Painter's first note-worthy recruiting class, last season all came from the state of Indiana. Four players all within the national top-100 who were home-grown in the Boiler state. He landed these four by seeking high basketball IQ guys and kept an eye on the AAU circuit. The '09 class, while smaller right now looks to have some similarities.
Indianapolis' Kelsey Barlow and Crawfordsville's D.J. Byrd are both solid verbals and like JJ and Hummel have flown under the radar a bit, until now. They were both named to the All-Indiana Junior squad. Another player on that team is highly-touted Van Treese who Purdue would love to add to that class. Van Treese's high school team mate, Jeff Robinson is already on board to wear black and gold in a few years.
One thing that is very obvious is that Painter works extremely hard on the recruiting trail and his hard work has paid off and will continue to yield big dividends. To me, most of these guys seem to be nearly perfect fits and are at the right level of player- just below the prima donna-type player that is a one-and-done, but still extremely athletic and talented. Time will tell as recruiting is an inexact science, but it's fun to watch Purdue's program rebuild the right way.
12 comments:
Very nice. You know me, I would prefer a taller guy, but the two from Lawrence North could do a good job.
I continue to be impressed by how Painter goes after guys he thinks will work for him and the team.
I get a bad impression from Van Tresse because of how he's handled his recruitment. He seems to like the attention. I like guys that commit early like Byrd.
I like the players that want to come to Purdue...Matt, you said you like guys.
Paul, you said you prefer a taller guy.
Funny.
Terry Hutchens says he's not impressed and that Barlow, Byrd, Treese and Robinson will all struggle to average double figures and will have no impact until maybe their senior years.
Honestly, I'm not too impressed w/ Barlow...but I'm not going to doubt Painter just yet on his assessment of talent.
Good one jmoney!
Oh, bee-have Ryan!
Is it that Barlow is a Cathedral guy and you get to see a little bit extra of him?
J - the funny thing is if Hutchens says something like that, he would have both feet in his mouth. He just wouldn't be able to walk.
Paul, I saw Barlow in person and on TV...maybe I saw him on bad nights.
I'll take your word for it. Unless Painter decides to recruit some kid from Utah, I wouldn't see him play. Not that I actually watch high school basketball here.
Why not, Paul? They're not "tall" enough? Or is it their "length"?
Also, is #33 in this pic pulling out a wedgie?
J - to answer your question: yes.
Post a Comment