Nathan Baird

Journal & Courier

For at least one more season, Purdue will play a big brand of basketball in its frontcourt.

Caleb Swanigan has withdrawn from the NBA draft and will return to Purdue for his sophomore season. The 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward and other underclassmen who had declared for the draft faced an 11:59 p.m. Wednesday deadline to withdraw and retain their eligibility.

Swanigan confirmed his return via Twitter about eight hours before the deadline.

Swanigan could not immediately be reached for further comment. ESPN's Andy Katz tweeted that Swanigan told him by text message: "I'm going back to school. I feel I'm only a 2nd round pick and I can do better than that. I love Purdue.''

Speaking after his Monday workout with the Indiana Pacers, Swanigan reconciled the draw of the NBA with making a prudent decision on his immediate future.

"It's right here, but you've always got to have patience and do what's best for you and make the best decision for you," Swanigan said.

Roosevelt Barnes, Swanigan's adoptive father and a former Purdue athlete, said the decision was still up in the air today before the choice was made around 1 p.m. Barnes said Swanigan wanted to come back because a strong year would improve his draft status.

Swanigan could have joined Russell Cross (1983) and Glenn Robinson (1994) as Purdue players who entered the NBA draft early. However, he would have done so against a wave of opinion — including those of many NBA scouts and front-office members — that he should return to school for at least one more season.

In its most recent mock draft, published May 15, Draftexpress.com did not list Swanigan among the 60 draft projections.

Barnes said the feedback they received indicated, "It's not a matter of if he's going to be in the NBA, just a matter of when.

"He's an NBA rebounder and NBA low-post player," Barnes said. "Basically the only thing they want to see is him have more touches and see him be a little bit more productive.

"The only thing he can control is his effort and his preparation. Rebounding is something you can do no matter what. The other things he has no control over. He has to prepare and be ready to take advantage of any opportunities he gets next year."

Swanigan earned Big Ten Conference All-Freshman honors, averaging 10.2 points and 8.3 rebounds and helping Purdue to its first top-10 national ranking since 2011. He nearly led the Big Ten in rebounding and posted eight double-doubles, breaking Cross' Purdue freshman record.

The 2015 IndyStar Mr. Basketball from Homestead declared for the NBA draft in April but did not hire an agent. (Barnes is co-president of Relativity Sports, an agency representing professional athletes.) By doing so, Swanigan took advantage of new rules allowing underclassmen to test the process and receive evaluations from teams while still retaining the option to return to school.

“He has the potential to make a huge jump from his freshman season and will be a big part of what we do next year," Purdue coach Matt Painter said in a news release. "He received great experience going through this process and will use the feedback he received to make him a more diverse player."

Swanigan participated in the NBA draft combine and said he worked out for seven teams, including Tuesday at the Atlanta Hawks. On Monday he spoke of the need for patience and the importance of making a prudent decision in the process. Yet he also said professional basketball was a longtime goal that would be difficult to put on hold.

In his first season playing power forward full-time, Swanigan delivered as promised on his physicality under the basket and passing savvy, especially from the high post. However, he struggled significantly with turnovers into February, had not completely adjusted to defending Big Ten athletes at his new position and displayed his 3-point range inconsistently.

Insider: How Caleb Swanigan's return helps Purdue

Swanigan reclassified to the Class of 2015 prior to his senior season at Homestead, where he led the Spartans to the Class 4A state championship. His decision to attend Purdue was also influenced by his eventual NBA aspirations, because it allowed him to play a true power forward spot next to a pair of 7-foot centers: A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas.

Vince Edwards also announced Tuesday that he had withdrawn from the draft to return to school. The presumptive starting frontcourt of Edwards, Swanigan and Haas — bolstered by junior forward Basil Smotherman's return from a redshirt season and 6-10 sophomore Jacquil Taylor — now combines with an increasingly veteran backcourt.

Starting point guard P.J. Thompson returns, though Purdue also added Michigan graduate transfer Spike Albrecht. (He still awaits a transfer waiver from the Big Ten.) Dakota Mathias and Ryan Cline return at shooting guard. Incoming freshman Carsen Edwards projects as a point guard but is known as a scorer.

"I have to play these cards, and once I make my decision, I'll start figuring out what kind of team we have," Swanigan said Monday. "I know we'll be great because we lost Ray (Rapheal Davis) and A.J. (Hammons), but we bring in Carsen and Spike, and that's really what we needed was some ballhandlers."

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