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104 ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 2 f Kiesler is ranked the No. 17 center in the country, accord- ing to ESPN.com, and joins an already highly regarded '15 group that includes top-25 national prospects Dominique McBryde and Tiara Murphy and top-50 Lamina Cooper. Although Kiesler says she was familiar with the three, from AAU and all-star games, she got a chance to talk to them more as all four took their officials during Homecom- ing. That the class likely will be at least top-10 nationally weighed in to Kiesler's decision. "Absolutely, you can see the hard work they're putting in to making these classes great," she said. "Even the class ahead of mine, they have a great group of girls. And I'm like any other player, I want to win a national champion- ship and I can see that happening with this class." In limited action last season, Kiesler averaged about 16 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks. She considers herself a true post player. "But also I have the ability to step away from the basket and shoot a 15-footer and to take a one-dribble move and go to the rim," she said. "I am always trying to get better at those things and improve post moves, and get stronger, of course, but I can shoot the ball." Skills that Kiesler will be able to work on this season, rather than having to stay away from the court for months. "It's nice to be back," she said. j STEPPING UP When Purdue's four-player class of 2015 signs on Nov. 12, it'll likely be the most-decorated group of Sha- ron Versyp's nine-year tenure. And likely to be one of the top-10 nationally. It's easy to see why: ESPN ranks Dominique McBryde (28), Tiara Murphy (30) and Lamina Cooper (44) in its top-50 players nationally, and Nora Kiesler coming in at the No. 17 center. Perhaps Kiesler would be ranked higher if she had not missed the second half of her ju- nior season with an injury. ESPN also ranks Aerianna Harris, a 2016 commit- ment, as the 28th-best player in her class. "We have a dream," Versyp said. "We have great coaches and a great university to sell, and we know that we are this close. We would be over the hump if we didn't have injuries. Our attendance is huge, our fan support is huge, but just our vision that 'This is not good enough. Do you want to be a part of us going back to where we were? We had two Elite Eights (a few) years ago, and do you want to be apart of that?' " Versyp can easily tell the story of Purdue's past, hav- ing played at the school from 1985-88. And the same can be said of her staff, with Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton being a part of the last Elite Eight team in 2008-09, and Kelly Komara having won a national championship as a player in '99 and finishing runner-up in '01. "(We know) how close we were, and that we can do it again," Versyp said. "And the type of players we are bringing in are similar to the qualities that we had. That has been big. We have been able to get after some local kids. Kids want to play with great kids. They want to play with top players ... keep adding pieces to the puzzle. The next couple classes, that is the future." — Kyle Charters For daily headlines on recruiting and other Purdue sports news, check out