. Had over 100 catches this year, over 1400 yards receiving, was an Army All-American. He had offers from just about everyone, from the east coast to the west coast. But we are complaining he is a 3* on freaking Rivals.

Who cares.

Here you go. Here are his vitals, you won’t care as much.

Height: 5’9”

Weight: 180 Pounds

40: 4.33

Vertical: 43 inches

Shuttle: 4.01

Bench: 270 Pounds

Squat: 480 Pounds

Yea, who cares about that 3* attached to his name. He reminds me of Dorien Bryant. Remember him? I sure do, I think he will used just like him too.

Yes, I am complaining at everyone. I really am. But there is no need to criticize a kid who has worked his tail off to get D-1 offers just because of a little star ranking next to their name.

Coach Painter hes developed a ton of players - too many to list.

Coach Brohm showed how much he developed not even his own players from the Spring to the end of the Fall, where we became a bowl winning team.

All I am saying is, don’t worry about the little stars next to their names. Let our Boilermaker coaches do what they do best, develop athletes and make great young men.

A lot of other universities can’t say they do that.