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On Thursday, the Purdue Boilermakers got some significant news as sophomore guard Jaden Ivey declared for the 2022 NBA Draft. Most expected this after Ivey put together an impressive 2021-’22 season, but he confirmed it officially.
— Jaden Ivey (@IveyJaden) March 31, 2022
During his two seasons with the Boilers, Ivey played in 59 games and averaged an impressive 17.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game in his final season with the program. While Purdue didn’t hit many of its goals last season, Ivey was a driving force in helping the team earn the No. 1 ranking early in the season and a Sweet 16 appearance.
For Purdue, this is going to be a tough loss to overcome. Ivey was a fantastic player and one of the program’s best professional prospects in quite some time. It’s not often you see a player like Ivey arrive in West Lafayette. There’s going to be a ton of pressure on Matt Painter and his staff to develop and recruit some replacements. Expect the Boilers to have to use a few players to try and replace Ivey’s contributions.
We’ll have to wait and see where Ivey ends up in this year’s Draft, but most projections put him somewhere in the top five and certainly in the Lottery. With any luck, he figures to be the program’s highest selected player in recent years. Boilermaker fans will certainly wish him the best of luck at the next level.