Purdue Basketball: Boilers Make Top 8 for 4* Wing

Gradey Dick, a 6’7, 195 pound wing out of Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas in the 2022 class, has Purdue in his final 8.

Dick is a high 4*, top 50 recruit. The 247 Composite has him as the 31st best player in the 2022 class.

Watching his film, it’s hard not to see a combination of Robbie Hummel and Vince Edwards. Like Hummel, he’s a shooting guard, in a forwards body, but he finishes at the rim like Vince. Purdue has prioritized shooting from the wing position with Ryan Cline and Sasha Stephanovic over the last 3 seasons, but Dick’s combination of shooting and attacking the rim would bring something completely different to the court.

Dick could play anywhere between shooting guard to power forward, but I see him as a wing for Purdue, and that could be a selling point. Having Mason Gillis on the roster and Furst and Kaufman on the way, would let him stay on the wing and create mismatch nightmares for opposing shooting guards and small forwards. Pairing him with current 6’5 shooting guard commit Fletcher Loyer would give Matt Painter incredible length on the wing.

On defense, Gradey brings serious rim protection to the the court. His jumping ability allows him to erase drives to the hoop, and hunt down blocks from behind in transition. He’ll need to continue to work on his lateral quickness and physical strength because college wings will try and get into his body and dive him when given the opportunity.

The Kansas native lives in both Jayhawk and Big12 territory, and Purdue pulling him into the Big10 will be a tough task. Kansas is considered the favorite at the moment, but their uncertain future gives Purdue an opportunity to make a compelling case. His skill set would fit seamlessly into Painter’s motion offense and the upcoming roster will have the talent level to compete on a national level. The ceiling for Purdue basketball should be higher 2023-2024 than at any point in the Matt Painter tenure if things continue along the same course. Dick is the type of player that could take a very good Purdue team and turn it into a Final 4 favorite.