The Caleb Swanigan drama has seemingly met its conclusion, with the five-star center announcing on Tuesday morning that he’s headed to Purdue next season. Swanigan decommitted from Michigan State earlier this month.
Most reports seemed to indicate that Swanigan was waiting to see if California and head coach Cuonzo Martin would be able to open up a scholarship for him to join fellow five-stars Ivan Rabb and Jaylen Brown, in Berkeley.
As each day without news of defections from the Bears, it became more and more likely that the Fort Wayne prospect would stay close to home and play for Boilermakers head coach Matt Painter.
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From a Big Ten perspective, Swanigan’s commitment should put Purdue near the top of the conference with the likes of Michigan State, Indiana, and others that look to be one step below Maryland, the prohibitive favorite.
Within the team itself, though, Painter must now figure out how to use three elite centers, as Swanigan joins a roster that already boasts two NBA prospects, in A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas.
Hammons will be looking to improve on his 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while Haas is expected to make tremendous growth after a freshman season where he flashed serious potential, to the tune of 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds, all while trying to figure out exactly how to play next to Hammons and in just 14.6 minutes per game.
It’s possible that Swanigan will be the third option for Purdue underneath, making him one of the least viable five-star freshmen for putting up significant numbers.
