Purdue Basketball Off-Season Homework: Myles Colvin

It is hard to put into words the impact that the Colvin family has had on Purdue Athletics over the course of 25 years. Roosevelt Colvin was a Team Captain for the Boilers for a program that found resurgence under Joe Tiller and went to back to back bowl games before heading off for an illustrious NFL career. Raven Colvin has been an All B1G Freshman and AVCA All-Northeast Team Honorable Mention for a volleyball program that is being taken to new heights. So, when it comes to knowing the work that needs to be done to be successful at Purdue, the Colvin’s probably have things pretty well figured out.

Myles Colvin jumped into his college experience with two feet, getting late into camp after spending a portion of his summer with the Team USA U-19 squad that competed at the FIBA U-19 World Cup. Watching those games along with the scrimmage and first game of the European trip, it is pretty clear that there are some things that Myles needs to work on to maximize the time on the court this season.

Colvin comes into Purdue listed at 6’5 and 200lbs and built to be successful as a true freshman. A top 100 player in all the major scouting services (except ESPN), Myles’ skills were evident and the high ceiling due to his athletic ability oozed over against the smaller schools he went up against at Heritage Christian in Indianapolis. The experience of high level basketball wasn’t lost as he was part of the 2022 Team USA 3x3 U-19 team along with the most recent U-19 FIBA team.

The most recent Team USA experience was one that Colvin isn’t very experience with: coming off the bench. He didn’t get a lot of minutes and consistent playing time but Colvin showed he has the mentality to come off the bench and be effective as a scorer. That may be where Colvin can provide the most for Purdue this season that sees him in a logjam of sorts at the 2 and 3 with Loyer, Jones, Morton, Heide, and Waddell. Now, some of those can shake themselves out when the season practices officially begin but having a player of the caliber of Colvin coming off the bench is what will distinguish Purdue from the rest of the field this season.

Another major factor in Colvin’s growth this off season will be how quickly he can pick up the defensive mentality and knowledge to not put himself and his teammates in bad position. Colvin has the athletic ability to guard most anyone on the perimeter but he needs to better understand angles along with how to get through screens effectively. During the first two games in Purdue’s European trip, Colvin has found himself out of position on a fair amount of possessions because he just hasn’t had time to break the bad habits he picked up from high school. At that level, Colvin allowed his immense athletic ability make up for poor decisions on defense when going for steals or being in bad position. There, he could outjump an inferior player but in the B1G, he will give up easy buckets and assists when others attempt to help.

Colvin does seem to play within himself and has an immense amount of maturity to his game. He doesn’t take bad shots outside of the offensive flow and has seemed to pick up the ‘playbook’ that Purdue runs with the amount of sets they have or can run. This factor led to Carsen Edwards losing his starting spot late in his freshman season because Coach Painter was worried about him shooting Purdue out of games within the first four minutes. That factor won’t be an issue for Colvin as his natural patient nature and relaxed attitude seems to give his game a level of maturity not seen often in true freshman.

The fact is that Colvin has a well rounded game already and one that NBA scouts recognize as having the potential to be in the NBA sooner rather than later. Colvin will get the development that he needs to get there and his athleticism will be the driving force this year. The growth that needs to occur is the kind that isn’t seen on a day to day basis and is worked on late at night with a student manager rebounding on Cardinal Court at 10:00pm or in the off-season weight room sessions. I think Colvin is more of a 3 and done type of player but the calls of the NBA might be too much for one of the most athletically gifted players in the country next season.