Painter: Swanigan is a versatile playmaker

Purdue coach Matt Painter says two attributes set Caleb Swanigan apart: versatility and decision-making.

They are two big reasons why Painter expects an immediate impact from the Homestead senior and Indiana Mr. Basketball. Painter's confidence in those skills also played a role in why Swanigan — a top-20 national recruit who originally committed to Michigan State but backed out two weeks ago — ended up a Boilermaker.

"We sold our opportunity, more than anything," Painter said. "The one thing we tried to talk to him about was playing with a true center. I think he's looked at as an undersized center at this point, professionally.

"Now that opportunity we have for him to be a traditional power forward and play with those guys are really going to show his versatility and his ability to be able to make plays not just in the low post ... but he's also going to get a lot of opportunities outside that area, too."

Earlier this spring, Painter said one reason why he didn't play 7-footers A.J. Hammons and Isaac Haas together more often is the problem it created with offensive spacing.

Putting the 6-foot-9, 260-pound Swanigan at power forward next to those centers gives Purdue another big body with low-post skills. But Painter believes Swanigan's skill set alleviates those spacing concerns.

"He can take the ball at 20 feet and go make a play," Painter said. "He can take the ball at 15 feet and (take) two power dribbles into a low-post move. He has a totally different skill set. If Caleb Swanigan was 5-10, he would still be a Division I basketball player. I don't know where those other guys would be if they were 5-10.

"When you have a guy like him, it's apples and oranges. Even though they both can play in the low post, from an offensive standpoint, that's where the similarities stop."

Painter even made a comparison to former Boilermaker star Robbie Hummel. He sees Swanigan as unselfish and talented enough as a passer that he might similarly need an occasional prod to be more aggressive on offense.

Defensively, Painter likes Swanigan's quick feet, instincts and basketball savvy. He doesn't foresee problems containing the dribble.

"He's going to be fine defending when his man has the basketball," Painter said. "We're going to have to ramp up guarding people that move away from the basketball.

"The toughest transition for someone with ultimate size is when they run those particular guys off of screens. There's some face-up 4s in our league the last five or six years that have been really good. When those guys move and they run off screens and stay active, that's where he's going to have to maybe help less, and stay with a shooter and do some things he's very capable of doing, but he doesn't have a high level of experience doing it."

Painter does not yet know when Swanigan will be on campus. Swanigan and rising sophomore Vince Edwards will attend tryouts for the USA Basketball U19 team early next month. If selected, that would tie them up through early July.

Summer school would still be an option during that period, according to Painter, thanks to online courses. Swanigan also could enroll in the second summer school session that begins in July.

Painter is eager to see the competition from a full complement of scholarships and the formation of the bonds necessary to reach growing expectations.

"He just gets it," Painter said. "Basketball means a lot to him. He's put in a lot of time and changed his body. I'm excited to coach him and bring that kind of work ethic to our campus."