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Caleb Swanigan is a five-star college basketball prospect who had committed to Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans. It appeared that he was firm in his commitment until yesterday, when he chose to back out of it and open up his options once again.
There are quite a few teams in the running for him, but one of them is the Purdue Boilermakers. They are in need of a better power forward option, and Swanigan could immediately step in as their starter. Purdue is coming off of an impressive season last year and appear poised to have an even better year this season under head coach Matt Painter.
Needless to say, adding Swanigan to the frontcourt would change the outlook for the Boilermakers’ future.
Having a dominant power forward like him playing alongside of A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas in the frontcourt would be a scary duo at all times. Swanigan is a very physical post player, although he has had his athleticism questioned at times. He will need to continue working hard on his game, but the talent is there.
Hammons will be a senior this season, while Haas will be heading into his sophomore season. Purdue could use a post presence and rebounder alongside both of them, and that is exactly what Swanigan brings to the court.
During his senior season with the Homestead Spartans, Swanigan ended up averaging 22.1 points and 14.3 rebounds per game. He was named the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year for high school basketball, and his college outlook is very promising.
If the Boilermakers are able to secure Swanigan’s commitment, the future would immediately open up to quite a few possibilities. He would be their biggest catch in recruiting since Glenn Robinson and would give the Boilermakers some national attention as well. They haven’t had a player with his hype in a long time, and he fits a need for them as well.
Painter has done an excellent job of getting the Boilermakers’ feet back under them after a few rough seasons. They have not had a ton of success recently, but they appear ready to change that.
Evan Massey is the Green Bay Packers beat writer for www.RantSports.com, and also contributes across the NFL, MLB and NBA portions of the site. Follow him on Twitter at @Massey_Evan and like him on Facebook.
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