It’s been quite a few months on the Purdue basketball front since the end of the season, but time is ticking. We are beginning to put another March disappointment behind us and renew hope for the future.
Yes, that means recruiting!
it’s been a while since we got a new hire, and we have to wait until October to officially sign Myles Colvin and Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn, but Coach Painter is already busy on the 2024 recruiting track. Tonight, he gets his first pickup at Jack Benter of Brownstown Central in southern Indiana.
Benter is an interesting prospect. He’s listed at 6’5”, 180 pounds and seems to fit 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 rookie on a Brownstown Central team that went 14-7. He improved his shot last year according to the Indy Star:
Benter shoots the ball like he was born to do it. His 3-point shot floats from 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 percent from the 3-point line as a sophomore (93 for 207), a slight improvement from 43.5 percent as a freshman.
Over the years, he averaged 26.9 points per game, 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Brownstown went 22-4 and won a section before losing to eventual Class 3A state champion Beech Grove in the area.
I think he might have a hint of DJ Byrd in him, as he comes from a small school and puts up impressive numbers even in first grade. It’s a good size and looks like the next big shooter from the outside. He will adapt well.
Here is your updated scholarship grid:
Purdue Basketball Scholarship Grid
| player | (’22-’23) | (’23-’24) | (’24-’25) | (’25-’26) | (’26-’27) | (’27-’28) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| player | (’22-’23) | (’23-’24) | (’24-’25) | (’25-’26) | (’26-’27) | (’27-’28) |
| David Jenkins Jr. | Transfer of graduates | |||||
| Mason Gillis | rs junior | RS Senior | FREE COVID YEAR | |||
| Brandon Newmann | rs junior | RS Senior | FREE COVID YEAR | |||
| Ethan Morton | Junior | Senior | FREE COVID YEAR | |||
| zach edey | Junior | Senior | FREE COVID YEAR | |||
| Caleb Fürst | Second year | Junior | Senior | |||
| Trey Kaufman Renn | First-year student | RS Soph. | rs junior | RS Senior | ||
| Brian Waddell | First-year student | RS Soph. | rs junior | RS Senior | ||
| Fletcher-Rent | Freshmen | Second year | Junior | Senior | ||
| Brad Smith | Freshmen | Second year | Junior | Senior | ||
| Camden-Heide | Freshmen | Second year | Junior | Senior | ||
| Guillaume Berg | Freshmen | Second year | Junior | Senior | ||
| Myles Colvin | Freshmen | Second year | Junior | Senior | ||
| Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn | Freshmen | Second year | Junior | Senior | ||
| Jack Really | Freshmen | Second year | Junior | Senior | ||
| Scholarships | 12 | 13 | 13 | 8 | of them | 0 |
| Remaining scholarships | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | Our | 13 |
Things are still very changing. 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 at fullback (and they would be the last current capable players to do). This would, however, count towards the scholarship limit. I don’t expect all four to still be around in 2024-25. Edey could possibly leave for the NBA after this upcoming season, opening up a spot for 2023-24.
It’s likely that Painter has at least a few scholarships to work with for 2024, and the ideal candidate would be Flory Bidunga of Kokomo. The staff looked at it early on, but it has absolutely blown up over the past few months. He led Kokomo to an upset semi-state run and into a state finals basket. He had a dominant summer and went from not playing basketball at all a year or two ago to 6th national recruit of the class of 2024 according to Rivals. He’s an elite defensive center with fantastic athleticism and big hands around the rim.
Let’s pair it with Benter.
