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It got the player it for so long coveted when Ohio's Vince Edwards committed Sept. 14. The 6-7 forward's multi-faceted game, Purdue hopes, will fit nicely into its matchup-oriented offensive template and fit Painter's mandate to field "more skilled" lineups from here on out. Through the course of his long recruiting process, Edwards was also offered by Michigan, Vanderbilt, Xavier, Dayton, Texas Tech and others. He's ranked 122nd in the Class of 2014 by Rivals.com. Ohio was good to the Boilermakers this recruiting cycle. In the spring, they added sharp-shooter Dakota Mathias, a long-range specialist who's atypically well-rounded as a shooter and playmaker for a player known mostly for his distance shooting. Mathias, ranked No. 141 nationally in the Class of 2014 by Rivals.com, also held early scholarship offers from Boston College and West Virginia. Taylor may not necessarily fit the mold of what Purdue was looking for in a post player who might be able to step right in and help offset Hammons' potential loss, but Purdue liked his size and growth potential, and his athleticism to go along with it. First, though, he has to fully recover from the foot injury that sidelined him in the spring and summer, forcing a previous offer from Maryland to dry up. In the end, Taylor chose Purdue — largely for academic reasons, the aspiring computer graphics major said — over offers from Providence, St. Joseph's, Massachusetts and North Carolina A&T, where his brother plays. It is very likely that Purdue isn't done adding players for the 2014-15 season, whether it's prior to Novem46 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 2 ber's early signing date or in the spring. Painter will have plenty of scholarships to play with. Purdue has only 11 players on scholarship right now, four of which will graduate, making for an allotment for 2014 of six, seven in the spring if there's an early departure. On top of the three committed, that leaves at least three vacancies. Obviously, Purdue will not fill all of them and has especially good reason not to. With no scholarship juniors on the roster currently, Purdue's scholarship allotment for the 2015 class, i.e. high school juniors, will come from those left unused for the '14 class. Next are some quick notes on Purdue's recruiting efforts for the current class and those to come. S New York City 7-footer Adonis Delarosa could be a target for Purdue in coming weeks as the unsigned senior-to-be recently was visited by Purdue, which may try to get him on campus for an official visit in November. Florida State and Georgetown are among other major programs looking at the Christ The King High School big man. S In the 2015 class, no matter how many scholarships Purdue has to offer, an emphasis will be point guard. By then, current point guards Ronnie Johnson and Bryson Scott will be a senior and junior, respectively. Purdue has offers out to four point guards: Hyron Edwards of East Chicago; Glynn Watson and Jalen Brunson of Chicagoland; and James Bolden of Kentucky. All of them are either highly ranked or highly recruited prospects with Purdue seemingly very much in con- tention for Edwards and Watson, particular. In addition to Purdue, Edwards has offers Indiana, Illinois and a number of others, with Michigan and Michigan State among those also interested. Watson, the younger brother of former Illinois star Demetri McCamey, was offered by Purdue a year ago. Lately, DePaul and Creighton have offered. Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska are included as those interested, too. S Along with point guard, Purdue is looking for a big man in 2015. It hosted a major unofficial visit in mid-September from Texas' Tyler Davis, considered one of the top 20 players in his class nationally by Rivals. com. S The 2016 class appears loaded for Purdue, highlighted by big men. Barret Benson, a Purdue legacy from Illinois, and in-state sophomores Caleb Swanigan and Joey Brunk are all centers the Boilermaker coaches are heavily involved with early, as is Iowa power forward Cordell Pemsl. St. Louis' Tyler Cook, a recent unofficial visitor, could be a prominent target also. Benson, Swanigan and Pemsl all have major-conference offers already and it won't be long for Brunk, who's from Southport High School south of Indianapolis. Merrillville's D.J. Wilkins is a high-scoring guard who Purdue's positioned itself well with early, and the same can be said for Indianapolis' Kyle Guy, who's already been offered by Indiana. West Lafayette High School's Nai Carlisle and Indianapolis Tech's C.J. Walker are attractive options at point guard should Purdue elect to recruit one in that class. j f