Busting Brackets
Fansided

Big Ten Basketball: Breaking down each program’s 2018 recruiting class

By Lukas Harkins

EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 26: General view of the Breslin Center. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - JANUARY 26: General view of the Breslin Center. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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BOSTON, MA – MARCH 23: Head coach Painter of Purdue. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – MARCH 23: Head coach Painter of Purdue. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Purdue Boilermakers

Class rankings: 10th in Big Ten, 41st nationally

Commitments: Trevion Williams (140), Eric Hunter (141), Emmanuel Dowuona (160)

Purdue’s recruiting class might not be “elite” but head coach Matt Painter acquired the services of three solid players. While it will be difficult to deal with saying goodbye to a ridiculous senior class, these young guns should all develop well within the program. In the backcourt, the Boilermakers are graduating Dakota Mathias and P.J. Thompson. These two were rarely the leading scorers for Purdue but consistently affected the game in other ways.

When looking at the future of the program in the backcourt, it is clear that Carsen Edwards (should he elect to stay in school) is the answer. He was the leading scorer on the team in 2017-18 and is a special player. In addition, Nojel Eastern, who will be a sophomore next season, will be asked to play a larger role.

The only backcourt option in Purdue’s 2018 recruiting class is Eric Hunter, a 6’3″ combo guard from Indianapolis. Hunter is a score-first guard who shoots the ball extremely well from deep. On film, his form is consistent even though it is a bit unorthodox. Yet, as long as it goes in, I don’t think any Purdue fans will mind.

Graduate transfer Evan Boudreaux (Dartmouth) will be seen as the primary replacement for the lack of Mathias but top recruit Trevion Williams will also see time at forward. Boudreaux is mostly going to be seen as the scoring option out of the frontcourt while Williams can dazzle on the glass. According to Max Preps, the 6’8″ Williams averaged 19.8 points and 20.0 rebounds per game as a high school senior.

Lastly, Emmanuel Dowuona will help make up for the loss of Isaac Haas to graduation. A true center, the 6’11” big man is an excellent defender and rebounder. He was a double-double machine in high school and should slide into a backup role behind Matt Haarms nicely.

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