Purdue Basketball: Analyzing Boilermakers depth chart for 2020-21 season

MILWAUKEE, WI - MARCH 16: The Purdue Boilermakers mascot cheers in the first half against the Vermont Catamounts during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at BMO Harris Bradley Center on March 16, 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

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WEST LAFAYETTE, IN – JANUARY 12: Trevion Williams #50 of the Purdue Boilermakers (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Purdue’s Centers

While the center situation may seem simple for Purdue, it’s probably is the most complex. Starting Center and Junior Matt Haarms transferred to BYU leaving the center position open.

The two guys competing for the position will be Emmanuel Dowuona, a redshirt sophomore, and incoming three-star recruit Zach Edey from the prestigious IMG Academy.

However, the first question is whether Purdue will even use a center this year. Could they go small with three guards and two forwards moving Thompson or another guard into the starting lineup? The depth in the guard position means this would be more likely than two guards and three forwards, but it’s definitely a possibility Matt Painter could entertain.

We can assume though for now that one of the two aforementioned guys will still get a good chance to prove themselves for the starting job. Dowuona only played in nine games last season, so he still hasn’t gotten a fair chance to prove himself. Furthermore, Edey was only the 75th ranked center in his class, and may only be that high because he’s 7’3.

While I think the “no center” lineup is a possibility, there is a chance that one of these guys breaks out as Romaro Gill did for Seton Hall. Who will it be? We’ll have to wait until next season to find out, though my very early guess would be Edey being the starter.

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