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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 2 58 BY BRIAN NEUBERT BNeubert@GoldandBlack.com P urdue went recruiting for its 2018 class with early opportunity to sell and came away with the guy — or at least co-guy — it wanted at three positions. Detroit big man Trevion Williams was coveted from the day he was offered in the spring. Purdue got him during the summer, as he turned down an offer from Xavier and a late push from Michi- gan State, who'd offered long before. Center Emmanuel Dowuona was the Boilermaker coaching staff's No. 1 choice at his position, or at least one of a few pivot targets it would have been thrilled to have. Purdue got him this fall, as he turned down offers from Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.), Clemson and others. And Indy's Eric Hunter was the one guard Purdue wanted above all other reasonable targets. It got him this fall, when he chose the Boilermakers over offers from Minnesota, Ohio State, Xavier, But- ler and several more. The one position where the path wasn't such a straight line: Point guard. Purdue recruited the position for 2018 as a priority-level need, but as of mid-October, didn't have one and seemed content to stand pat for the early signing period. Things quickly changed, though. Three And Counting Purdue scored some important targets for 2018, with more maybe to come PRESENTS: BASKETBALL RECRUITING Brian Neubert Trevion Williams compares favorably to for- mer Boilermaker Caleb Swanigan in that he has good size with some perimeter skills. PURDUE'S 2018 CLASS (THUS FAR) Player Position Height Weight Hometown/School Eric Hunter Guard 6-3 170 Indianapolis/Tindley Thumbnail: A versatile scoring guard who can play either backcourt position and score from every level, a very good three-point shooter, but an even better pull-up shooter who'll even post up smaller guards at times. Emmanuel Dowuona Center 6-10 220 Miami/Westwood Chris- tian Thumbnail: With a limited track record playing basketball — this season will be just the native of Ghana's third — the center is viewed as particularly promising long-term. He's a work in progress offensively, but he's big and strong and may be an impact rebounder and shot-blocker early in his career. Trevion Williams Forward/Center 6-8 280 Detroit/Ford Academy Thumbnail: A powerful, wide-bodied post player who's a dominant rebounder at the high school level and surprisingly offensively skilled, highlighted by his outstanding passing ability and ball-handling that belies his size.