Shooters shoot.
It has been a quite couple of months on the Purdue basketball front since the end of the season, but time marches forward. We’re beginning to put yet another March disappointment behind us and renew hope for the future.
Yes, that means recruiting!
it has been a while since we have gotten a new commitment, and we have to wait until October to officially sign Myles Colvin and Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn, but coach Painter is already busy on the recruiting trail for 2024. Tonight he get his first pickup in Jack Benter from Brownstown Central in southern Indiana.
Benter is an interesting prospect. He is listed at 6’5”, 180 pounds and seems to be in the mold of incoming freshman Fletcher Loyer. Indiana State and Liberty had also offered him and he had received interest from Penn State and Indiana.
Benter has had an impressive high school career so far. He averaged 18.3 points per game as a freshman on a Brownstown Central team that went 14-7. He improved his shooting last year according to the Indy Star:
Benter shoots the ball like he was born to do it. His 3-point shot floats off his fingertips and nestles through the net with the light touch of a leaf falling from a tree in October. The numbers prove it: Benter shot 44.9% from the 3-point line as a sophomore (93-for-207), a slight improvement from 43.5% as a freshman.
Las year he averaged an impressive 26.9 points per game, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Brownstown went 22-4 and won a sectional before losing to eventual Class 3A state champ Beech Grove in the regional.
I think he might have a hint of DJ Byrd in him, as he comes from a smaller school and put up impressive numbers even as a freshman. He has good size and looks like the next great shooter from outside. He will fit in nicely.
Here is your updated scholarship grid:
Things are still very much in flux. This has Purdue potentially full for 2023-24 and 2024-25, but only because Mason Gillis, Brandon Newman, Ethan Morton, and Zach Edey would be allowed to use an extra COVID year on the back end (and they would be the last current players able to do so so). It would count against the scholarship limit though. I do not expect all four to still be around in 2024-25. Edey could possibly leave for the NBA after this coming season, opening a spot for 2023-24.
Likely Painter has at least a couple scholarships left to work with for 2024, and the perfect candidate would be Kokomo’s Flory Bidunga. The staff has looked at him early, but he has absolutely blown up the last few months. He led Kokomo to a surprise semi-state run and within a basket of the state finals. He has had a dominant summer and has gone from not playing basketball at all before a year or two ago to the No. 6 national recruit in the 2024 class according to Rivals. He is an elite defensive center with fantastic athleticism and great hands around the rim.
Let’s pair him with Benter.