2015 Scholarship Charts: Purdue Boilermakers

The Purdue Boilermakers exceeded expectations last season, finishing in a tie for third in the Big Ten standings before suffering an overtime loss to Cincinnati in the round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers overcame non-conference struggles that featured home losses to the likes of North Florida and Gardner-Webb.

Purdue loses two players by way of graduation in Colorado State transfer Jon Octeus, who often was the best Boilermaker on the floor, and Neal Beshears, who appeared in all of one game last season. Bryson Scott announced in March that he would transfer out of West Lafayette leaving Purdue with a severe lack of depth at the point guard position.

Enter in University of Texas-Arlington guard Johnny Hill to save the day. For the second year in a row Purdue will rely on a graduate transfer to run the point. Hill is a 6-foot-3-inch journeyman who began his career at Illinois State, and averaged just over 10 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.1 turnovers in 21 games last season.

It feels like an injustice to be in the fourth paragraph in this article and not having mentioned A.J. Hammons. The 7-footer led the team in both points and rebounds per game and announced that he would return for his senior season during Purdue's spring football game.

I had the (dis)pleasure of watching Hammons during his Carmel (IN) High School days, where he dismantled my high school by 40 points and I along with everyone else who witnessed this behemoth a few years ago collectively thought that there was no way that this guy would play four years of college basketball. Signs of immaturity appeared to have dissipated during his junior year and Hammons will join sophomore Isaac Haas in providing head coach Matt Painter a second season where he can implement a system of always having a 7-foot tall player on the floor.

Add in the commitment of Caleb Swanigan, who chose Purdue on Tuesday over Kentucky and California. Swanigan is the top-rated recruit in the state of Indiana and he will join fellow Indiana freshmen Ryan Cline and Grant Weatherford, as Painter continues to show an ability to utilize the recruiting hot bed that is Indiana.

The commitment by Swanigan means that Shawntrez Davis and Hyron Edwards will have to turn their recruiting processes away from Purdue. The Boilermakers have 14 offers out already to the class of 2016 for three expected scholarship spots.