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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 5 62 Edwards — who might be able to pro- vide support outside of their natural positions. It's not an ideal situation to be in, scrambling in the spring for a player at an important position to complete a team that should have a chance to be outstanding. But that's the position Purdue finds itself in again at point guard, a position where stability has eluded it since Lewis Jackson left in 2012. Post-Jackson, Ronnie Johnson started two seasons, then transferred; Bryson Scott, recruited behind John- son a class later, just did the same. "This is my fault, nobody else's fault," Coach Matt Painter said, "but we just have to get a guy more like Lew." That's what Purdue will look for in its 2016 recruiting class. The Boilermakers had an early commitment from highly regarded point guard C.J. Walker of Indianap- olis but he backed out this spring, citing style-of-play concerns, and Pur- due has since cut all ties. So the search begins anew, start- ing with Ohio's Xavier Simpson, much more of the traditional "floor general" type than the high-scoring Walker but a player who'll be fought over. Simpson, of Lima, holds offers from Xavier, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State and others, with Michigan State and Ohio State involved and both looming large in his recruitment as potential game-changing offers. Point guard is a crucial need in the 2016 class, but not the only one. Purdue has long sought a versatile and more dynamic shooting guard than those shooting specialists in the program currently. The focus seems to be on Ohio's Jarron Cumberland, as the Boiler- maker coaching staff aims to take a bite out of a loaded crop of rising se- niors in Ohio. Cumberland is a prolific scor- er who's not an elite athlete by any stretch but is big and strong and ag- gressive and creative as an offensive player. He was slated to officially visit Pur- due this spring, at which time Paint- er and Co. would have loved to have landed an early commitment, but the visit was postponed due to schedul- ing issues for his family. "It'll be a football game now (in the fall)," Cumberland said of his revised visit plans. Xavier, Cincinnati and Butler have offered Cumberland, while Michigan State, Kansas, Virginia, Michigan and Indiana have joined the fray too, showing interest. With Isaac Haas slated to be a ju- nior in 2016, Purdue wants another center to replace A.J. Hammons after this season. Its pool of targets is a big one. Indianapolis' Joey Brunk and Chi- cago's Barret Benson have been tar- gets forever now and both have offers, but Purdue would like nothing more than to sneak into Columbus and pull out Nick Ward, who already holds Michigan State and Ohio State offers, among a legion of others, but might have just elevated his recruitment to a whole new level with his dominant play against high-level competition at the end of April. Ward's been to Purdue at least three times, though, and claims gen- uine interest and an understanding of the program's history of featuring its big men, Selling Point No. 1 for Painter with all post targets. "I loved it, loved every bit of it," Ward said of his visits to West Lafay- ette. "It's a great atmosphere and I loved all of it." Purdue's also gotten involved with Georgia center James Banks, another four-star Rivals.com recruit on a big man wish list loaded with high-pro- file targets, as well as highly recruit- ed East Coast 7-footer Rodney Miller. Purdue is in need of impact re- cruits in the 2016 class, because of urgent personnel needs that will quickly present themselves, partic- ularly at point guard and center, the two most important positions on the floor, really. It has considered its options, though, on the transfer market. At least at point guard, Purdue has heavily recruited traditional multi- year transfers as an alternative to taking a high school recruit in its next signing class. The benefit there would be to get an experienced player in the program in a forced-redshirt situation that would make for an ideal transition to the floor beginning in the '16 sea- son. Coaches covet such luxuries and Painter has talked so often about the need for his program to "stay old" in its ranks. It's a viable option for Purdue. If it can find the right player. That's always the goal in recruit- ing, the single biggest goal above all others. And it's exactly what Purdue is try- ing to do right now, in both the short term and long term. j