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Purdue goes into spring and summer looking for first commitments
BY BRIAN NEUBERT
BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com
Lima News
Dakota Mathias, a sharp-shooting
6-foot-5 wing, could be Purdue's
first commitment from the rising
senior class.
W
hen the April open period
began, Purdue found itself
in a different position than in years
past.
The past few springs and summers, Boilermaker coaches were
ahead in recruiting, due to an uncommon run of early verbal commitments that more or less fill their
classes literally years in advance.
From the 2012 signing class
that just completed its first season
at Purdue, Rapheal Davis and Jay
Simpson committed prior to their
sophomore seasons in high school,
as did point guard Kyle Molock, who
didn't end up at Purdue.
Of the 2013 class that'll enroll in
June, Bryson Scott committed prior
to his sophomore year, with Kendall
Stephens and Basil Smotherman
following suit during their
sophomore seasons.
It's not necessarily a good
thing or a bad thing, but Matt
Painter and his staff are in no
such position going into recruiting season this season,
as Purdue has no existing
commitments right now, and
is actually still recruiting for
2013, while also combing the
2014, 2015 and 2016 classes.
Below, Gold and Black
takes a quick look at what
Purdue's looking at right now.
potential additions this spring, but
right now, a reasonable expectation
is for it to target a three-player signing class, a group that will sign in
November.
As the Boilermakers still look
for their first senior-to-be commit,
they're not alone, as half the Big
Ten remains off the board.
New targets will likely be revealed
through the course of the evaluation periods, but a couple clear targets are well known.
The most likely to commit soon
would be Elida, Ohio, shooting
guard/wing Dakota Mathias, who
officially visited West Lafayette
this spring and has said a decision
might be forthcoming.
CLASS OF 2014
Purdue's scholarship situation could be impacted by
Gold & Black IllustrateD • volume 23, issue 5
