Purdue Basketball: Boilers welcome five for next season

Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter landed five talented prospects that will join the team next season.

Guards C.J. Cox and Jack Benter, wing Kanon Catchings and post players Raleigh Burgess and Daniel Jacobson all signed National Letters of Intent recently, solidifying a class that is ranked 8th nationally by Rivals.com and is the highest ranked recruiting class since the class of 2007 for Purdue basketball. Rivals also ranked the class second in the Big Ten Conference.

“Obviously, we were able to touch a lot of points with this class. Anytime you have skill like these guys provide who can move and pass and play together, it really opens up a lot of different things you can run on both ends. Getting size and versatility in this class was really important to us,” Painter said. “We’ve got a bit of everything with this class and can still take one more player. We still need some help in our backcourt with what we are losing this year. We feel like if we can get one more guard that it will really help our case next season and moving forward. We’re excited about this class and where we are going with our program. This is a class that has a lot of skill and high basketball IQ.”

A look at the new Purdue basketball members

Jack Benter is a 6-foot-5-inch guard from in-state Brownstown Central, where he set the school record for career points and points in a game. Benter opted for the Boilermakes over the likes of Indiana State, Liberty and Bellarmine.

“Jack really gives us the type of player that has thrived here at Purdue in terms of skill level and understanding of his game, in the mold of Dakota Mathias and Sasha Stefanovic. He has really good size at the two or three position even though he handles the ball a lot and plays point at Brownstown Central. He is a great decision maker and can really stretch the defense with his ability to shoot the three,” Painter said.

Another in-state commit is Kanon Catchings, a 6-foot-9-inch standout from Brownsburg High School and Overtime Elite. Catchings is the second highest recruit of the Painter era, as he is ranked 22nd nationally by 247Sports.

“Kanon has morphed into a big guard role at 6-9, 205 pounds, and can really play a lot of positions because of his versatility. His athleticism and skillset is really impressive and he is an elite shot-maker whether it’s catch-and-shoot or getting to his pull-up. He is still growing and expanding his game, but he’s just scratching the surface in terms of what he can do. He is outstanding in structure and is a very good player at all three levels. He has a chance to be a very productive player here at Purdue,” Painter said.

Raleigh Burgess is a 6-foot-10-inch forward from Sycamore High School in Ohio. Burgess is ranked 89th overall by Rivals.com and opted for Purdue basketball over Indiana, Iowa, Virginia and Wisconsin.

“Raleigh has the ability to play two positions at the four and the five and his athleticism, mobility and the ability to play both in and out is something that we really looked for in this class. He has the ability to stretch the defense, but also play down low. His versatility and size makes him interchangeable and he plays really hard and has a lot of fun playing the game.”

Guard C.J. Cox is a 6-foot-2-inch prospect from Milton Academy, who selected Purdue over UMass.

 “C.J. was an absolute steal for us. We are very fortunate to get somebody with a lot of substance who has such a competitive spirit to him. He’s very skilled and developed into a very good shot-maker, whether it be catch-and-shoot 3’s or on pull-ups. He can hurt you in a lot of ways and has a unique ability to take good shots. His shot selection and discipline on offense is something that really helps a team. C.J. has really good ball skills and is going to be a very good player at our level,” Painter said.

Jacobsen is a 7-foot-3-inch center from Brewster Academy (IL), who selected Purdue over Wisconsin, Creighton, Iowa, Minnesota, Clemson and Xavier.

“Daniel is a great shot-blocker, who is very versatile on both ends. He has a level of fluidity to him, and is very long and moves well. He can also pick-and-pop and really shoot the ball at a high level. He has the ability to really stretch the defense and has a lot of untapped potential. Daniel is a very talented player who is just scratching the surface of the player he can become and we are excited to watch his progress,” Painter said.

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