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PURDUE MENS BASKETBALL RECRUITING:
1999 Recruiting News Archive




Date: 12/31/1999
Author: Bob_Richards
© Bob_Richards



December 09, 1999
The Minnesota men have received a verbal from Rockford (IL) junior point guard Aaron Robinson. The 5'9 speedster is a scorer and a playmaker, listed among the top point prospects in the state of Illinois. Minnesota also recently freed up one scholarship for the Class of 2000 when Kevin Nathaniel decided to give up basketball. But don't expect it to be used right away. The staff plans to take a look at the team needs at the end of the season and go after a player in the spring.

December 08, 1999
Connie Murdock, a 6'2 junior forward for the Boiler women, has asked for and received a release from her scholarship to pursue basketball at another school. Citing a need to fulfill her basketball goals elsewhere, she will have one year of eligibility remaining at a new school. "It is not easy to lose anyone from your program, but we want Connie to be happy," Curry said. "We wish her the best of luck as she pursues her options and continues her career."

November 15, 1999
The Purdue men will look to the junior college ranks to help fill one of two remaining scholarships for the Class of 2000. While Purdue will not know whether Cam Stephens will choose to return to the Boilers until the spring, backup plans include an impressive center from Westark, Arkansas. Russ Blake of JUCO Junction recently spoke to Westark CC assistant Ryan Casalman to find out Purdue is looking at 7'0 265-pound center Charles Ludwig. Ludwig can join a Division I program after this season, but will have three years of eligibility remaining due to redshirting a year at Westark. Also following the progress of Ludwig are Texas, Fordham, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.

While over at the JUCO Junction site, check out the articles on former Boiler Jamaal Davis, and former Indiana All-Star Eric Bush.

November 14, 1999
A month ago on this page we took a look at some of the Street & Smith all-americans for the men. Now, let's run down the list for the women. Included in the list are any known Purdue recruits or prospects, plus any players from the state of Indiana.

Senior Women:
Cherrise Graham, All-American First team (Top1 - Top5)
Shereka Wright, All-American Second team (Top5 - Top10)
Erica Valek, All-American Fifth team (Top20 - Top25)
Lindsay Galbraith (Anderson Highland, IN), All-American Honorable Mention (Top31 - Top350)
Lindsey Hicks, All-American Honorable Mention (Top31 - Top350)
Shalicia Hurns, All-American Honorable Mention (Top31 - Top350)
Beth Jones, All-American Honorable Mention (Top31 - Top350)
Sara Nord (Jeffersonville, IN), All-American Honorable Mention (Top31 - Top350)
Lindsay Secrest (Bloomfield, IN), All-American Honorable Mention (Top31 - Top350)

Underclassmen Women:
Shyra Ely, All American Fourth team (Top16 - Top20)
Ashley Allen (Ben Davis, IN), All-American Honorable Mention (Top31 - Top350)
Jacqueline Batteast (South Bend Washington, IN), All-American Honorable Mention (Top31 - Top350)
Jennifer Demuth (Highland, IN), All-American Honorable Mention (Top31 - Top350)
Erin Moran (Indy Roncalli, IN), All-American Honorable Mention (Top31 - Top350)

November 2, 1999
A lot of verbal commitments to catch up on involving Purdue prospects, other Big Ten schools and the local high school scene...

The Purdue women continue to chase Lubbock (TX) guard Erica Valek and Copperas Cove (TX) guard/forward Shereka Wright for the early signing period, but seem to be slipping with Iowa's Anne O'Neil. While the coaching staff seemed confident Purdue was still in the race with Illinois after Anne's official visit October 15th, indications are that her decision may come down to Illinois and Iowa State. In other women's recruiting news, 5'8 senior point guard Dawn McCulloch from Long Beach (CA) has verballed to Rutgers, while Shreveport's (LA) Alana Beard has chosen Duke.

A raw recruit with abundant potential, 7'1 center Peter Ritzema, has made it official for Cleveland State. The Boilers couldn't help but notice Ritzema, since he spent time at Purdue camps this summer. However, interest from Purdue in Ritzema was light.

Purdue and Indiana managed to keep two of the top three power players at home this year. Chesterton's Brett Buscher has been committed to Purdue for over a year now, while Marion's Zach Randolph chose Michigan State this fall. The third player, Bloomington North's 6'10 Jared Jeffries, committed to Indiana today during a morning press conference.

A player who played with Jeffries on Bloomington Red this summer, 6'7 Corey Seegers of Columbus North HS (IN) has chosen Morehead University.

The Illinois men have picked up a verbal from 7'0 center Nick Smith of Valrico, Florida. Smith is rated as the 88th best senior prospect according to the consensus rankings of four recruiting services in Sporting News. The Smith verbal comes on the heels of the state of Illinois' top power forward, 6'9 Andre Brown's verbal to DePaul. Brown averaged 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots last season, and has been an honor roll student.

A prospect Indiana coach Bob Knight took some looks at has verballed to Indiana...Indiana State, that is. Barry Welsh, a 5'11 guard from Abington (IL), committed to Indiana State. The Sycamores also received a verbal commitment from Elgin HS (IL) senior wing guard Marcus Howard.

Ball State adds another guard to go along with their 6'5 point guard. Indianapolis Brebeuf's 6'3 wing guard Micheal Bennett has verballed after considering Akron, Massachusetts and Drake. Bennett averaged 14.2 points and 6.0 assists as a junior.

October 25, 1999
Women's prospect Dawn McCulloch visited Rutgers this weekend. Read more about the visit from the New Jersey Star Ledger.

The Minnesota women have received another verbal commitment from an instate Minnesota player. Bloomington Jefferson High's 6'0 forward Megan Kane verbally committed to the Lady Gophers. She joins fellow Minnesotan Angel Leon, a 6'3 center from Saint Francis School, who verballed earlier.

October 23, 1999
The men's program had a handful of prospects unofficially visit Saturday for the Penn State football game. Players who have made frequent visits include Tyler Best and Austin Parkinson. One of the state's top forwards also visited campus and watched almost the entire men's practice. Huntington North's Sean Kline, a 6'7 all-state forward who attended the Nike Camp this summer, visited with family. Also in attendance was 6'2 Pierre Pierce from Westmont, IL. Pierce is a high scorer from either the point or the two-guard position, averaging 22 points as a sophomore. Watch for him on Larry Butler's Illinois Warriors squad next summer. Potential basketball walkons visiting unofficially for football this weekend include Peru's Brandon Jones and Monrovia's John Standeford. Standeford has already committed to football, while Jones currently has Purdue close to the top of his wish list. Movement in the Jones recruitment is expected at anytime. Also rumored to be taking an unofficial for basketball is 6'6 junior forward Roger Powell Jr. of Joliet, IL. Powell also is an Illinois Warrior AAU players, and recently visited the University of Illinois along with Pierce. Also scheduled to be on campus is Indianapolis Pike freshman forward Parnell Smith. The 6'4 forward is the younger brother of current Boilermaker forward Rodney Smith.

October 18, 1999
New rankings over at the FastBreak Recruiting site have a few Purdue prospects listed. Among the list of the top 50 "midwest" seniors, Brett Buscher comes in at #26 and Brandon Mouton is at #36. I have the midwest above in parenthesis because I don't know of anyone who considers Texas and Louisiana part of the midwest.

Over on the MidWestHoops site, a listing of the nation's top 50 sophomores has three Indiana kids and an Illinois prospect. Chicago Providence-St. Mel's Stanley Gaines comes in at #16, followed by the three Indiana kids...Ben Davis' Greg Stone at #22, Bloomington's Sean May at #26 and Lafayette's Tyler Best at #39.

October 14, 1999
For the past several seasons, Brad Jewell has kept track of the predictions some of the major preseason magazines have made about the Big Ten race. On the Big Ten Preview page, you can keep track of how your favorite preseason magazine has predicted the Big Ten finish, plus see how well they have done each of the last four seasons. While the Sporting News currently holds the MrHoops "Nostradamus" award for consistent picking, here is how the magazines finished in predicting just the 1998-99 season.
1999 PREVIEW MAGAZINES FINAL RANKING
==========================================
1.  Mr Hoops                    2.36/Team
2.  Street and Smith's          2.55/Team
3.  Athlon College Basketball   2.91/Team
4.  Gold & Black                3.09/Team
5.  Dick Vitale                 3.09/Team
6.  The Sporting News           3.09/Team
7.  Basketball News             3.09/Team
8.  Preview Sports              3.27/Team
9.  Slam                  5-INC-1.67/Team
10. Sport                 5-INC-1.67/Team
Street & Smith's predictions were the best among magazines last year, and have recently released their 2000 season preview. Their rankings will appear soon on our Big Ten Preview page, but we also wanted to mention which prospects made their All-American teams. Included in the list are any Purdue recruits or prospects, plus any players from the state of Indiana.

Senior Men:
Zach Randolph, All-American Second team (Top5 - Top10)
Jared Jeffries, All-American Second team (Top5 - Top10)
Brett Buscher, All American High Honorable Mention (Top21 - Top162)
Myron Hodge, All American High Honorable Mention (Top21 - Top162)
Brandon Mouton, All American High Honorable Mention (Top21 - Top162)
Austin Parkinson, All American High Honorable Mention (Top21 - Top162)
Shane Power, All American High Honorable Mention (Top21 - Top162)
Brody Boyd, All American Honorable Mention (Top163 - Top344)
Nolan Butterfras, All American Honorable Mention (Top163 - Top344)
John Hamilton, All American Honorable Mention (Top163 - Top344)
CJ Hill, All American Honorable Mention (Top163 - Top344)
Andre Owens, All American Honorable Mention (Top163 - Top344)
Peter Ritzema, All American Honorable Mention (Top163 - Top344)

Underclassmen Men:
Tyler Best, All American High Honorable Mention (Top1 - Top112)
Dennis Coutee, All American High Honorable Mention (Top1 - Top112)
Stanley Gaines, All American High Honorable Mention (Top1 - Top112)
Sean Kline, All American High Honorable Mention (Top1 - Top112)
Sean May, All American High Honorable Mention (Top1 - Top112)
Aaron Patterson, All American High Honorable Mention (Top1 - Top112)
Chris Thomas, All American High Honorable Mention (Top1 - Top112)

Junior College Men:
Eric Batchelor, All-American Second team (Top5 - Top10)
Jamaal Davis, All-American Second team (Top5 - Top10)

October 13, 1999
Last night we posted some information on a Hammond Times report that the brother of Arvydas Sabonis would play for Chesterton this year. After several emails saying the Times article was in error, I called Chesterton AD Mel Bair today about the report. He said he had no idea where the Times got their information, but it was untrue. They do have a foreign kid that might go out for basketball this fall, but he is not named Sabonis. The kid is 6'5, but there is no guarantee he will even make the varsity squad. The kid's last name is Stepania, which develops another rumor that he might be related to Seattle Supersonics center Vladimir Stepania, but AD Bair had no idea if the kid has any relation in the NBA.

October 3, 1999
One of the prospects who hasn't been mentioned in quite a while in connection with Purdue is Iciss Tillis, a 6'3 center from Tulsa, has two visits remaining. She will be taking both visits with 5'11 Chino California guard Diana Taurasi. Both will officially visit UCLA by the end of the month, then follow with a visit during the weekend of UCONN's first exhibition game on November 6th.

October 2, 1999
Literally hundreds of letters get sent out each year by the Purdue staff introducing themselves to prospective student athletes, and hundreds more get "seen" by the staff at various events. So, when a player is said to have impressed the Purdue staff at summer events, we don't necessarily call him being recruited by Purdue. Hundreds of kids can fall into that category. However, here's a name to keep an eye on. Terry Licorish, a 6'9 forward from West Hill Collegiate outside of Toronto Canada is one of those names to file away for possible future reference. According to this article in the Toronto Star, he has some academic issues to resolve, but appears to have a good handle on impressing his coaches athletically. Another player we know received a letter from Coach Keady is Indianapolis' Chris Hill. Hill, a 6'1 2-guard for Lawrence North HS, attended the Nike Camp in July and is reportedly an "A" student.

September 25, 1999
Another top prospect has the Purdue women in her top five. Dayton (OH) Christian's 6'1 Alvine Mendeng, a senior forward originally from Cameroon, has taken unofficial trips to both Purdue and Indiana. Others on her final list are Kentucky, Alabama and Colorado. Mendeng is rated at #23 by the All-Star Girls Report.

Jason Carter was denied another year of eligibility by the IHSAA two weeks ago, and we've been waiting for word on where he would land since that time. According to Russ Blake over at his new site Juco Junction, Carter has enrolled at Barton County Community College in Great Bend, Kansas. If this turns out to be correct (Russ' source if Barton head coach Ryan Wolf), then forget about any rumored ISHAA appeal. Barton CC will be an interesting team to follow this season as it has become a who's who of Indiana basketball. Not only will Carter be seeing action, but three other former Indiana high school kids will be on the roster. Eric Bush, an all-state point guard from Anderson, transferred from Illinois State. Former East Chicago forward Carlton Baker is also on the roster, along with Purdue transfer Jamaal Davis. Davis is already getting early hype as one of the top big men in the juco ranks.

September 16, 1999
As Austin Parkinson awaits a home visit from Keady, another Indiana point guard awaits a call from the IHSAA about his immediate future...whether of not he can play high school basketball for the upcoming season. The IHSAA was scheduled to vote on overturning their eligibility ruling on Horace Mann's Jason Carter on Wednesday via conference call. As of this update, nothing yet has been heard regarding the result of that conference call. We'll update when we get the word. Another case that should be determined any day now is the eligibility of sophomore Russell Trudeau, who recently transferred to Lafayette Central Catholic. If the IHSAA determines the move to CC was primarily for athletic reasons, they can deny eligibility. That would only allow Trudeau to play on the junior varsity level. If the IHSAA determines the move was not made for athletic reasons, then Trudeau would be eligible to play varsity immediately. Russell Trudeau is the son of former Boilermaker Doug Trudeau. As of Tuesday, the Central Catholic athletic department had not received word on Trudeau's eligibility.

Being hounded by the NCAA hasn't stopped Michigan from getting verbals from two top guards in the Class of 2000. Washington DC's 6'6 Bernard Robinson, verballed to the Wolverines earlier this week, followed only days later by 5'7 point guard Avery Queen. Both players are considered to be top 50 prospects. Speaking of Michigan, Fort Wayne junior forward Andre Patterson, was spotted two weekends ago at the Michigan/Notre Dame football game.

August 31, 1999
UPDATE: In an email today from Kevin Garrity, he denied making a commitment to Monmouth and says he is still open with Purdue on his short list. "Purdue University is still at the top of the short list of schools I am considering," wrote Garrity. He plans on hosting Gene Keady on September 9th, following up with a campus visit on the 11th and 12th. As in the case of the Zach Randolph rumors, everything should be taken as "rumored" on the internet until someone actually talks to the prospect.

Zach Randolph made it official today, committing to Michigan State University. Randolph claimed MSU had recruited him the longest, and his close friendships with Marcus Taylor and some of the current Spartans made his decision easy. It is still unknown whether he will be eligible to play next year for MSU, or will be a Prop48 candidate.

August 30, 1999
The normal updates for the site have taken a backseat to a redesigning project that has taken most of the past week to complete. The newest version of the Boiler Basketball Recruiting site (I think we are up to Version 4.0 now) will debut on Wednesday. A little different format, and a much different look. More profiles, better colors and soon to be more writers. You can get a first look come early Wednesday morning.

Two major news events to report on briefly before we dive back into the redesign. First, Zach Randolph will make it official Tuesday at 10:30am when he holds a press conference to announce his choice. The frontrunner is still Michigan State, but he recently told the Marion Chronicle Tribune that he will choose between Michigan State, UMASS and Miami (FL). Then he went on to talk about Michigan State and how the headlines will read "ZeeBo to Michigan State". What makes it even more likely was the commitment today from friend Marcus Taylor to Michigan State. Second, several internet reports claim 6'10 New Jersey center Kevin Garrity has given a verbal commitment to Monmouth. Despite the claims of many sources, we never accepted the claims that Garrity was committed to Purdue, stating he was still open and looking around. More details coming after the upgrade Wednesday.

August 23, 1999
The Purdue Exponent ended all the speculation about Gary McQuay possibly returning to the team this season. While fans have frequently seen Gary on campus this summer, sending most to wonder if he might return to the team, Gary officially transferred to Florida Atlantic to finish out his college basketball career. In the article, Gary still gushed about the program and his time at Purdue.

According to Bob Gibbons, 6'9 big forward Brian Boddicker has committed to Texas. And it's been a couple of weeks since the latest "Randolph to Michigan State" rumor, and today it comes from Hoop Scoop. Hoop Scoop is reporting Zach Randolph has verbally committed to the Spartans, citing Indiana AAU coach Reggie Tisdale as the source. However, Rob Matera of All-Star Report claims to have spoken to Randolph this afternoon, and Randolph again denied any commitment to Michigan State. I really expect Zach's announcement to come in the form of a press conference, so until that happens we will continue to hear people predict what seems to be the inevitable.

Another prospect mentioning Purdue, who we have yet to hear of any interest in return from the Purdue side of the equation, has committed elsewhere. 5'10 lead guard Jameer Nelson picked St. Joe's over Temple, UMASS and Providence. As this Russ Blake article points out, all finalists were within three hours of his parents. A two-guard prospect also not seeing any hint of attention from the Purdue side is 6'3 Demetrious Smith, who like Nelson, once threw Purdue's name around but hasn't mentioned the Boilers since the spring. We just want to point out that it is easy for a prospect to mention a school, but hard to get the school to actually pay attention to him.

August 21, 1999
Jason Carter, a 5'10 point guard who played for Gary Mann last season, has been given another year of eligibility from the IHSAA. The IHSAA ruled that the time Jason spent away from high school and basketball to take care of his ailing father, Howard Carter, will be returned to him in another year of basketball eligibility. Howard Carter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and has been bedridden since 1991. After Jason's mother and brother moved to South Bend, his oldest brother moved to Indianapolis, and his sister also left, it was only Jason and his father. Jason stopped going to school in the midst of his sophomore year, finally returning last year after his father was moved to Georgia. Hoping to improve his chances at gaining another year of eligibility, Carter skipped most of the summer exposure and honor camps (including the Indiana All-Star series and the Nike All-American Camp) in favor of summer school. What stood in his way was IHSAA Rule 17, mandating athletes run out of eligibility after eight consecutive semesters. But this week the IHSAA considered Carter's sacrifices and ruled 8-0 to allow him another year of eligibility. IHSAA officials admitted the case may have been decided differently if Jason would have played much organized basketball or competed in athletic camps this summer. It is still unknown if Jason will transfer to an Indianapolis school, something that has been rumored the entire summer, but a least the Gary Post newspaper expects him back at Mann this year. Even though Carter hasn't been playing much, his stock continues to rise. Hoosierland Report has him ranked as the third best player in the state of Indiana, sandwiched among nationally ranked prospects Brett Buscher, Jared Jeffries and Zach Randolph. MidWestHoops has him as their #35 prospect in the midwest behind Buscher, Jeffries and Randolph, just ahead of Indiana recruit Andre Owens. Other recruiting services outside the midwest have yet to really see him, but Carter is carrying enough buzz at the moment to make him one of the "most wanted to see" prospects in the nation. Now, if we can only find out where to see him this fall. Carter has listed Purdue, UMass, Notre Dame, Fresno State, Wyoming, Northeastern, Bowling Green, Drake and Wright State. But that list is now likely to increase and include a few more Division I majors.

In area women's news - Notre Dame has received a commitment from 5'9 shooting guard Jeneka Joyce from Washburn Rural HS in Kansas. Joyce chose the Irish over Duke, Stanford and Kansas. Joyce averaged 22 points per game last season as a junior on the Class 6A state championship team, and also averaged 4.3 on a 4.0 scale in the classroom.

August 18, 1999
Top rated 6'4 senior center SeSe Helm from Bowling Green, KY will stay at home and play for the University of Kentucky. Curry and staff still look good with a host of other top recruits, including the nation's top point guard prospect Anne O'Neil, who will visit Purdue along with instate wing prospect Shalicia Hurns and 5'10 scorer Alana Beard of Louisiana. The visits are scheduled to coincide with Purdue's Mackey Magic midnight practice, which will no doubt dedicate a lot of time to the celebration of the 1999 National Champions. Beard is ranked #37 by Beth Della Valle over at Fast Break, and appears on Purdue's wish list as a result of Curry's contact while at Louisiana Tech. Tech still remains a solid threat to sign Beard, along with Tennessee, Kentucky and others. Tennessee has yet to offer.

August 17, 1999
Gene Keady in his latest article for CNNSI, again said the program has five verbal commitments, stating "whether the players will honor these verbal commitments remains to be seen." A focus of the assistants this summer was being visible. following the recruits Keady has indicated around. As of this point, the only known commitment has come from Brett Buscher, who has stated he has every intention to honor his choice of Purdue. Although the article is dated August 16th, it is unknown if it was written before Caron Butler chose UCONN. He, along with New Jersey center Kevin Garrity, have been talked up by many publications at one time or another as being locks for Purdue, and it is still a question whether the staff also considered (still considers in Garrity's case) them among the remaining mystery four. One area to closely watch will be who schedules official visits with Purdue in September, and who gets home visits from the coaches. As Heartland Hoops reported today, one recruit planning on visiting Purdue is Andrean all-stater Shane Power. Power plans to visit Iowa State on September 12th (who he recently unofficially visited) and Purdue on the 24th, with a possible visit to Southern California on the 17th. Others in the mix for possible visits are Miami of Ohio and Alabama. Heartland Hoops plans on doing an internet chat with Power next Monday night at 8pm (Lafayette time).

Also over on the Heartland Hoops site is an update on 6'6 Louisiana prospect Nick Anderson, who was at one time mentioning Purdue. The news on Anderson isn't as good, as his newest list includes Oklahoma, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Houston and Texas A&M (the final two have set up official visits already with Anderson).

The Purdue men's basketball team could see walkon help via the football team if a few more multi-sport Indiana prospects sign with the Boiler football program. Already verballed is 6'4 wide receiver/wing guard John Standeford of Monrovia HS, who is not only an all-state football player, but was also named to the Junior All-Star team and ranked as a top underclassman by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. The 175-pound rising senior averaged 21.8 points and 8 rebounds on the basketball court last year. Standeford hit for 30 points in the IHSAA tournament this past year against Paoli, and also scored 30 the previous year in the tournament against Western Boone. Purdue football is also looking at 6'4 Fort Wayne Luers forward Jovan Witherspoon and 6'1 all-state running back Brandon Jones of Peru. Indications are that Jones may choose the basketball route in college.

A familiar name popped up among the finalists in this past weekend's Gus Macker 3-point shooting championship. Kristof Kendrick, son of Purdue assistant Frank Kendrick, made it to the finals of the contest by hitting 11 from the perimeter. However, Kristof ended up in third place, only hitting for 4 in the finals. Kristof's team, the Rough Ridas (also featuring Ali Saeed, Scott Stitsworth and Joe Munguia), placed first in the 14-under and 15-under bracket. Kendrick is a 6'3 forward who will be a freshman at Lafayette Central Catholic this upcoming season, possibly teaming up with two other players with Purdue basketball ties. 6'7 sophomore Tyler Best, brother of Purdue walkon Travis Best, is already at CC. A player rumored to be moving into the area, after his family recently sold their house in Kentland, is 6'3 guard Russell Trudeau, who averaged 17 points last year as a freshman at South Newton HS. Doug Trudeau, Russell's father, was a tri-captain for the Boilers in 1966. Back in early July, Doug said it was "50-50" Russell could end up at Central Catholic. Both Best and Trudeau played for the same Spiece AAU team, coached by Tyler's father Ron Best.

August 6, 1999
I will be taking a much needed vacation over the next week, so the recruiting site will not be updated until after August 15th when I return. Any major recruiting news will be covered by James over on the PurdueBuzz site, a site that will soon be joining us here on MrHoops to further round out our Purdue coverage. Have a good week!

To help temper the withdrawal, a fan has sent in this scouting report on 2001 forward Andre Patterson from Fort Wayne Concordia..."We play him each year and I've watched him play in a couple summer leagues. He is a very good athlete. He needs to add a some weight, but when you play at Concordia you have to lift weights or you don't play. I had never seen him shoot outside of 12-15 feet until tonight, but he was draining threes while he was warming up. I wasn't sure that he had the skills to play small forward or the big guard, but I'm becoming more and more convinced. He did seem to have pretty good form. I have never seen him shoot outside in a game, but that is only because his team didn't need him to. He can handle the ball well. Next year will be a real test for him because all other teams will be focusing on him. He won't have Demetrius Files to take the pressure off of him. You should be able to tell a lot by how he performs. He said that he really likes Purdue."

August 5, 1999
The Purdue men have caught the eyes of a few more center recruits. While 6'11 Kevin Garrity still has Purdue at the top of his list and 6'9 big forward Brian Boddicker is still on the market (although favoring Texas), here are a few more center prospects in the Class of 2000 mentioning Purdue...

Nolan Butterfras, 6'9 228lbs, Cypress Creek HS, TX -- This Nike Camp invitee from Houston showed enough this past spring at the Spiece tournament at Purdue to make the All-Tournament team. Butterfras has an impressive 9'01 reach and has a 6'11 wingspan measurement from fingertip to fingertip. As a junior, he averaged 14 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist. His career scoring high is 27. Butterfras may be looking to stay at home at either Texas A&M or Houston, but is also considering Iowa and Purdue.

Albert Hacker, 6'10 220lbs, Nashville Goodpasture, TN -- Another rising center prospect getting a lot of attention at the moment. In his first year at Goodpasture, after transferring from Brentwood Academy, he averaged 10.5 points and 8 rebounds on a loaded high school team that also featured two players with solid Division I talent. The Cougars posted a 24-7 record and made it to the Tennessee Division II final game, where they lost 51-42. Hackers strongest game of the tournament was a 27 point outburst, and was named to the Tennessee Division II first team as a junior by the Associated Press. Hacker lists Purdue, Louisville, Vanderbilt and others. From the scarce scouting reports I've seen, he seems to be solid defensively. A prospect to keep an eye on.

Peter Ritzema, 7'2 275lbs, Clarkston, MI -- A lot of buzz about this prospect right now. While reports on the Insider's Report call him a "project at the high Division I level", rankings on ESPN put him as the 8th best center recruit in the Class of 2000, and the #43 prospect at any position. Ritzema has had a busy summer playing for The Family AAU program, attending the Nike Peach Jam and Super Showcase tournaments, the NBA Players Association Camp, and has also attended a Gene Keady camp at Purdue. Insider's Report says although he possesses a "super attitude and always gives maximum effort", but also scouts him as being slow-footed and in need of conditioning. Insider's Report mentions Dayton, Xavier, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Notre Dame, Marquette, Ball State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Miami of Ohio, Valparaiso and Pennsylvania as all being involved, while the Penn State site lists Xavier, Purdue and Penn State. His junior season was injury plagued, so good numbers from last year are unavailable.

August 4, 1999
Tifany Young's parents have set up a scholarship fund in the memory of Tiffany. They have asked that anyone wishing to send flowers instead donate to the scholarship fund. Donations can be sent to the Tiffany Young Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 263, Hillsboro, AL 35643.

August 2, 1999
[Tiffany Young]Purdue senior guard Tiffany Young was killed Saturday evening in a car accident in Gary Indiana. The driver of the car that struck the car Young was riding in had a blood alcohol level of .30. More details about the accident can be found on Purdue's official website.

Our prayers go out to Tiffany's family and everyone else involved in the accident. I'll try to track down where the families would like cards and letters sent, and will post the information hopefully by late Monday.

July 31, 1999
Now for a look at a few more point guards with Purdue on their lists. While Northwestern point guard Austin Parkinson still looks like Purdue's priority at the position, many other point prospects in the Class of 2000 are currently, or have recently mentioned the Boilers.

Brandon Childress, 5'9 170lbs, Chanel HS, OH -- A two sport star in both football (wide receiver/defensive end) and basketball, this sturdy cage point guard would be a threat to go on a football scholarship and walk-on with a basketball team. According to Insider's Report as of 6/21, Childress is listing Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Clemson, Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame, UCLA, Southern Cal, Cincinnati, Georgia and Tennessee. Purdue was listed as being interested in his basketball skills. Childress averaged 20 points, four boards and six assists as a junior.

Jerricho Cotchery, 6'2 185lbs, Birmingham Philips, AL -- Another two sport star on the gridiron and basketball, Cotchery is another wide receiver who may be sharper on the field than on the court. He has some big names interested in his football skills, but also has Purdue listed among a list of twenty schools. Mike Sullivan of Insider's Report calls him "a guard who drives to the hoop strong and hard, often drawing fouls, Cotchery has an unorthodox shot release on his jumper...while he is good at basketball, football might be his meal ticket to professional sports." Cotchery is gaining plenty of hoops experience this summer playing for the Alabama Ice AAU program. He is academically qualified.

Tyrone McMath, 5'10 175lbs, Arthur Hill HS, MI -- Purdue has reportedly sent this quick point guard prospect letters, but has questionmarks academically. Bruce Weber and Southern Illinois are also following his progress, along with Toledo, Ohio University, Nebraska, Rutgers, SMU and others. McMath averaged 12 points and 10 assists on a loaded high school team that also featured the MSU bound all-american Jason Richardson. Arthur Hill went all the way to the Class A final game in Michigan last year. McMath generally gets more respect on the AAU cicuit than he does inside the state of Michigan, and we wonder why he didn't make an all-state team last year.

Jason Carter, 5'10 150lbs, Gary Mann HS, IN -- The kid with the biggest reputation among the group of point guard prospects listing Purdue at the moment. AAU coaches who have seen him claim he is a guard who can take a program to the next level, but has avoided big summer camps including Nike keeping people wondering if the hype is true. Insider's Report's Mike Sullivan has seen him, and has this to say "an athletic lefty guard with speed and strong hands who constantly looks to penetrate..he has the strength to rip the ball away from opposing guards and can rise for slams/finish acrobatically." Carter is currently in basketball limbo as he applies to the IHSAA for another year of eligibility due to voluntarily dropping out of school to take care of his ailing father two years ago. Carter was back in school last year at Mann, but the IHSAA says he has exhausted his eligibility in basketball. Carter awaits a ruling from the IHSAA on his eligibility, and has been rumored to be considering transferring to an Indianapolis school such as Cathedral or Pike. Prep school is also an option is his eligibility is turned down. Carter averaged 18 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists as a junior (academically, a senior according to the IHSAA) at Mann last year, and turned down several Indiana all-star invitations hoping another year of eligibility would be awarded. Due to his academic limbo, he is hearing offers from prep schools, junior colleges and high Division I schools. Some of the colleges interested include UMass, Purdue, Notre Dame, Fresno State, Wyoming, Northeastern, Bowling Green, Drake and Wright State.

Terry Collins, 6'1 185lbs, Fort Wayne Snider HS, IN -- A kid we have heard Purdue has been watching for years, so we at least wanted to mention him. You occassionally see Collins rated as high as the top 100 nationally, but academic questions have hurt his stock. Said to be on track now, Collins recently gave a list to Insider's Report of Ball State, Northwestern, Weber State, Southern Illinois, Indiana State, and Bowling Green. He is still wide open. Collins averaged 19.6 points, 3.1 assists, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in a scoring role for Snider as a junior, shooting .378 from the floor, .308 from the perimeter and .642 from the line. Collins was the leading junior scorer in the Summit Athletic Conference, second in all classes to only senior all-star guard Vernard Hollins. While we still wait to hear about serious interest from Purdue, his improving academic situation could boost his stock.

I have recently updated the "Recruiting Links" page, getting rid of some old links and adding a few new ones. If you know of a good site that should be listed on the page, send me a note at bcrichards@hotmail.com and I will add it. Keep in mind that only free sites are listed, and they must have specific recruiting sections.

July 30, 1999
We'll start catching up on a few prospects with Purdue on their list at the point guard position. These rising seniors have been mentioned in connection with by one source or another....

Demetrius Smith, 6'3 190lbs, Callaway HS, GA -- This superb athlete is probably the highest rated point guard known to be considering Purdue. Insider's Report lists him as the 8th best player at his position, averaging 23 points and 6 assists as a junior. Back at the end of June, Smith gave a wide open list that included Purdue. Since then, Smith has identified 11 schools as the frontrunners (Auburn, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Kentucky, NC State, Tennessee and Texas), with Purdue still being mentioned as a consideration. Smith was an ABCD Camp invitee.

Jameer Nelson, 5'11 175lbs, Chester HS, PA -- Nelson averaged 15 points, 6 assists, 6 boards and 5 steals as a junior. Purdue has been considered by Nelson, but a report by Insider's Report just today gave a new list for Nelson that included only Massachusetts, St. Joe's, Temple, Penn State, Texas, Virginia, Providence, Seton Hall, Southern Cal, and Memphis.

More names coming, including five more point prospects in the Class of 2000 alone.

Former Purdue assistant Bruce Weber continues to recruit well at Southern Illinois. Weber just recently received a verbal from 6'0 scorer Mo Niakate from Springfield, IL. Niakate, a french import, averaged 27 points per game as a junior. Bob Gibbons recently rated him very highly at the Steamboat Tournament in Tennessee.

July 28, 1999
John Boyd was named the new head coach at Gary West High school last night. Boyd has high hopes for the future of Westside basketball.

Russ Blake of the Insider's Report sends us his impressions of center Kevin Garrity, who currently has Purdue at the top of his list..."One thing he's got is size -- he's a legit 6'9+, 245-250 pounds. He passes the look test all right, but the play test leaves you feeling a bit more ambiguous. I've never seen Kevin dominate AAU games, even though he typically towers over and outweighs his counterparts by quite a bit. His offensive skills are just OK, and he is not going to dazzle you with any athleticism or above the rim play. In essence, he's a clog the middle type center with decent mobility. I could see him wind up in the WWF before the NBA, unless of course he improves significantly in his senior year and college. Garrity will actually be a fifth year senior this fall, and as a result, he is leaving Wardlaw Hartridge (where he has no eligibility left) to attend the Hun School in Princeton."

Over the course of the next two weeks, we will be catching up on prospects who have been mentioned by other sites as being interested in Purdue. At this point it is hard to measure the extent of mutual interest, but we will at least let you know who is listing Purdue.

July 27, 1999
Several schools have made good use of the July evaluation period and convinced a few former Purdue prospects to make verbal commitments. Louisville Assumption's 6'2 forward Jenni Benningfield has verbally committed to Vanderbilt. Mason High's 6'1 Michelle Munoz, teammate of Purdue's most recent recruit Beth Jones, has given an early verbal to Tennessee. Although not as tall as we had earlier been led to believe, Munoz will be able to bang in the post at Tennessee and be successful. She is so strong, and can catch and shoot from anywhere on the floor out to the perimeter. Ohio State has not only landed another Purdue prospect, but also a former Purdue coach. 6'3 203-pound Emily Haynam from Westerville South High in Ohio committed to Ohio State a couple of weeks ago. Haynam is an impressive prospect that pivots well, and has a nice perimeter stroke (although we didn't see too many fall for her). We were also surprised to see former Boiler assistant Seth Kushkin working the Nike Camp wearing Ohio State garb. Ohio State could be headed for a stellar class if they can go on to sign either 5'11 Diana Taurasi or 6'2 Ebony Hoffman, rated #2 and #3 respectively in the Class of 2000 by Fast Break. The good news for Purdue is that the #1 and #4 prospects on that same list are still available and interested in the Boilers. 5'11 Anne O'Neil, who holds the top rating, played on the same team as Boiler recruit Lindsey Hicks at the Nike Camp. O'Neil lives up to her reputation of being a great 1-on-1 player. Playing a mixture of roles at the camp, from primary ballhandler to a slashing forward, O'Neil has great instincts and the poise to run her offense under the tightest defense. What impressed us the most was her ability to push the ball and the offense, whether it be in the open court on the break or in a halfcourt set. Probably the most talented point guard we saw last week had to be the 4th rated player, 5'8 Cherise Graham from Archbishop High in Pennsylvania. Her ballhandling stood out from her peers and is an exciting player to watch work on the floor. Graham currently lists Colorado, Connecticut, Michigan, Penn State, Purdue and Tennessee.

We're watching with interest the upcoming replacement of Ike Brown at Gary West High, who retired after the end of the 98-99 season to devote more time to golf and gardening. Brown leaves Gary Westside after 21 years, averaging 14 victories per season for the Cougars. Kenny Lowe was named to Brown's all-time starting five team as a guard, a list that also included Larry Demic at center who went on to start in the NBA for the New York Knicks. The recent connection to Purdue is obvious, since both McQuay brothers and incoming freshman Kenny Lowe were all Westside graduates. And the recruiting at Westside does not look to be over, as Purdue is showing early interest in rising sophomore Brandon Cameron, a 6'0 guard with a knack for defense. Cameron is generally considered among the top few players in the class of 2002 and should see plenty of time on the floor with the recent graduation of Westside's deeply talented senior class. But the question remains who will be the new head coach at Gary West? The frontrunner at the moment seems to be assistant coach John Boyd, but actions this summer by the school board makes us wonder if a coach will ever be named. Back at the end of June, Boyd was on the Gary Community School Board's agenda to be named the new head coach, but was deleted from the agenda during the meeting. On July 13, Boyd was again to be placed on the agenda, but was again deleted. The next meeting is scheduled for July 27. According to The Times of Northwest Indiana, the two top candidates for the job are Boyd and former Horace Mann assistant Melvin Yancey. Others rumored to be on the list include West assistant Murray Richards (another one of Brown's all-time starters) and Gary Wirt's Omar Vazquez.

July 25, 1999
According to this report from Heartland Hoops, Andrean High's Shane Power has said Purdue has offered him a scholarship. Along with Purdue, Southern California and Iowa State have all offered Shane, with Indiana State, Ball State, Valparaiso, Ohio and South Florida also being considered. The 6'5 tweener has the strength to go inside, but also has excellent ballhandling skills to play the off-guard. Power was a member of the Indiana Junior All-Star team, and plays along side Brett Buscher on the SYF AAU team currently in Florida for the AAU Nationals. Power averaged 24.4 points as a junior at 3A Andrean High, 21.7 points as a sophomore and 16.7 points as a freshman.

It has been confirmed that Matt Lottich has verballed to Stanford.

July 19, 1999
We received an email this weekend from the Nike Peach Jam festival stating Matt Lottich has committed to Stanford. At this time we can't confirm the rumor, but he has had Stanford near the top of his list.

Purdue has announced former Boiler and Ray Eddy "Mr. Hustle" four-time winner Todd Foster will be leaving his assistant coaching position at Valparaiso University and will join the Boilermaker staff. The position became available after assistant Frank Kendrick took a job at the Purdue Memorial Union. While it is still up in the air whether Frank will return to the staff at a future date, rumors suggest he has moved on for good. Purdue prospects will still see assistant Jim Thrash out on the recruiting trail, but he will now be joined by assistant Jay Price who was bumped up into Frank's recruiting position. Price has been praised by Keady in the past for his excellent ability to scout opponents and recognize the individual skills and weaknesses of players. Those skills should translate well into evaluating future Boilermakers. Welcome back Todd, and congratualtions to Jay Price in his new position!

July 13, 1999
One of the more interesting aspects of the Nike Camp is the accurate measurements of all the players in attendance. Players are measured in their bare feet, and height, weight, wingspan and reach are all recorded. The following are the measurements of some of the prospects of interest to Purdue. I will be updating the stats under their player profiles later.

                 Ht    Wt    Reach   Wingspan
Brett Buscher    6'07  229   8'05    6'10
Caron Butler     6'05  230   8'04    6'11
Brian Carter     6'10  190   8'10    6'11
John Hamilton    6'03  173   7'10    6'04
Sean Kline       6'06  203   8'03    6'08
Robbie Owens     6'05  180   8'05    6'08
Austin Parkinson 6'00  177   7'07    6'00
Zach Randolph    6'09  270   8'08    6'11
Chris Thomas     6'00  164   7'08    6'01
James Thues      5'10  160   7'06    6'01

July 11, 1999
The big news of the week for the Purdue men has Frank Kendrick stepping aside to take a new position in the Purdue Memorial Union. The move, initiated by Kendrick with the approval of the athletic department, will allow the controversy surrounding his appeal to be distanced from the team next season. Once Kendrick's appeal to the NCAA is finished, he may choose to rejoin the coaching staff. In the interim, Keady will be interviewing coaching candidates and hopes to have a replacement by the end of July. Third assistant Jay Price will be taking over off-campus recruiting duties for Kendrick until a replacement can be found. Because the coaching position may be temporary due to the possibility Kendrick may rejoin the team, it could affect the placement of a new coach on staff. One candidate mentioned has been former player Todd Foster, but it is unknown if he would leave his current assistant coaching position to take what may be a temporary position at Purdue. Other candidates rumored to be on the list include Walter Jordan, Mack Gadis, Andre Patterson Sr. (not the former IU star) and Cuonzo Martin. Martin has expressed interest in the position, and will likely accept if asked. The decision of Kendrick to step aside doesn't seem to be having an effect on the Boiler recruits.

The last two women's recruits have come from the state of Ohio, and now that trend continues as the women's team received their second commitment for the class of 2000. Shooting guard Beth Jones from Mason High in Ohio has verbally committed to Curry and staff. The 5'9 Jones is a deadly shooter from the perimeter who averaged 11 points on the nation's top high school program last season. The addition of Jones could also help land another prospect from Mason High. Rising junior Michelle Munoz, the 6'0 daughter of Bengals Hall of Fame tackle Anthony Munoz, is rated as one of the best center prospects in the nation.

The Illini women have picked up a center recruit. Brenda Blackburn, a 6'6 rising senior center from Ardmore Oklahoma has verballed to Teresa Grentz's program.

After spending most of the time over the last week at the Nike Camp in Indianapolis, updates on the players in attendance will filter out over the next few days. There will also be some reports on recruits not on Purdue's list posted on the new SportsMidwest site, and links to those articles will be posted here. Next weekend, we will be at the Nike Women's All-American Camp and will have some scouting reports on some of the Boiler women prospects, including Anne O'Neil who is scheduled to be in attendance.

July 6, 1999
Ohio State hit the July evaluation period running with two commitments this weekend. Providence transfer Sean Connolly again committed to Jim O'Brien and will play for the Buckeyes after sitting out the 1999-2000 season due to NCAA transfer rules. I say "again" committed because Connelly orginally was supposed to be a part of O'Brien's Boston College team. After Boston College refused to let two other recruits in his class enroll at the university, O'Brien left the university and Connelly also left and signed with Providence's Pete Gillan...who then left to take over at Virginia. Connelly asked to leave Providence at the end of the season, and will now be reunited with O'Brien and Scoonie Penn, a former AAU teammate. Connelly is a 6'5 guard who averaged 11 points per game at Providence, shooting 38-percent from the perimeter. Another AAU teammate of Connelly's and Penn's was 6'10 Micheal Bradley, who left Boston College and went to Kentucky. Bradley transferred from Kentucky at the end of this season, but chose Villanova over Ohio State. Ohio State hasn't had much luck recruiting other 6'10 centers this year, but they finally landed one. Their first two 6'10 center candidates from Ohio, Robertas Javtokas of Akron St. Vincent/St. Mary and 6'10 Arno Ampalu of Wellston, both chose other programs. But the Buckeyes did land another homegrown big man in 6'10 Matt Marinchick from Hudson, Ohio. Marinchick chose Ohio State over Tennessee, and is generally rated among the nation's top 30 rising senior centers.

July 4, 1999
The state's third leading scorer during the 98-99 season is coming to Purdue and hopes to walk on the basketball team this fall. Evansville Day's Jeremy Willis is a 6'0 guard who set the city scoring record this year with 1,899 points and a 27.8 per game average. Willis broke the Evansville city scoring record previously held by former Boiler star Bob Ford, who went on to land at #19 among Purdue's all-time scorers in only three years of play. The city record stood for 31 years before Willis broke it midway through his season. Willis chose Purdue for the academics, but has a dream of also playing Division I ball. A National Honor Society student that carries a 3.6 GPA, Willis plans to become a pharmacist at Purdue. Class 1A Evansville Day had its best record in school history during the 98-99 season, going 19-4. Tryouts for walkon positions on the men's team will be held this fall.

July 3, 1999
Many known Purdue prospects are coming forward to say the NCAA's decision this week will not affect their decisions to come to Purdue. Here are some encouraging quotes from a recent Journal and Courier article, where Jeff Washburn tracked down some of the prospects to see what they were thinking...

Brett Buscher..."Nothing has changed - I'm still very happy to be going to Purdue."

John Hamilton Sr..."These infractions have no bearing on John at all."

Zach Randolph..."I like the coaches. As far as I'm concerned, everything is the same."

Austin Parkinson..."It's really important to me that if I go to Purdue that Coach Kendrick is there."

Bruce Parkinson went on to express his admiration for the Purdue staff. He also said that the sign of a great program is the kids you recruit. If anything should be learned from this situation, it is that kids that do not care to buy into the system, and expect the system to buy them, should never grace Keady Court again. Bruce mentioned Lowe and Buscher as being two of the greatest kids Purdue could hope to sign. I want to extend it further. Since the class of Stephens and Davis fristrated Keady into saying he needed to sign more quality kids, he has gone out and signed Maynard Lewis, Rodney Smith, John Allison, Adam Wetzel, Joe Marshall and Kenny Lowe. All high quality kids who shy away from trouble and know what it means to be a student-athlete. While many critics are calling for Keady to change his recruiting in the wake of the NCAA decision, it is obvious Keady changed two years ago and will continue to sign quality kids regardless of external pressure.

July 2, 1999
Purdue plans to appeal the Wednesday ruling by the NCAA that will impose penalties for two alleged recruiting violations that occurred over three years ago. Of the 16 violations the NCAA examined, which could have resulted in over 100 violations of NCAA rules, the NCAA found only two that they could justify as legitimate, according to their assumptions.

The NCAA claims Purdue set up a bank loan to help former player Luther Clay pay off his prep school bill, insisting assistant coach Frank Kendrick set up the deal and Bank One banker Bill Powers did not expect the loan to be repaid. A loan that Bank One itself has identified as normal, turning over documentation to the NCAA showing similar loans were made to a variety of Purdue students. A loan, despite the assumption of Clay it was a free loan, that the bank demanded payment on from Clay on several occassions leading up to his decision to transfer. A loan Frank Kendrick passed a series of lie detector tests that cleared him of any involvement. A loan that has resulted in both Bill Powers and Frank Kendrick retaining legal counsel and possibly filing suit against the NCAA or Clay himself. A loan that at one time was reviewed by the NCAA and found to be legitimate.

Violation two, from the NCAA's view, claims a Purdue booster, Gene McFadden, helped Porter Roberts' mother move to Indianapolis and stay rent free in an apartment owned by McFadden. Purdue pointed out that McFadden was not a Purdue booster, just the boyfriend of Cuonzo Martin's mother who agreed to help Mrs. Roberts escape an abusive relationship in Tennessee and move to Indianapolis. Gene McFadden responded by identifying himself as a Michigan State alum and booster, and said he held no real affinity for Purdue. The NCAA claims Frank Kendrick also set up this move, but newspaper reports have identified the move was the idea of Porter himself, who was introduced to McFadden by Cuonzo Martin. Even the idea the move was free has been refuted. Mrs. Roberts performed housecleaning for McFadden in exchange for the free apartment he furnished for her. The NCAA also claims that when Mrs. Roberts rode to Lafayette to Purdue games with McFadden and Martin, she was being given an illegal benefit because of her son being on the Purdue team.

Purdue plans to appeal the NCAA decision, but knowing how stubborn they have been in the past, they aren't likely to change anything. For information on the Purdue response to the NCAA, check out this link to the official Purdue site. All penalties handed down by the NCAA are put on hold until the appeals process is completed, which could take many months.

Now for the penalties affecting recruiting. We will handle them one by one and try to explain the relevance of each to Purdue's ability to successfully recruit.

Penalty One - Purdue's Frank Kendrick is not allowed to recruit off the Purdue campus for one year. This is maybe the worst of the imposed penalties, but considering it is just one year, it could have been much worse. The NCAA would like to get rid of Kendrick and was embarrassed when everyone from Purdue President Steven Beering on down stood by him. Other programs under NCAA scrutiny have cut loose coaches, and have received lesser penalties than Purdue did for keeping a member of the Purdue family. While Frank is one of the most energetic and charming people one could hope to meet, he will still be on the Purdue campus when prospects come to visit. And since he is visible with many of the younger kids, a year off won't be so bad. He is already well-known by most of the recruits who will make a decision the year he will be spending time on campus. In his place, assistant coach Jay Price will likely take over his off-campus recruiting duties.

Penalty Two - Purdue loses one scholarship for the seasons of 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. This, again, isn't as bad as it looks. Purdue has an incredible amount of scholarships to offer the high school class of 2000, a total of six. Since Purdue wasn't planning on using all six that year, it will not be an issue for that class. However, the class of 2001 may have only one scholarship available. Considering Indiana will have five legitimate top 100 players in that class, the effects might be felt in this class. All in all, losing a scholarship can be a recruiting advantage in signing a big class of up to five players at once. Not only will the lack of the extra body increase their playing time (a major selling point to players today), the existence of only one scholarship the following class guarantees only one position will be recruited the following year. This will serve as a guarantee of more playing time in the player's second year on the team. Some have made the argument that the loss of a scholarship will not punish Purdue, but rather punish a kid who wants to get a college education. While it will prevent them from coming to Purdue, if they are good enough to come to Purdue in the first place they will easily be scooped up by another college and given the chance to get a college education. However, the kids it really hurts are the walk-ons, like Travis Best, who frequently are awarded unused scholarships. In Travis' favor, he already gets a discounted tuition due to his mother being a Purdue employee.

Penalty Three - Purdue is limited to only four official visits for the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons. While colleges are allowed 12 visits from potential prospects, here's why a limit of four will not hurt Purdue at all. Over the past four years, which includes a class in which Purdue signed five players, Purdue has used an average of 5.25 visits per year. In reality, Purdue is only losing a fraction over one visit per year. While the staff might use a lot more visits to sign a class of five, four of the five players in the class of 2000 most likely to join the Boilers are Indiana residents and will not need to be flown in at the expense of Purdue. They also have already visited Purdue unofficially in the past. There is advantages to recruiting on your home turf. You tend not to need many official visits. The following class will only have one scholarship, so four officials will be plenty and will not have an effect on that class either. The 4 visit limit might hurt if the staff got into a last minute battle to fill a certain position, but if Keady believes he already has five kids verballed for the class of 2000, that worry may may be moot.

So, even if the NCAA penalties survive the appeal, they really have a very minor influence on recruiting. What the prospects will have to deal with is the negative recruiting from other schools. But the players and prospects are smart enough to know that this is not a reflection on them as people or players. If Glenn Robinson can excel at Purdue while opponents scream "stupid" and chant "Prop48" every time he comes down the floor, why should players and prospects take criticism to heart for something Luther Clay did?

June 28, 1999
Bruce Weber and staff have hit Indiana and picked up Indiana All-Star Jermaine Dearman from Warren Central High in Indianapolis. The 6'8 post player is very athletic, moves well, and can spin easily around most post players using his quickness. He also knows how to finish. Not strong, but tenacious. Definitely a player who should spend all summer shooting freethrows. For more info on Weber's recruit, check out this Indy Star article.

Bloomington Red AAU, featuring Purdue prospect Austin Parkinson, won the Indiana state AAU championship this weekend, defeating SYF Players AAU, featuring Brett Buscher, 97-67. Spiece South took third by defeating Bloomington Blaze.

While Zach Randolph dominates at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado, a couple of other players mentioning Purdue are also performing well. Below are some stats for Class of 2000 prospects Nick Anderson and Kevin Garrity through all games at the festival...

Nick Anderson    FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Game 1            4 10   0  2   0  4   3  5  8   5  8  0  1  1  1  16
Game 2            6 12   0  0   1  2   2  6  8   1 13  1  0  1  0  19
Game 3           10 11   0  0   1  1   5  8 13   4 21  3  1  1  0  31
Game 4           11 19   0  1   1  2   7  3 10   4 23  1  0  1  0  26
Game 5            5  9   0  1   1  2   2  6  8   3 11  1  2  4  0  27

Kevin Garrity    FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Game 1            0  2   0  0   0  0   0  4  4   4  0  0  0  0  0  18
Game 2            2  5   0  0   2  2   2  3  5   4  6  1  0  0  0  23
Game 3            2  4   0  0   0  0   4  3  7   4  4  1  2  0  0  19
Game 4            2  6   0  0   0  0   1  0  1   3  4  0  1  1  0  16
Game 5            0  1   0  0   0  0   0  3  3   3  0  0  0  0  0   9

June 25, 1999
Down under the June 20th update, we mentioned a persistent rumor that Purdue was close to getting a verbal commitment from a big man from a New Jersey prep school. That player was identified today as 6'11 250lb center Kevin Garrity from Wardlaw-Hartridge Prep in North Brunswick, NJ. Although he has Purdue currently as his top pick, he has yet to drop out of the recruiting race and will continue to look at other schools. Garrity is currently at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado with the USA Basketball Development League and will be playing games this weekend. For updates on the festival, check out the USA Basketball website. A profile on Garrity is in the works, and we will attempt to give you information on how his visits to other school go this summer and fall. Garrity is rated at #28 by Insiders Report and is among the top centers in the country. His junior season numbers were 14 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks for Wardlaw-Hartridge Prep. According to the list Garrity gave Insiders Report, Purdue now tops a list that also includes Duquesne, Fordham, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia, LaSalle, Xavier, Penn State, Delaware and East Carolina. We know he has taken an official visit to Rutgers, but has yet to visit Purdue.

Kristy Curry anxiously awaits the upcoming July evaluation period that begins June 26th and will continue until August 4th. As the above linked article also states, she will have some instate competition on the road from former Boiler Jennifer Jacoby, who has been elevated to a recruiting assistant position at Indiana.

June 21, 1999
One of the things we overheard at the Junior All-Star game on Wednesday was the interest of Purdue in Fort Wayne Concordia's Andre Patterson. According to a source at the game, Purdue has offered the 6'6 rising junior center and he may be interested in making an early commitment. Patterson helped Concordia tie for the Summit Athletic Conference regular season championship this past year averaging 14.3 points, 10.4 boards and 4 blocks per game. Andre was given the "best defender" award at last summer's Five Star Developmental Camp for then rising sophomores. It was the same camp Chris Thomas took home the "Most Outstanding Player" and "Best Playmaker" awards. Patterson visited Mackey for a game last January.

June 20, 1999
People started to whisper two weeks ago. At a Crawfordsville alumni function, Gene Keady said he had five verbal commitments from the rising senior class. The following week, word came from Monticello that he said it again. Then this week at a Chicago alumni function, he said a little more. Keady said Purdue has three signees (Lowe, Wetzel, and Marshall) and five verbals, including a center. The only known verbal commitment for the Class of 2000 is Brett Buscher, leaving four unknown players out there who have reportedly told the staff they will come to Purdue. But questions remain about who Keady might consider a verbal commitment for the next recruiting class. Is Coach including Cameron Stephens, who is spending time at Vincennes Junior College next year and will be available to rejoin the Boilers for the 2000-2001 season? Is he also including Travis Best, an invited walk-on who will be eligible for the 2000-2001 season? Do the coaches still believe Caron Butler has verballed to Purdue when both he and his coach claim he is still looking at schools and the NBA? Have the remaining four verbally committed prospects been offered scholarships from the coaches, or are they just players who have said they will commit if Purdue offers them? All questions that make the issue so interesting. John Hamilton comes up as the most likely to have told the coaches he will accept a scholarship offer, but has yet to publicly announce his decision. The second player mentioned the most is Austin Parkinson. However, Bruce Parkinson on Wednesday said Austin has not yet verballed to any school and is still looking around. The third candidate is Butler, but it is obvious he is in no hurry to formally commit to any school as long as their might be a question of going to the NBA after next season. Then there are the rumors. One rumor that has been around since late in the season has a big man from a New Jersey prep school close to verballing to Purdue. Sources claim the staff is not referring to Caron Butler, who will likely be a wing player and doesn't attend school in the state of New Jersey. On thing is for sure. Just when we think we know a lot about what is going on recruiting-wise, something comes up like this that shows us we still have a lot of digging to do.

June 10, 1999
With 15 scholarships to give, a walk-on with the women's program has a very good chance of getting a scholarship on a year-to-year basis since rarely are all 15 scholarships used. Danielle Bird has benefitted the past two seasons from excess scholarships, and will again be on scholarship for the 1999-2000 season. Two additional seniors started their Purdue careers as walk-ons, Amy Shaffer and Shayla Potter. Shaffer will be on scholarship next season, but will not be participating due to a student teaching assignment that will keep her busy off the court. Shayla Potter will not be on scholarship, deciding instead to enter Purdue's ROTC program on a full-time basis. The only other walk-on currently listed on the Boiler roster is junior Beth Lapaich, who at this moment is still being listed as a walk-on. The scholarship page has been updated to reflect the changes in the status of the players.

June 7, 1999
Bloomington Red defeated Spiece South today at the Abbey AC tournament in Cleveland, according to this Insider's Report article. Jared Jeffries led Red with 15 points. Ben Davis HS combo guard CJ Hill led Spiece with 21 points. CJ Hill was my top sleeper from the Purdue Spiece tournament in May. He is an aggressive player capable of turning around the momentum of a game. More on the Cleveland tournament will come later this week as we talk to the coaches of Bloomington Red and Spiece South. We will try to get more info on the other players who weren't lucky enough to be the leading scorers for their teams and get mentioned in tournament reports. The most annoying aspect of the AAU season is the lack of statistics. Very, very few AAU tournaments take any statistics other than scoring. That is a main reason why the scoring point guards raise their rankings over the summer, while passing point guards tend to go unmentioned.

June 5, 1999
SYF Players 17-under AAU, which features Purdue recruit Brett Buscher, won last weekend's Jerry Watson tournament in Columbus, OH. Although Brett was named MVP by a couple of scouting services, here are the all-tournament teams and MVP according to the tournament committee, including four Indiana high school players including Buscher, 5'11 junior point guard Steve Drabyn (LaPorte), 6'2 junior 2-guard Corey Stokes (East Chicago) and 6'2 junior 2-guard Michael Miller (South Bend Clay).

The Indiana state AAU tournament for rising sophomore boys will be held at the Indianapolis Sports Center on June 11-13 and 19-20. The draw for the tournament has been made, and the pool assignments can be accessed by following this link to Jim Reamer's Indiana Select AAU page.

June 2, 1999
Two more rising senior guards to keep an eye on in the state of Michigan are 6'0 combo guard James Thues from Detroit King HS and 6'2 point guard Maurice Searight from Orchard Lake St. Mary's. Thues is still looking around, but recently told the Insider's Report he had Michigan, Michigan State, Iowa, Purdue, Cincinnati, DePaul, St. Louis, Tulane, Louisville, and Illinois as strong considerations. Thues is strong defensively and can handle as well as drive with the ball. Identified early as one of the nation's top prospects, Thues was dealt a major blow his junior year when his brother Jerome was the victim of a shooting at a gas station in Detroit. Jerome survived the shooting and is currently undergoing rehabilitation to be able to walk again. James was named all-Michigan honorable mention by the Detroit Free Press, but is one of the top players in Michigan. After shaking off the incident with his brother, James came back to lead King HS to the PSL championship wearing his brother's birthday on his shoes. Prep Spotlight recently ranked James as the country's 10th best junior prospect. Thues plays on the same AAU team, The Family, with 6'2 point guard Maurice Searight, making up one of the top rising senior backcourts in AAU this summer. At the Bluegrass Festival in Kentucky this past weekend, The Family had a first round 66-56 victory over a Florida team. Thues finished with 15 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds while Searight added 14 points and 7 assists. Searight is ranked as the nation's #6 prospect by Prep Spotlight, and at #10 by Hoop Scoop. The second team all-Michigan player had an early list this spring that included Texas, Duke, Michigan, Nebraska, Purdue, Syracuse, Penn State, and Marquette...a list that will certainly grow by the end of the summer. Searight's strongest game is basketball, where he is an athletic floor leader and can take anyone off the dribble, but also plays football. Both players have said they plan on narrowing their lists by the end of the summer.

May 31, 1999
Russ Blake from the Insider's Report emailed me this week to say Purdue is being looked at by two sport star Charles Spencer of Poughkeepsie, NY. The 6'5 280-pound rising senior post player/tight end/linebacker will probably be taking a football scholarship in college, but also averaged 16 points and 16 rebounds last season on the basketball court. Russ says some of the schools pursuing Spencer at this point are Connecticut, Fordham, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Providence, Purdue, Rhode Island, Rutgers, St John's, Syracuse, UMass, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. His summer plans include attending a Syracuse football camp and playing with the Albany City Rocks AAU program.

A situation to follow closely over the next year will be the eligibility of 5'10 Horace Mann senior (eligibility-wise) Jason Carter. Carter is a name that popped up for me after a 30 point second half performance last year against Indianapolis Pike and all-state guard Chris Thomas. Carter is applying for another year of athletic eligibility with the IHSAA, and is expected to win due to extenuating circumstances. Those circumstances are mapped out in an outstanding article in the Times by Matt Youmans. Carter will likely transfer to an Indianapolis school if his eligibility is granted by the IHSAA this summer. Although not very big, Carter has a reputation of being the best point guard in the state, and will get major attention next year if he wins the appeal. Skill-wise, Carter is the type of talent that can help take a program to the next level. If you get a chance, take time to read the article linked above.

May 27, 1999
Cameron Stephens has signed with Vincennes University. Cam could return to Purdue for the 2000-2001 season after one year at the juco level. He would have two seasons of eligibility remaining, unless he could complete his degree requirements in that time which would allow him a 5th year of eligibility.

A player Purdue checked out for most of his high school career has chosen to attend prep school instead of going to college. 6'8 Gary West forward Vincent Hart has been released from his letter of intent by Saint Louis, and will instead spend a year at Maine Central Institute. Rumors began circulating early this spring that Hart was not pleased with his choice of colleges, especially after Saint Louis suffered a mid-season coaching change. During the time Purdue was looking at Hart, the team was overloaded at forward and the coaches had Ricky Wright as their #1 option. Wright ended up passing on Purdue due to that glut of forwards, three of which are no longer with the team. Whether Purdue will recruit Hart at MCI remains to be seen. Hart reportedly intentionally failed his senior year at Gary West to avoid graduating, gaining a release from Saint Louis. The person who orchestrated his delivery to MCI has been mentioned on this site many times before in connection with Region-based prospects, James Dye. Dye helped East Chicago Central's Bobby Smith and Marcus Jefferson get out of the Region and into prep schools, to the dismay of their high school coach. Now Dye has become the target of retiring head coach Ike Brown at Gary West, a man Brown claims convinced Hart to blow off high school and attend prep school. "He was told the badder his grades were the better chance he'd have of getting in (the prep school)," Brown told the Times. Hart has indicated he still would like to go to Saint Louis after MCI, if they want him in a year.

Speaking of MCI, former head coach Max Good has landed a spot as an assistant coach at UNLV. Good decided to move on after MCI had the decision to make cuts in the basketball program. It is unknown if the number of scholarships granted to postgraduate players will decrease, but it has been indicated that an attempt will be made to shorten the season.

Indiana University received a verbal from Indianapolis Perry Meridian rising senior guard Andre Owens this week. Owens can play either guard position, but might be better suited at point. Owens plays for former Boiler Mark Barnhizer at Perry Meridian, who saw Purdue show some interest in Owens late this spring. He was expected to attend either Indiana or Northwestern, but also had an interest in Purdue, Bowling Green, Indiana State, and a host of other Big Ten programs. Owens will spend the rest of the summer touring with the Bloomington Red AAU squad.

May 25, 1999
Former Louisville guard Travis Best is headed for Purdue, according to Travis' father Ron Best. "Travis will help Purdue," said Best, who helps coach the Spiece Pistols AAU squad. "He is a good student and he will be one of the strongest on the team." Travis is a work out nut and is a true point guard. Ron Best also tells me the family has moved to Lafayette. Best will be the team's second walk on guard along with senior Chad Kerkhof. The family already has a son in town going to school, 6'8 rising sophomore forward Tyler Best, who attends Lafayette Catholic High. Purdue is showing early interest in Tyler, as well as a handful of other kids in the Class of 2002 we will be telling you about through the summer. More information on both Best kids coming a little later.

May 24, 1999
After taking a weekend visit, Mississippi State sophomore guard Joe Marshall has decided to transfer to Purdue. The 6'2 combo guard will sit out the 1999-2000 season and have two years of eligibility remaining. More details to come in his player profile, now being constructed.

Cameron Stephens is looking at junior colleges. The Indy Star reports Stephens visited Vincennes University last week. If Stephens goes to junior college, he could be eligible to play at a Division I college again in the 2000-2001 season and would have one year of eligibility remaining. We will be re-activating the profiles of Jamaal Davis and Cameron Stephens this fall and will update their seasons in junior college. Although neither may choose to attend Purdue again, we will keep an eye on them as we would any other junior college player that has interest in Purdue.

May 21, 1999
California juco Mike Garrett has signed with UNLV. What might be a more anticipated signing in the works for UNLV is the addition of Maine Central Institute head coach Max Good to the coaching staff. Good is considering offers for a host of programs including UNLV and Rhode Island.

Iowa has received a verbal from one of the top forwards in the junior class. Glen Worley, a 6'8 all-state forward from Iowa City West, announced he will be signing with Iowa in the fall. Worley cited his closeness to the members of Tom Davis' staff remaining on new coach Steve Alford's staff, and was impressed by Alford's vision. Worley averaged 22.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game as a junior. He is academically qualified, and projected as a small forward in college.

May 16, 1999
The Insider's Report has found another Louisiana player with Purdue on his list. Southern Lab (Baton Rouge) Nick Anderson has UConn, Purdue, Dayton, Texas, Villanova, Arizona, UCLA, DePaul, Houston, Memphis, Southern Mississippi and Youngstown State on his list. The 6-6 212-pound small forward averaged 22 points, 11 boards and 4 assists last season as a junior. Anderson was one selected to be on the 1998 USA Men's Development Festival South Team, and averaged 11.2 points and 7.8 rebounds shooting 47-percent from the floor and 50-percent from the perimeter. Among the 45 future and current high school all-american on the 4 USA teams, Anderson finished second in rebounds per game and fourth in blocked shots, all while playing mostly as a wing guard. Anderson is rated at #34 among juniors by USA TODAY.

Nathan Popp and Ryan Hogan have both landed with new programs. Ryan Hogan has signed with Iowa, while Popp chose UNC-Greensboro over Dayton. The two remaining prospects looking at Purdue, Michael Caballero and Mike Garrett are longshots at this point. Both do not look likely to qualify, and with the recent losses of Stephens and Gary McQuay to grades, you have to wonder if Keady would continue to chase academic casualties to fill a last minute spot at guard.

May 15, 1999
Some Iowa recruiting news to catch up on...6'5 winger Joey Range has decided to transfer to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, and move sparked by comments from head coach Steve Alford this week that Range would not be academically eligible to play for the Hawkeyes in the fall. Range could possibly be eligible again to play Division I in the 2000-2001 season, but will have to do some intensive summer coursework to make it. While losing one player to a Kansas community college, Iowa has recently picked up another Kansas community college player. Barton County CC 6'7 forward Joe Fermino will join the Hawkeyes next season and have two years of eligibility remaining. Fermino played one season at Monmouth College out of high school, then transferred to Barton CC stating he wasn't happy at Monmouth. Fermino averaged 12.8 points and 5.4 rebounds at Barton, and had similar numbers when he played at Monmouth. Fermino will join another Iowa juco signee on the club next year, 6'6 forward Rob Griffin of Southeastern Community College. Southeastern CC head coach Joe O'Brien was hoping for an even trade, telling the Hawk Eye that Range could fill the team's new void at small forward left by Griffin. Iowa also recently received a verbal commitment from Iowa high school freshman Jeff Horner, a 6'2 point guard who averaged 19 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.3 assists last season. Iowa is also rumored to be close to getting Kentucky transfer Ryan Hogan.

May 14, 1999
It appears Cameron Stephens would have to sit out through at least the fall semester, but could regain eligibility at another school and rejoin the team in January 2000. A possible choice would be to attend Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne while he spends time at home this summer, but no announcement has been made if he even desires to return to college in any form. The coaching staff will not make an announcement until the fall, so the information will have to come from Cam. The scholarship page will be updated over the weekend to better illustrate the impact on the classes.

Purdue is showing interest in one of two recent transfers that Purdue once recruited in high school. The one Purdue does not have interest in is 7'2 Tennessee transfer Nathan Popp. Popp is down to Dayton and UNC-Greensboro. Mentioned a few days ago was Ryan Hogan, who lists Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue, and Marquette. The Indianapolis Star is reporting Purdue is interested and has asked Kentucky for permission to speak to Hogan. A visitor to this site has indicated Keady has been making phone calls to try to find out where Hogan is to set up a time to talk to him. The coaches have attempted to contact Hogan directly, but are limited to one phone call per week to a specific recruit and have yet to get a call back from Hogan. It is apparent that Keady is very interested in bringing Hogan to Purdue.

The Star also reported today that wayward son Jamaal Davis, who left Purdue because of grades in December, will be transferring to another junior college. Davis had originally planned to play at Barton County CC in Kansas, but will instead follow Barton County coach Ryan Cross to Chipola JC in Florida.

May 12, 1999
Times writer John O'Malley learned yesterday that Purdue will lose two mens players to academic ineligibility. It had been long speculated Gary McQuay was in academic trouble, but most are surprised to learn Cameron Stephens will likely also be ruled ineligible. Keady told the Times yesterday "Gary won't be back". We will be updating this story as it develops. Grades were officially released today, and it is still to be determined how long Stephens would have to sit due to grades.

Michigan received a signature yesterday from the nation's #1 prospect according to scout Bob Gibbons, 6'7 wing forward Lavell Blanchard from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Blanchard had been toying with California, Georgetown, Penn State and Virginia before choosing to stay home. Blanchard averaged 27 points, 12 rebounds and 3.5 blocks for the Class A state champs as a senior, and was named th Gatorade Player of the Year.

Ohio State will be without the help of two players next season, sophomore forward Jon Sanderson and 7'3 incoming recruit Aleksandar Radojevic. Sanderson, who started every regular season game for the Buckeyes last year, will transfer citing playing time and development issues. Radojevic, a promising center who played last season for Barton County CC, was ruled ineligible by the NCAA. The NCAA claims Radojevic played with a Yugoslavian professional team and was paid $13,000 for his appearances in four games.

May 11, 1999
The Purdue women continue to host some of the top midwest players on campus this spring. The most recent visitor today was 6'2 Westerville South junior forward Emily Haynam, a USA TODAY pre-season all-USA honorable mention for the state of Ohio and top 100 prospect.

Rumors are circulating that recent 6'3 Kentucky transfer Ryan Hogan is looking at Purdue as a possible destination. Bill Hodge who writes a column for Fans Only, has Hogan looking at Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue, and Marquette. Purdue had an in-home visit with Hogan back in the fall of 1996 right before he verballed to Kentucky. Originally from Deerfield Illinois, Hogan will have two years of eligibility remaining with a new program.

May 7, 1999
Former Indiana All-State first teamer Lamont Roland, after a brief stop at Barton Junior College, has signed with Louisiana State University. The 6'3 combo guard finished the 98-99 season ranked as the 5th best scorer in Division I (juco), averaging 24.5 and 3.2 steals per game. When Roland was looking at colleges in high school, most scouts thought he was no better than a mid-level Division I recruit. Two short years later, he is a junior college all-american being courted by major Division I schools. Sort of reminds us of South Bend's Lee Nailon, who also took the juco route to becoming an all-american. What is of immediate interest to Purdue with the Roland situation is how it may affect LSU's chances of signing Derrick Zimmerman.

May 6, 1999
Following the Bloomington Red game on Saturday night at the Spiece tournament, Mike, Dallas and I were talking on the sidelines with Insider's Report's Russ Blake. Also sitting with us were East St. Louis star Darius Miles and Zach Randolph. If you have ever wondered how Russ gets all the schools kids are considering, it is because he asks them to circle schools they are interested in on a pre-printed sheet. After circling the schools a player is interested in, he then asks them to place stars by the schools they have the most interest in. Miles circled approximately 30 to 40 schools on his sheet, while Randolph had close to 10 circled. When the two players went back to indicate strong interest, Miles did not have Purdue among that group, but Randolph did. On a side note, in a recent Chicago Sun article, Purdue was not listed among what the newspaper identified as Miles' final six schools. Miles has been a name rumored to be on Purdue's wish list for two years now. However, I have yet to see much serious interest in return from Miles. He is a player to keep an eye on. Miles will likely be a late signee next year because he has a steep, uphill climb toward being eligible to play as a freshman, and a lot can happen in a year. We will be adding Miles to the site, but at this point he has to be considered a longshot.

April 26, 1999
An all-state football player from Bedford, Ohio may be of interest to both Purdue basketball and football this summer. According to the Insider's Report, 5'9 basketball point guard and football wide receiver Brandon Childress will attend football camps this summer at Purdue and Georgia. He is also getting looks from the basketball program. He has 4.35 speed and is being looked at by Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana, Penn State, Clemson, Maryland and North Carolina.

If anyone is interested in coming to the Spiece tournament and making some spending money this weekend, here's an opportunity for you to watch basketball and make $5 at the same time. I've spoken with Spiece organizer Bill Hensley and he is in need of scorekeepers and timekeepers for games this weekend. Here's a listing of current openings available...

    Lafayette Harrison High (spots available all day and evening Saturday)
    West Lafayette High (Saturday 11:00am - 2:00pm and 7:00pm - 11:30 pm slots)
    Purdue campus sites IAF and Co-Rec (Saturday and Sunday mornings starting at 8:00am)

If you are interested in donating some time and making a little money, contact locally Jimmy Eloff at (765)742-2584. Up to 20 people or more are needed to fill all the open spots during the weekend (May 1-2). For more details contact Jimmy. If you have trouble getting through, call toll-free 1-800-201-4559 (PIN# 1048) and ask for Mr. Davis. Spiece pays its helpers $5 a game, with games running every 1 1/2 hours.

April 24, 1999
WLFI-TV is reporting that a Purdue prospect who has been waiting to sign with Purdue has decided to look elsewhere after being told to wait until May. 5'10 point guard Adrian McCulloch from Southern Idaho JC had expressed a will to sign with Purdue, but a scholarship was not offered. While many are speculating that McCulloch was second on the list for Purdue's last remaining scholarship, there is a suggestion he was actually third. Waiting until May would probably put him in line to grab Gary McQuay's scholarship if, and only if, Gary failed to remain academically qualified by Keady standards. Purdue coaches have received many compliments in the past from parents and coaches for being open about a prospect's chances of being offered a scholarship, most recently Gavin Groninger's coach and Bernard King's father. McCullough simply didn't want to wait that long for an answer.

The State News, from the Michigan State campus, has a series of recruiting articles containing some interesting reading...Part 1: Basketball Recruits Face Temptations...Part 2: Recruiters Taint Tale of NCAA History... Part 3: Spartans Strive For Fair Game.

April 23, 1999
We are proud to again cover the Spiece Run 'N Slam tournament being held on the campus of Purdue and in the surrounding community on April 30 - May 2. The tournament scouting page can be found using this link, plus will be linked off of the Purdue and Indiana recruiting site main pages. The page is a joint venture by Brad Jewell (MrHoops site), Mike Pegram (IU Hoops Recruiting), Dallas Wilson, and myself. In the week approaching the tournament, we will be providing some information to make your stay a little better, and give you a preview of some of the weekend's action. As of today, new additions to the scouting page include fresh general tournament info, a listing of all the teams and their pool assignments, tournament format and rules, tournament seeding information, directions to Lafayette and the Purdue campus, and a listing of some of the hotels in the area (you will need to call early to get a hotel as many will be booked). New info and articles will be coming daily from now until weeks after the tournament has concluded, so you might want to bookmark the scouting page and check in frequently. As always the scouting page will feature reports from various sources, and will welcome any help from those planning to attend the event. Come on up to Lafayette and tell us what you see. For more information, contact either Mike Pegram or myself. Our email addresses are listed at the bottom of the tournament scouting page.

April 22, 1999
Is it a good decision to commit to a program during your freshman year of high school, avoiding the distractions of the recruiting process, or is it the basketball equivalent of robbing the cradle? In what is said to be the earliest commitment in memory, a 6'2 freshman point guard will verbal within the next couple of days to Iowa. Mason City's Jeff Horner is rumored to have already given Iowa a verbal after a recent unofficial visit, according to current Iowa point guard Dean Oliver (who is not supposed to comment on an unsigned prospect according to NCAA regulations). The comments came from a Daily Iowan article that has Horner holding a press conference this Saturday at 9:00am to decide between Iowa and Iowa State. Horner averaged 19 points and seven assists as a freshman starter.

New Lady Boiler head coach Kristy Curry had her first official day on the job this past Monday, and the first order of business was to send letters out introducing herself to Purdue prospects. NCAA regulations prevent a coach from recruiting for a new school until their first official day on the job.

The University of Illinois has filled the scholarship left open by the transfer of Rich Beyers this winter. 6'3 Elgin High senior Sean Harrington has signed with Kruger's Illini. Harrington chose Illinois over DePaul and Illinois State. The combo guard averaged 24 points, six assists and four rebounds, and is a straight "A" student. This is in academic contrast to fall signee Jerrance Howard, who has yet to qualify academically for freshman eligibility.

Benton Central basketball and baseball standout Jeremy Budreau will sign today with Goshen College and play both sports. The 6'3 senior averaged 15 points a game.

The Valparaiso women have a verbal from a junior prospect, 5'11 North Newton guard Kristi Koselke. Koselke averaged 18.5 points as a junior and 14.5 points her sophomore year.

April 16, 1999
UPDATE! - Mark Ambrogi of the Indy Star has a new article up with quotes from Keady on Wetzel, which must mean Wetzel has already signed his letter of intent. The article talks about Wetzel's desire to look at other options, a decision that led him to Purdue.

WLFI reported Thursday that Adam Wetzel will announce on Friday. Wetzel will meet with his coach at Keokuk High to announce his decision. Also on the news this evening was footage of Wetzel. Although game highlights are deceiving, it does appear Wetzel is quick around the basket and fairly athletic.

The Fort Wayne area player of the year, 6'3 Vernard Hollins, has signed with Wright State. Hollins averaged 24.4 points last year for 21-4 Fort Wayne North and is a strong candidate for the 1999 Indiana All-Star team to be announced this weekend. Hollins chose Wright State over Notre Dame, Ball State, Morehead State and Northern Illinois. Wright State also looks to add another Indiana player to the roster by the end of the signing period. Former East Chicago winger Marcus Jefferson is considering Wright State, with Wisconsin making a late push.

The Big Ten has lost two sophomores and one freshman to transfer this week. Indiana's Luke Recker, Wisconsin's Maurice Sessoms and Michigan State's Doug Davis will take their games elsewhere. The Davis transfer could affect Purdue's recruiting of Caron Butler. With Davis gone, Michigan State may make a strong push for Ann Arbor's 6'7 LaVell Blanchard. Michigan is currently hoping to sign Blanchard. If Michigan misses on Blanchard, we could see Michigan get heavily involved with Caron Butler next year.

Former Purdue player and assistant Kevin Stallings, who last week was named the new head coach at Vanderbilt, has landed his first recruit. And he's a good one. Scott County Kentucky guard Rick Jones announced he will sign a letter of intent to play for Stallings on Friday, following the announcement of the Kentucky Mr. Basketball award. Jones is one of the favorites to win. Jones was also looking at Kentucky and Illinois.

April 15, 1999
Men...6'9 center Adam Wetzel has scheduled a news conference for this afternoon, when he is expected to announce he has signed with Purdue.

The women have scheduled an official visit with juco guard Shinika Parks. Parks is currently on an official visit to UNLV, and just returned from the University of Florida. The California native is also considering Louisiana Tech. Parks told the University of Florida campus paper "I really liked (the Florida staff). We clicked very well. We sat down and had a good heart to heart before I left. I think I would fit in well." Florida is also recruiting another guard, National JUCO Player-of-the-Year runner-up Karlita Washington, which might affect Florida's chances of signing Parks. Florida is also looking at Kilgore JC's Shona Rucker.

Rumors have Purdue's other juco target Tawanda Barnes signing with K-State.

April 13, 1999
Early this morning rumors started to come in about a 6'9 Iowa senior who had decided to officially visit Purdue. As the day went along, the kid was identified as 6'9 250-pound Keokuk High center Adam Wetzel. Wetzel had already given Dayton a verbal committment, but decided to check out Purdue before he makes anything official. Early this morning, the Dayton Daily News broke the story and fans began hearing the news on Dayton radio staions. Purdue made contact late last week and set up the official visit which will be today and Wednesday. This past Monday, Wetzel informed Dayton coach Oliver Purnell he was going to take a look at Purdue. Wetzel has been looked at by many Big 12 and Big 10 schools over his career, but only received solid early offers from Dayton, Northeastern and Northern Iowa. As it is in the late signing period, some big name schools came knocking when their recruiting options began to narrow, one reason why Wetzel did not immediately sign a national letter of intent for Dayton last week when the signing period began. It is not surprising that Purdue would start digging for a wide-body after juco center Julius Hicks verballed to Oregon and 6'11 Andy Slocum had narrowed his choices to eliminate Purdue. Slocum verballed to Texas A&M today. Wetzel averaged 13.4 points, 7 boards and 3.5 blocked shots for the 25-2 Keokuk Chiefs. Keokuk made their second straight trip to the state championship this year, finishing second in the tournament and second in the state Associated Press poll. Keokuk head coach Dave Hall was an assistant at Ball State under Majerus and also coached at Illinois State. An AAU coach I know from Iowa had this to say this evening about Wetzel..."He's the kind of player you need to make a serious championship run. He does all the dirty work. I was most impressed this year with his athletic ability. You don't think a 250 pound kid can get up and down the court like he can. His wingspan helps him defend well and he's a solid rebounder. A team like you have with a good combination of forwards plays to his strengths. He has the potential to really develop, but is already a solid role player. Coachable from what I've heard." It is possible Wetzel could end up honoring his Dayton verbal, which happened just a week ago, but the mutual interest between Wetzel and Purdue is encouraging news.

April 12, 1999
Beth Della Valle from Fast Break emailed me yesterday to let us know she has an early look at the top girl prospects for the Class of 2000. Anne O'Neil comes in as the #2 prospect and Ohio's Lindsey Hicks is rated 24th. It's interesting to note that there could be a package deal in the works with #16 6'3 center SeSe Helm (Bowling Green, KY) and #26 6'2 forward Jenni Benningfield (Louisville, KY). Both have Purdue on their list. Another player considering Purdue is 5'8 guard Cherise Graham (Radnor, PA) at #27. Graham lists Connecticut, Purdue, Penn State, Michigan, Colorado and Tennessee. It will also be interesting to see if any of the players Coach Curry looked at while at LA Tech will pop up on Purdue's list. Other players on the top 40 list considering Louisiana Tech worth keeping an eye on are #3 Ebony Felder (6'2 forward from Jackson, MS), #12 Dawn McCullough (5'9 shooting forward from Long Beach, CA), #17 Shereka Wright (5'10 2-guard from Copperas Cove, TX), and #25 Alana Beard (5'9 wing player from Shreveport, LA).

The Indiana Boys All-Star team is scheduled to be announced on April 18th.

Assistant Frank Kendrick was seen making the rounds this past weekend to a couple of AAU practices. He was spotted in Bloomington for the first practices of the Bloomington Red organization, and later seen at the Indianapolis Indoor Sports Complex scouting all the Spiece teams. Michigan State showed up and paid a lot of attention to Zach Randolph, contrary to the rumor they had backed off him.

April 9, 1999
The Boiler men look to sign one, maybe two players in the spring period. The priority with the first scholarship is a big man, and the coaches have been scouting the junior colleges for most of the spring. However, none of the known players Purdue is looking at are likely to sign. But no one knew about Tony Mayfield when he signed two years ago either. Coach Thrash said in an Indy Star article today that the coaches would also like to sign another guard "that can shoot the ball, handle the ball and do all the things you need to compete in the Big Ten." Keady has said they are not only looking for a big kid, but also one that is a wide-body. If any scholarships are remaining after the spring signing period, walk-on Chad Kerkoff will likely be rewarded for his outstanding role on the Purdue bench this year.

New women's coach Kristy Curry has her eye on another junior college guard to help replace the loss of two senior all-american guards. Tyler CC point guard Tawanda Barnes has already visited the Purdue campus, and the staff looks to host Trinity Valley Texas JC combo guard Shinika Parks soon. Parks averaged 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the JUCO national champs this year. Sparks will visit Florida this weekend.

In state news, 6'4 Benton Central senior Greg Anderson has signed with one of the NAIA's power programs, Bethel College. Bethel won the NAIA national championship in 1997 and 1998, and losing in overtime in the finals in 1999.Anderson averaged 12 points and 6.5 rebounds this season, and plans to also run track at Bethel.

April 7, 1999
New Boiler coach Kristy Curry said yesterday it is possible the Boilers could sign a junior college player during the upcoming spring signing period.

The Ball State women have named Iowa State assistant Brenda Frese Oldfield as their new head coach. She played collegiately at Arizona, and later coached on the junior college level and in the MAC before going to Iowa State. Another Indiana women's coaching position should be filled soon at Butler. According to the Indianapolis Star, a list of four candidates includes Butler assistant Teri Moren, Ohio State assistant Eileen Feeney, Iowa State assistant Katie Abrahamson and former Wichita State head coach Linda Hargrove.

Midwest Hoops has a ranking out for the top 40 midwest junior recruits. Some interesting evaluations on some of the Indiana kids. Brody Boyd at #40 and John Hamilton not even listed?

April 2, 1999 - UPDATE
Louisiana Tech assistant coach Kristy Curry has been announced as the new coach of the Purdue womens program. Rumors that the recruiting coaches currently at Purdue, Pam Stackhouse and Kerry Cremeans, would be a part of the new coaching staff also turned out to be correct. However, third assistant Seth Kushkin who's responsibilities include game preparation and opponent scouting, will be replaced by Kelly Curry.

April 2, 1999
Coaching news...Louisiana Tech assistant coach Kristy Sims Curry has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Carolyn Peck as the head coach of the Purdue women. Kristy Curry has been at LA Tech for three years and was interviewed by Purdue Thursday. An announcement could come as soon as today as Curry has been offered the job. One interesting point is her husband, Kelly Curry, is also an assistant coach on the LA Tech bench. A source close to one of the juniors Purdue is scouting has told us she has been told the current assistant coaches at Purdue "will be around next year". If Curry is named head coach at Purdue, will room have to be made on the bench for her husband?

More coaching news...It has been rumored for quite a while that former Boiler player and assistant, now the head coach at Illinois State, Kevin Stallings will be the frontrunner to replace Gene Keady when he chooses to hang up his clipboard. Stallings has just been named the new head coach at Vanderbilt, signed to a 5 year contract that will reportedly pay him in the range of $500,000 per year. During the negotiations, the subject of Stallings taking the Purdue position down the road was discussed, but there are no indications yet of an escape clause written into his contract. Vanderbilt is in the same division of the SEC as Kentucky, Tennessee (a school Stallings turned down a coaching position), South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Success in that type of competitive atmosphere will further define Stallings as an excellent Xs and Os man.

March 17, 1999
Our sympathy goes out to the family of former Purdue prospect John Stewart, who passed away during Lawrence North's Regional game last Friday. Stewart suffered heart failure due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a genetic condition that leads to an enlargement of the heart muscle. A recent study at St. Vincent Hospital indicated 60 athletes out of a sample 3,000 in central Indiana had the disease. The Indianapolis Star has had a series of articles on the death of John Stewart and the condition itself. They are a must read for parents and athletes.

Lawrence North suffers through difficult night
Lawrence North star collapses, dies
Pacers say Stewart was dedicated ball boy
Stewart cast a long and friendly shadow
In a hushed, disbelieving gym, March Madness turns to sadness
Autopsy confirms player had bad heart
Students return to school following death of star
Stewart's wish to help kids lives on

March 3, 1999
Two more big men and a junior college point guard have Purdue on their lists. Closest to home is 6'10 Brian Carter of Southgate Aquinas HS, MI. The Michigan Class of 2000 is loaded with talent with three 6'10 center candidates looking at Big Ten schools. The talented shot blocker is averaging 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks per game. Carter is considering Ohio State, Purdue, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, Detroit and Toledo.

Another big man with Purdue on his list is 6'9 215-pound power forward Micheal Benton from Covington (Newton County), GA. Benton is looked at as a sleeper in the senior class, averaging 24 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. He can almost be considered wide open at this point, but has mentioned the following schools...Purdue, Winthrop, Georgia, Providence, Georgia Southern, South Carolina, Syracuse and Clemson. USC has scouted him and Clemson has called and asked for film. According to the Clemson recruiting site TigerNet, his coach says he has offers from College of Charleston, Penn State, Tennessee Tech, Marshall and UTEP.

Purdue is also active with 6'2 195-pound Mike Garrett of Fresno City College, California. This sophomore junior college player is rated the sixth best JUCO point guard by The Sporting News. Garrett is averaging 16.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and four assists per game, while shooting .445 from the field, .364 percent from the perimeter and .705 from the line. Texas and Clemson are also in the race.

February 28, 1999
I had an opportunity to speak recently with Marion High's 6'5 junior forward Matt Backs. Backs will be playing this summer for Pat Mullin's Spiece South squad, a team coming off a 1998 AAU national championship year. Mullin's team is small but they play together, which has drawn the attention of some colleges. Matt has been hearing from Ball State, Michigan State, Butler, Harvard, Nebraska, Oregon State and Bowling Green. "I'm just looking for a place where I'll be happy," said Backs. "Somewhere I can get a good education." Closeness to home isn't a real consideration, as he has considered taking his 3.5 GPA and taking a look at Navy. Matt's only been on one unofficial that he considers real, that being to Ball State. He has also attended a football game at Michigan State and a basketball game at Indiana, both attended with Marion's Zach Randolph. He hopes to have a college chosen by the end of the summer.

February 21, 1999
Most of you have already heard the rumors, now confirmed, that Marion junior center Zach Randolph has been charged with 2 counts of receiving stolen property (guns) in Marion. The reason this little blurb is in the news section, and not included under his player profile, is because this site has a mission of helping kids, not hurting them. But the news is worth mentioning, since it can drastically effect the recruitment of Randolph. So, Randolph's profile will only be updated to reflect his suspension from the Marion High basketball team, with no other details. I would like to add that Zach Randolph is a very personable kid, who will greatly benefit from getting out of his surroundings into a college atmosphere. People around Randolph might consider a year of prep school far away from Marion for his senior year, not only for the change in scenery but also to help improve his academic situation. We will update if the charges are dropped, but otherwise, move on from here with no further mention.

February 16, 1999
The Indianapolis Star has an update on their site on Andy Slocum and Derrick Zimmerman. Encouraging news on both. However, Slocum has since chosen Southern California as the recipient of his final paid official visit. It's actually the second time he has visited the USC campus.

February 15, 1999
Purdue is among seven programs being looked at by 6'9 JUCO forward Julius Hicks from West Valley JC in Saratoga, CA. Providence may be in the lead according to Insiders Report, but others who might get a visit include Washington, Virginia, Purdue, Xavier of Ohio, Santa Clara, and Penn State. Hicks will wait to take a couple of visits after his season is over early this summer. Michigan may also be showing interest. FansOnly has Hicks as one of six top center prospects from the JUCO ranks. The top three on his list may be Providence, Washington and Santa Clara.

We mentioned 6'11 Andy Slocum a week ago being interested in Purdue, a kid who will likely play both basketball and baseball in college. Another two sport prospect looking at Purdue is 6'4 junior shooting guard Matt Lottich from New Trier HS, IL. A three sport star in high school, he will likely consider both basketball and baseball in college. Lottich is a Top 100 type player, described as a sophomore by Mark Tupper (Decatur Herald-Review) as "a 6-4 or 6-5 guard with a heady game, hard-nosed attitude and solid skills." As a sophomore he was considered better than Illinois junior recruit Brett Melton. At the moment it might be hard to name a Big Ten or Pac Ten school Lottich isn't considering, but those two conferences dominate his early list of schools.

Insider's Report continues to uncover kids with Purdue on their lists. A new name from the JUCO ranks is Antonio Jackson, a 6'5 190-pound winger from Butler County, KS. He has close to 20 schools on his list at the moment and is getting more attention. In the picture are Kansas, Kansas State, Southern Cal, Auburn, Purdue, Connecticut, Louisville, Mississippi, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Minnesota, South Florida, TCU, Alabama, and Mississippi State. Jackson is averaging 17 points and nine rebounds per game this season. He impressed Russ Blake of the Insider's Report, and Russ knows what he is talking about. On a side note, you often hear stories of scouts and recruiters being arrogant SOBs. I had the opportunity to meet Russ Blake last summer and found he definitely does not fit that description. A great guy...and their site is free too!

February 6, 1999
One of the more frequent questions that come to me concerning this page is why there is a section on the men's and women's pages for "unlikely" prospects. That section is used primarily for two reasons. We will continue to follow the progress of prospects until they verbal to another school, unofficially taking themselves out of the recruiting race. A player will fall into the "unlikely" catagory when he removes Purdue fron his list, but still continues to look at other programs. A current example of our second reason involves 6'2 JUCO prospect Trent Whiting of Snow JC, Utah. According to Recruiting USA, Whiting has been offered, and accepted, a scholarship offer from Utah. However, Utah head coach Rick Majerus has told Whiting to take some visits to other programs to make sure Utah was the place for him. So, although back on the market making visits, Whiting has pretty much made up his mind where he wants to go.

Now for more on Whiting. Considered to be one of the top prospects in JUCO, this 180-pound sophomore is a deadly combo guard. He has a reported 41 inch and shoots 55-percent from the perimeter. Add to that an average of 19 points per game, 60-percent from the field and 84-percent from the line. Schools in the hunt include the favorite Utah, along with Purdue, San Jose State, Iowa State and Utah State. The 21-year-old is in his sophomore year of JUCO after just returning from a 2 year mission.

In other site news, look for the "Coach Speak" page to dissappear soon. I seldom use it anymore, and will incorporate any future recruiting-based comments from the coaches on this news page.

February 4, 1999
We're currently in the process of digging up some information on a host of new prospects that have listed Purdue among their choices. If you have any information, scouting reports, or stats on any of these players, forward it on to me. Here's some new names...

Russ Blake and company at Insider's Report have a few new names looking at Purdue. Derrick Zimmerman, a 6-2 combo guard from Woosman HS in Monroe, LA, is looking at Villanova, Iowa, Rutgers, Vanderbilt, TCU, Auburn, Arizona State, Utah, Arkansas, Alabama, Texas, Clemson, Southern California, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Texas A&M and Purdue. The kid is very athletic, averaging 32.3 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists per game. From the same state, 6'10 230-pound center Andy Slocum is also looking at Purdue, plus Texas, Villanova, Northwestern, Alabama, Southern California, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, and Utah. Slocum is averaging close to 20 points per game. Further south is 6'5 wing guard Andre Corbitt from Tampa Bay Tech, FL. Although still adding to his list, Andre does like Purdue, Tennessee, Coastal Carolina, Temple, South Florida and Central Florida. Averaging 25 points, 9 rebounds, and close to four assists per game. Purdue is also reportedly showing interest in 6'6 forward Miguel Caballero from LaSalle Academy in New York City. On the court his numbers are impressive (17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks, 3 assists and three steals), but in the classroom he will need a lot of dedication to qualify. Other schools in the hunt are Seton Hall, Fordham, Massachusetts, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Rhode Island, Miami of Florida, Providence, UAB, South Carolina, Boston University, Hofstra, Northeastern, Fairfield, Iona, Niagara, FDU, and LIU.

Stay tuned for two more names coming this weekend.

January 24, 1999
6'8 forward Martin Brothers from Indy Arlington has told the Insider's Report he looks to be headed to Vincennes next year. Ball State and Bruce Weber's Southern Illinois had been on his list. Brothers may ring some bells because he has gotten quite a few mentions on this site before. Not only was he a part of the Spiece North squad last summer that featured Parkinson, Lowe and Wright, but he has also been seen at Purdue games in the past.

Early word points to a couple of power AAU teams in the state of Indiana to watch for next summer. Already likely to join Bob Pryor's Bloomington Red squad are Jared Jeffries, Cory Seegers, Sean Kline, Chris Thomas, Brody Boyd, Austin Parkinson, Andre Owens and John Hamilton. But don't hand the state title to them just yet. Pat Mullin's Spiece South squad comes off a national championship summer and adds 6'9 Zach Randolph, 6'7 Traver Griffin, 6'4 Braden Bushman and 6'3 Drew Conner. Other players rumored to be finalizing their summer AAU plans include Brett Buscher and Chris Loveless (Indy Metros), Dennis Coutee and Kyle Hankins (Bloomington Red Sophomores), Tyler Clevenger (Indy Bulls) and Tyler Best (Spiece Pistols Freshmen).

January 20, 1999
Mike Pegram spotted Frank Kendrick last Friday night at the Bloomington North vs Bloomington South game decked out in Purdue wear. It has been rumored that Purdue has been looking at North's 6'10 Jared Jeffries, but may have come away from the game with a good impression of 6'3 South sophomore Kyle Hankins who had a game-high 24 points.

January 18, 1999
Purdue is trying to get the last official visit from 6'11 West Monroe HS, LA senior Andy Slocumb, along with a handful of other programs. The two sport star will likely play baseball as well as basketball, and is reportedly good enough to go high in the Major League draft. In the running for this big man are UNLV, Cal, Rhode Island, Missouri, Utah, Alabama, Auburn and Miami. Kansas has also taken hard looks at him. According to West Coast Hoops, Slocumb is "a big kid with good hands and superior mobility for a 6-11 kid, with the kind of frame which could add muscle and bulk pretty rapidly." We'll keep an ear out for who will get the final visit.

January 17, 1999
An interesting look at recruiting from the players' standpoint in this article from the Columbus Dispatch.

January 16, 1999
Citing a need for more playing time, sophomore Jamaal Davis returned to campus in January only to pack his bags and head off to Barton County Junior College in Kansas. Davis was planning to finish out the spring semester at Purdue, as comments in this Indy Star article indicate, but later decided an immediate transfer might be the way to go. Davis' departure adds another open scholarship for the upcoming 1999-2000 recruiting class, and the coaches are already working on options to replace the all-state forward. Most of us have followed the somewhat rollercoaster ride that has been Jamaal's life over the past few years, and we sincerely wish Jamaal the best of luck.

January 15, 1999
It has been about a month since this site has been updated. What I thought would be a simple modem upgrade has resulted in the entire contents of my hard drive being purged, and all new software loaded. After playing around with and getting the new software reformatted, I'm now in a position to start updating the site again. In the future, if problems arise where the site goes for an extended amount of time without being updated, check out the MrHoops forum linked off my main page. I will make sure Brad lets everyone know what's going on, with an expected date for new updates.


As news organizations move their stories to an archive, some of the links listed above may become inactive

OldGoldFreePress COLUMNISTS
OGFP_Staff -Career Blocked Shots Rankings
Bob_Richards -Women's Recruiting Update: Liza Clemons No. 1
Steve -Opponent #11: University of Wisconsin
MDC -NCAA: (5 seed) Purdue 76 - (4 seed) Washington 74
Capri_Small -Purdue 76, Western Illinois 44
Jimmy_D - Gazing into the Crystal Bubble, Part III: SEC / Big Ten / PAC 10
Brad_Jewell -Introducing Purdue Sports News via Facebook
Bob_Sienicki -Nike Camp: Elena Delle Donne Interview
Bob_Sternvogel -Nike Camp Report #1 (Sparks and Monarchs)
Guest_Columnist -Gazing into the Crystal Bubble, Part III: The SEC/Big Ten/PAC 10
Others -Purdue Sports Info
 
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