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60 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED I t took a while, but things have begun to come together for Purdue with its important 2017 recruiting class. With the mid-November begin- ning of the NCAA's early signing period nearing, the Boilermakers held two commitments toward a class that could top out come spring around five, depending on how some moving parts land. Purdue secured fall commitments from two prep school players — 7-foot-2, 225-pound big man Matt Haarms of Sunrise Christian Acad- emy in Kansas and 6-7, 190-pound East Coast forward Aaron Wheeler — after official visits, with its sights set on more to come before the fall signing period begins. But though things seem on track for Purdue, the process has not been a straight line. Boilermaker coaches put years worth of consider- able effort into a slew of highly regarded long-time targets, only to see the majority of them commit else- where, for one reason or another, in late summer or early fall: Jaren Jackson and Xavier Tillman to Mich- igan State, Kyle Young to Butler, Malik Williams to Louisville and Evan Battey to Colorado, to name a few. They're all forwards or centers who were targeted by Purdue to help rebuild its frontcourt down the line, for the days when Isaac Haas, Vincent Edwards and Caleb Swanigan have departed the program, whenever that may be. It remains to be seen how things unfold with Pur- due's roster in coming months, but regardless of vari- ables, its 2017 recruiting class stands to be a highly important one for the program. Those signed in this class to come — whether it's in November or April — would join the program just as its robust and influential five-man crop of juniors is set to depart. And that says nothing of potential early NBA entry, a very real possibility for Purdue come this spring. While Purdue saw numerous long-time targets de- cide on other schools this fall, Matt Painter preached patience to his staff and perspective to onlookers. "Judge us on how we play, how we develop players, on our players graduating, those things," Painter said, speaking generally about recruiting. "People say, 'Well, you missed out on this guy and this guy.' Everybody … misses out on people. "Sometimes you might have a year you miss out Picking Up Steam After slow start, Purdue's 2017 class starting to come together PRESENTS: MEN'S BASKETBALL RECRUITING Brian Neubert Nojel Eastern is a top target, but the top-100 guard is also looking at Michigan State, Seton Hall and others.