As the NCAA Tournament comes to a close, GMS likes to review some of the power conference or power program teams that made it to the Big Dance and ask whether or not they’ve got a shot to return to the show next season. We kick things off with teams eliminated in the first round.
Recruit and Reload: Purdue Boilermakers
Key Losses: A.J. Hammons, Rapheal Davis, Caleb Swanigan
Key Returners: Vince Edwards, Isaac Haas
Key Newcomers: Carsen Edwards (three-star)
Breakdown: So much of next season depends on whether or not Swanigan ends up hiring an agent after getting feedback from the NBA. Something tells me that he will return to school next season, which once against gives head coach Matt Painter one of the most capable frontlines in college basketball.
With potentially he and Haas becoming more featured weapons, that should give Edwards even more room to operate, after averaging double-figures and showing himself to be a capable threat from deep as a sophomore. What remains to be seen is whether or not Painter can find the kind of guard play that so often came back to hurt them a year ago. You can’t win big in CBB without guards and Purdue hasn’t had anyone in years that put opponents on their heels.
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