Breakdown: West’s commitment to Purdue
Purdue landed its first commitment for 2025 on Tuesday, as Toledo Whitmer guard Antione West picked the Boilermakers over Nebraska and a host of other offers.
Prior to narrowing things to just the Boilermakers and Cornhuskers, the 6-foot-4 combo guard fielded offers at one time or another from Xavier, Dayton, Ohio State, Michigan and others.
More: Antione West commits
ANTIONE WEST SCOUTING REPORT
West is a scorer. That’s why Purdue recruited him, always eager to have at least one creator/bucket-getter on the roster at all times.
He’s probably best categorized as a lead guard who can play either point guard or on the wing, the sort of player where you put the ball in their hands and want them looking to be aggressive looking to score, regardless of what position they’re playing. Think of how Purdue used E’Twaun Moore, Carsen Edwards and Jaden Ivey, that sort of thing, though mentioning West in those same breaths would obviously be, at best, premature.
West’s height and tremendous length are assets for him as a scorer, and he has shown to be more physical using his body than his his lean frame would suggest. He does have a knack for creating space for himself with his dribble, to get to the rim or into pull-up jumpers.
His three-point shot has come a long way lately, he believes, and his mechanics suggest capability there. Physically and with his shooting form, one-on-one bag of tricks, etc., he looks like the closest facsimile to Moore that Purdue has had. Again, hold your horses on that comp. Just talking about optics here.
But West looks like a legitimate iso scoring prospect with immense physical up-side.
HOW HE FITS LONG-TERM
West will bring more versatility and scoring punch to a backcourt that’ll still have Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer as seniors in 2025, then sophomores-to-be Gicarri Harris and CJ Cox presumably ready to take the reins thereafter. A Harris-Cox-West trio would give Purdue ultimate versatility and size once West develops his body a bit.
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Again, there’s always room for shot creators as long as they’re holding up in other areas.
But Purdue was drawn to West’s scoring ability, and likely his personality and the fact he’s won a lot at the high school level. There might be some built-in investment on his part, too, and he’s called Purdue his preferred “basketball school” growing up due to Edwards and Ivey as well as the success it has enjoyed the past few years.
NOW WHAT?
Purdue will look to add to/round up its early 2025 class by adding a forward, Tre Singleton being the preferred target, barring any surprises.
There’s no real reason for Purdue to feel immense urgency, however, so open scholarships in the spring would certainly be a possibility.
Purdue did really want a guard/scoring in this class, too, and West has been the guy in that regard since the end of June.
