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The Adidas camp was stacked with players, including about 15 of the top 25 rising senior
players (2003) according to one list. The number one player, LeBron James attended but
is in a cast so he did not play. The bad news is that there were no Indiana players and
none of our commits attended (Ije was at the Nike Camp as most of you know and I think
Liddell is playing AAU ball). I am sure everyone has heard the story that Vaden and
Gadis did not attend despite a last minute effort to get added after Nike did not work
out.
Livingston
Once I got past the disappointment of the lack of Purdue commits or Indiana kids, I
focused on who was there. The key junior target appears to be 6’6’ point guard Shaun
Livingston from Peoria. As far as I could tell, Jay Price watched every game of
Livingston’s while I was there.
Livingston is a true point guard and brought the ball up the floor every time. He has
his head up all the time and has great court vision. He made a number of great passes
including a no look on the break. He had a top 10 player as the center on his team
(6’10 Kendrick Perkins from Texas). Perkins was a monster in the post and may have been
the most impressive player at the camp, although he was erratic at times. He is built
like Karl Malone, so look for him to jump straight to the NBA. Livingston was able to
feed him on the blocks a number of times. He did not always hit the shot, but often
followed up with a put back jam. Despite Livingston’s focus on distributing the ball,
he does have the ability to score. He hit a number of outside shots including a very
long range three. He showed a nice crossover dribble followed by a made mid-range
jumper as well. He was able to get the ball to the rim as well, including a lay-up on
a fast break where he glided in from far away from the basket. He was also active on
defense including a number of steals. I would describe his game as smooth and
graceful, but not spectacular.
His statistics were not spectacular, but one observer called him one of the top 10
players at the camp. With a few games left to go, he averaged 3.5 assists to one
turnover and 6 points. The game I watched him the most he had 12 points, 3 assists, 2
steals and a block. I have a feeling his final stats for both points and assists improved
from these numbers. He seemed to pick up his play in the last few games. I think his
assist totals would be higher in a different context as much of the play is one on one
(they also rotate the players more and I believe the games are shorter).
I am sure Purdue will have a lot of competition for Livingston, but his attendance at
our elite camp was a good way to gain some early exposure. I am convinced he will be
the starting point guard at a major program in 2-3 years, lets hope he joins Vaden and
Gadis to create a excellent class in 2004.
Fofana
6’10, 200lb senior Hassan Fofana from Massachusetts may seem to be an odd player for us
to be recruiting, but Coach Price appeared to be following his games as well. He is a
senior graduating in 2003 and theoretically we do not have a scholarship for him, none
the less we seem to be after him. I can’t say if we are staying active in case other
players change their mind, or if we think a scholarship will open up by some other means
(see TexasBoiler's speculation as one potential theory). This kind of recruiting
probably always occurred in the past, but we did not see it or hear about it. Let me
say that Coach Price could have been following another player, but I don’t think so.
My own speculation includes the theories above, possible prep school for him or possibly
another in state player pulling a Willie Deane and giving up a scholarship for a year
(who knows, this is all pure speculation).
Fofana is a wide body post player with great rebounding skills. He has a good wingspan
for his size as well. He seemed closer to 6’9 as he was a hair shorter than other
players listed at 6’10. He is also a shot blocker and averaged over 2 blocks a game.
He did get called for a number of fouls when I watched him play.
I have to say that he is a bit awkward looking. It took me a while to pinpoint it, but
I think it is his duck feet. I think he is originally from Nigeria as well. Don’t be
too concerned about his awkward looks, as he is a player and would be a great complement
to Ije in the post. He is a physical banger and is not afraid to mix it up. He also
showed some nice passing skills out of the post and after defensive rebounds. Fofana
shared time at center with a 6’11 sophomore from China who had some good skills and
a ton of potential. Apparently he does not speak English, so he is unlikely to be a
college player some day.
In one game I observed, Fofana battled a 7 foot junior from California, Robert Swift.
Swift was an impressive shot blocker with long arms and good passing skills. Swift
blocked Fofana once and had 2-3 other nice blocks while I was watching. Fofana held
his own in general but was not superior to Swift. I think Swift will be a top 20
prospect in 2004. Fofana ended their match-up with a key rebound and free throw to
ice the game with seven seconds left.
Other players
There was a 6’11 freshman center from Chicago, Clarence Holloway that showed some
skills and could end up on our long range recruiting radar. He was very active on the
boards but did not score a lot.
Brian Butch, a 6’11 senior center from Wisconsin that is very highly rated and has
shown interest in Purdue was listed as attending the camp, but must have been injured,
as he never played from what I can tell.
Jamar Butler, a 6’2 junior guard from Ohio also showed some skills scoring 8 points,
3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.8 assists a game. I am not sure if we need another short
guard in that class at this point.
A few other smaller guards that Purdue may be looking at for 2004:
Dupree Fetcher 5’11 guard from Wisconsin who could score, but needs to dish the rock
a little more often at that size.
Rajon Rando 6’1 guard from Kentucky showed some rebounding skills for a guard.
I did not see to many big men from the class of 2004 that would be logical fits for
Purdue. I am sure more will come up on our radar screen as time goes by.
To give you an idea of the talent in attendance, here is a list of some of the top 20
2003 players who attended:
1 Lebron James 6-6 195 SF Akron, Ohio (Injured)
4 Kendrick Perkins 6-9 245 C/PF Beaumont, Texas
5 Charlie Villanueva 6-9 210 SF Blairstown, N.J.
6 Brian Butch 7-0 225 C Appleton, Wisc.
8 Travis Outlaw 6-8 195 SF Starkville, Miss. Miss. St.
9 Leon Powe 6-7 215 PF Oakland, Calif. (Injured)
13 Michael Jones 6-4 185 SG Dorcester, Mass.
15 Jackie Butler 6-9 260 C McComb, Miss.
17 Brandon Bass 6-7 225 PF Baton Rouge, La.
18 Mustafa Shakur 6-3 170 PG Wynnewood, Pa.
19 Martin Iti 6-10 235 C Winchendon, Ma. Charlotte
I would say last year was a better chance to evaluate potential Purdue talent as we
were in the middle of recruiting rising seniors such as Buckley, Hunter and Augustine.
I really liked Augustine at that camp, especially for his rebounding and I wish we had
him. Hopefully Booker will make me forget Augustine.
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