Purdue Trio to Test NBA Draft Process
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A trio of Boilermakers have announced their intentions to declare for the 2017 NBA Draft. However, the three members have not hired agents, maintaining their amateurism and leaving the door open for possible returns to Purdue for the 2017-18 season.
Juniors Vincent Edwards and Isaac Haas and sophomore Caleb Swanigan have all announced their intentions to enter the draft and will test the waters to gauge interest. The trio has until May 24, to remain in or remove themselves from the Draft. The Draft is scheduled for June 22.
Edwards, a 6-foot, 8-inch forward from Middletown, Ohio, averaged 12.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the Boilermakers this past season. He shot 48.6 percent from the field, 42.3 percent from long distance and 82.0 percent from the free throw line, elevating his shooting percentages in all three categories. He is the only active player still with eligibility remaining nationally to have scored 1,000 career points with 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 made 3-pointers. He joins E’Twaun Moore as the only Boilermakers in school history to reach the 1,000-500-300 club.
Haas, a 7-foot, 2-inch center from Hokes Bluff, Alabama, averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 58.7 percent from the field a year ago. Haas currently ranks sixth on the Purdue career field goal percentage list (.576) and has shot over 71.0 percent from the free throw line in each of the last two seasons. Haas has scored 1,041 points in 1,678 minutes, averaging 24.8 points / 40 minutes for his career.
Swanigan, a 6-foot, 9-inch forward from Fort Wayne, Indiana, was a consensus All-American, the Pete Newell Big Man of the Year award recipient and Big Ten Player of the Year after after averaging 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game for the Boilermakers. Swanigan became the first player nationally since at least the 1985-86 season to have amassed 640 points, 430 rebounds and 100 assists in a season.
The trio combined for 1,527 points, 783 rebounds and 239 assists among them. They accounted for 54.7 percent of Purdue’s scoring and became the first trio to each score at least 440 points in a season since the 1987-88 campaign.