Several other Illinois junior prospects remain on Purdue's list, including Chicago Westinghouse big forward DeAndre Thomas, 6'2 Hillcrest guard Jerel McNeal, and 6'4 scorer Nate Minnoy also of Chicago.

The hopes for 6'7 Julian Wright to be an option went away with his latest list reduction to DePaul, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Arizona and Duke. As of this past weekend, he said he will remain firm on that final list.

Another smart kid who could not only help the Boilers on the court, but also keep pace academically is Downers Grove South point guard Bryan Mullins. Mullins had a great tournament in Texas last month to catch the eye of several high Division I programs.

Purdue is also mentioned on the list of Rich Central 6'4 guard/forward Jarvis Walker, who happens to be the brother of Antoine Walker, now in the NBA. Walker is a sleeper candidate, as his 12 points and 7 assist high school average has not led to much attention other than mid-major programs. Walker was an all-state honorable mention honoree this past season. Some of the other schools also watching Walker is Louisville, Dayton and Oklahoma.

Yet all talk the talk of a deep Illinois guard class of 2005 does not distract from the fact that Purdue really wants Richmond (IN) point guard Dominic James to stay in state and become the latest Boiler from Richmond. He has to be viewed as the frontrunner for the 2005 point guard scholarship.

And considering Purdue will be fresh out of point guards for the 2006-07 season, it is looking important for Painter to land one in each of the next two classes. Early prospects for the class of 2006 look to be 6'0 Mike Conley of Indianapolis Lawrence North, 6'0 Trevon Hughes of Delafield St. John's Military Academy in Wisconsin, and 6'3 Jeremy Nash of Chicago Marist.