Caleb Swanigan, the five star big man from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, publicly committed to Michigan State four weeks ago. Just last week he gave a public statement that was a re-affirmation/vote of confidence. Well, that’s long gone now.
Swanigan de-committed from MSU, dropping the Spartans recruiting class from consensus top three to only the top 20 now.
The 6’9″ 280 Center/Power Forward is a consensus top ten national prospect, and a huge get for wherever he ends up. Tom Izzo has been Eric Gordoned now.
So where is Swanigan going now? Well, ESPNs Dan Dakich is saying it’s Purdue. We found out this revelation via Hammer and Rails, SB Nation’s Purdue website.
West Lafayette has one thing going for them that the other schools do not- family connections. Roosevelt Barnes, the adopted father of Caleb Swanigan, played football, basketball and baseball at Purdue in the early 1980s; before beginning his NFL career.
Swanigan said that the family connection won’t give the Boilermakers the inside track into his decision though when we spoke to him at McDonald’s All-American Game Media Day.
“We try to keep it unbiased, so we make an unemotional decision, and it doesn’t play a big part at all,” Swanigan said during the first week in April.
He also said that he’s only been to the West Lafayette campus a couple times (he’s visiting again tomorrow), and that Ft. Wayne’s close proximity to Purdue won’t be a dominant factor in the decision either. Like H&R said, Dakich has a lot more credibility with these topics than most of us, so if he says it’s happening, it’s very likely happening.
On the other hand, this is recruiting, where nothing is ever predictable, and most things are never decided until they’re really, truly, officially, etched in stone decided.
If Swanigan does commit to the Boilers, they would hands down have the best frontcourt in the Big Ten. Pairing him with sophomore Isaac Haas and senior A.J. Hammons would give the Boilers a forward group that would be among the best in the nation.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.