(2022) PG Braden Smith to Purdue

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 9,095]

23 minutes ago, btroesch14 said:

Looks like Braden is going to take that Purdue offer very soon.

Heard that last night, as well. The worst news we've had in awhile. 

[Chris007 43,941]

22 minutes ago, btroesch14 said:

Looks like Braden is going to take that Purdue offer very soon.

It's going to be interesting to see if this comes back to haunt us or not. I don't have an opinion on his play since I haven't watched it but it seems to me if a kid has dreamed to play at IU and is good enough to play at Purdue, then maybe we should offer also. I mean they have beat us a few times in a row. 

[Stuhoo 80,553]

14 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

It's going to be interesting to see if this comes back to haunt us or not. I don't have an opinion on his play since I haven't watched it but it seems to me if a kid has dreamed to play at IU and is good enough to play at Purdue, then maybe we should offer also. I mean they have beat us a few times in a row. 

 

He's not necessarily good enough to play at Purdue.

He's good enough to be offered by Purdue, and he might be a good fit for their system and play.

 

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 9,095]

2 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

It's going to be interesting to see if this comes back to haunt us or not. I don't have an opinion on his play since I haven't watched it but it seems to me if a kid has dreamed to play at IU and is good enough to play at Purdue, then maybe we should offer also. I mean they have beat us a few times in a row. 

But he isn't ranked high.. little confused why we've completely disregarded school ball when we evaluate players? Silly to me. So much more difficult to do the things he does in school ball compared to dunking some in an AAU highlight video. 

[Hoosierfan2017 21,328]

7 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

It's going to be interesting to see if this comes back to haunt us or not. I don't have an opinion on his play since I haven't watched it but it seems to me if a kid has dreamed to play at IU and is good enough to play at Purdue, then maybe we should offer also. I mean they have beat us a few times in a row. 

Time will tell if he’s actually good enough to play at Purdue. Their program is in a stable enough position where they can take a chance on a low ranked 3 star. We’re not. We need highly talented kids who can make immediate impacts. Everything Woody has done so far tells me he’s going to recruit at a high level. From the type of player Woody has been going after so far, I don’t think Smith fits that. Smith will be a distant memory if Woody can reel in a 5 star guard in this class. 

[Stuhoo 80,553]

1 minute ago, btownqb said:

But he isn't ranked high.. little confused why we've completely disregarded school ball when we evaluate players? Silly to me. So much more difficult to do the things he does in school ball compared to dunking some in an AAU highlight video. 

1. "We"  (including D1 coaching staffs) have not "completely disregarded school ball when we evaluate players."
2. AAU play allows coaches, with their limited time, to see many, many potential recruits play against other D1 quality high school players at once.

[Chris007 43,941]

1 minute ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Time will tell if he’s actually good enough to play at Purdue. Their program is in a stable enough position where they can take a chance on a low ranked 3 star. We’re not. We need highly talented kids who can make immediate impacts. Everything Woody has done so far tells me he’s going to recruit at a high level. From the type of player Woody has been going after so far, I don’t think Smith fits that. Smith will be a distant memory if Woody can reel in a 5 star guard in this class. 

But will he be a low 3 star ranked recruit after this summer? Also, how did they rank players when there wasn't much of an AAU season last year? You are correct time will tell. From what I understand, the staff really likes him and he fits for what we want, they just want more time to see him. 

[Chris007 43,941]

8 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

He's not necessarily good enough to play at Purdue.

He's good enough to be offered by Purdue, and he might be a good fit for their system.

 

Painter is recruiting guys who are not good enough to play at Purdue? That seems like a weird recruiting strategy.  

[Stuhoo 80,553]

Just now, Chris007 said:

But will he be a low 3 star ranked recruit after this summer? Also, how did they rank players when there wasn't much of an AAU season last year? You are correct time will tell. From what I understand, the staff really likes him and he fits for what we want, they just want more time to see him. 

Excellent response--agreed.

He will most certainly not be a low-ranked three star after this summer. He's a talented player with some skills that will translate.

If our staff really likes him, it's their job to communicate that in a way that makes him want to wait to see what his options are.

 

[Hoosierfan2017 21,328]

4 minutes ago, btownqb said:

But he isn't ranked high.. little confused why we've completely disregarded school ball when we evaluate players? Silly to me. So much more difficult to do the things he does in school ball compared to dunking some in an AAU highlight video. 

It’s not just that he isn’t ranked high. He isn’t ranked at all on the 24/7 composite. He’s ranked 11th in the state. I know that you think rankings are meaningless, but they’re not. There are people whose entire careers are doing these rankings. And they’re good at their jobs. They get it right more often than not. Purdue is the only P5 program to have offered him a scholarship at this point. They’re competing with Montana, Appalachian State, IUPUI, and Toledo. If he wasn’t playing in Indiana and Woody offered an undersized, unranked three star point guard we’d be wondering what the heck he has thinking. 
 

[Chris007 43,941]

2 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

It’s not just that he isn’t ranked high. He isn’t ranked at all on the 24/7 composite. He’s ranked 11th in the state. I know that you think rankings are meaningless, but they’re not. There are people whose entire careers are doing these rankings. And they’re good at their jobs. They get it right more often than not. Purdue is the only P5 program to have offered him a scholarship at this point. They’re competing with Montana, Appalachian State, IUPUI, and Toledo. If he wasn’t playing in Indiana and Woody offered an undersized, unranked three star point guard we’d be wondering what the heck he has thinking. 
 

I think they're meaningless coming off of last year. 

[Stuhoo 80,553]

1 minute ago, Chris007 said:

Painter is recruiting guys who are not good enough to play at Purdue? That seems like a weird recruiting strategy.  

Not saying that. Every kid that gets offered is anticipated by the coach to be good enough to play.

However, some accept and never are good enough. I'd be shocked if Waddell becomes a Purdue rotation player. Grant Weatherford and Emmanuel Duowoma were recent Purdue recruits who Painter apparently thought would play, then they started practicing with the team.

[Chris007 43,941]

Just now, Stuhoo said:

Not saying that. Every kid that gets offered is anticipated by the coach to be good enough to play.

However, some accept and never are good enough. I'd be shocked if Waddell becomes a Purdue rotation player. Grant Weatherford and Emmanuel Duowoma were recent Purdue recruits who Painter apparently thought would play, then they started practicing with the team.

OK now that makes sense and I agree on Waddell. 

[Hoosierfan2017 21,328]

11 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

Painter is recruiting guys who are not good enough to play at Purdue? That seems like a weird recruiting strategy.  

They just signed Brian Waddell and I’m not sure he’s a Big 10 player. It’ll be a few years before he’s contributing at the least. Will Smith still be a low ranked three star at the end of the summer? I have no idea. But even if he moves up to the ~150 range I’m still not really interested. I want us consistent bringing in guards Tamar Bates’ caliber. Top 25, top 50. If we do that enough of them will work out for us to succeed. I watch Smith’s highlights and just don’t see what some of you guys see. I don’t see a future starting Big Ten point guard. Doesn’t mean that I’m right and everyone else is wrong, that’s just my opinion.

[Stuhoo 80,553]

Here's my point...commits are trade-offs.

By offering Braden Smith now we have a bird in the hand, especially because an IU offer to him might result in an immediate commitment. But that will limit how many other slots we will have for a 2022 guard (I'm guessing one). So, it appears we have made the strategic decision to slow play Smith to see if we can connect with another, higher-priority option. The risk is that he may not be available later.

That's why a staff with Woody, Yas, Dane, Kenya, and Thad can succeed where Crean and Archie didn't. IUBB's leadership assessment of priorities and likelihoods can result in national championship caliber talent and fit.

[Stromboli 6,076]

I’m really stealing this from Demo, but Braden is exactly the kind of kid you want to see play in the big AAU circuits. That’s what Archie had communicated to him, and I’m fairly certain that’s what Woodson has communicated as well. The dude can ball! No doubt. But let’s see him play against the other D-1 kids. 
 

AAU is not a dunk contest. It is a valuable chance to see these kids go up against one another. The best kids are very easy to spot, they are simply better. They control the action on the floor. If Braden is 4* level, then he needs to show he can do it in that environment. Frankly guards have it way easier in AAU because they get the ball so often. 
 

And what’s wrong with a dunk? They’re awesome. Getting one is a big deal, as the other team is trying very hard to prevent it. It generally means you exposed or created a weakness to get right to the basket. That matters. TJD would love to dunk every possession. Turns out getting there is pretty difficult. Then everyone gets rewarded with an athletic emphatic slam. In the words of LeBron, 2 points is not 2 points. If there’s some dude able to consistently get dunks over the best of the best? Yeah I want him. 
 

Anyway, Painter took a gamble and offered without the benefit of AAU tape. Maybe it pays off? I’m cheering for Braden either way, he’s a local kid and I like his play. 

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 9,095]

37 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

1. "We"  (including D1 coaching staffs) have not "completely disregarded school ball when we evaluate players."
2. AAU play allows coaches, with their limited time, to see many, many potential recruits play against other D1 quality high school players at once.

I understand what AAU does. I've coached it for many years. The Indy area does that along with actual scouting. Some on these sites don't understand how truly good the HS basketball is here. I won't ever agree rankings matter.. especially when people in this thread have admitted to not even watching a full game. There's just too many examples to show otherwise. 

 

[ebridges24 2,429]

2 minutes ago, btownqb said:

I understand what AAU does. I've coached it for many years. 

Me too, only there was no dunking. I coached 6-8th grade girls.

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3 minutes ago, ebridges24 said:

Me too, only there was no dunking. I coached 6-8th grade girls.

Ooof. Props to you. Impressive patience. 

[Certified Sunshine Pumper 9,095]

Just ughhh.. we're going to regret not offering him.