Morning Power Bar: Purdue in Maui; Iowa Gets Key Returns

This is a weekly column for BTPowerhouse that will cover a variety of Big Ten topics that might not deserve a detailed breakdown, but deserve mention. It will be similar to a news roundup with more thoughts and analysis.

So, let’s jump into our Morning Power Bar.

1. Myles Dread and Jalen Pickett Return To Penn State.

While the college basketball world is largely following the transfer portal right now, the Big Ten has also had a few noteworthy roster developments elsewhere. Two of the more notable came from Myles Dread and Jalen Pickett, who announced their returns:

The Nittany Lions weren’t a great team last season, but they did show plenty of fight down the stretch and these two were key parts of that effort. Dread played at least 25 minutes in Penn State’s final four games and had 12 points in the upset win over Ohio State. And Pickett did some damage as well, scoring double-digits in five of the team’s final six games. We’ll have to see how the rest of the roster shakes out, but this is certainly a good start.

2. Filip Rebraca returns to Iowa.

Hawkeye fans also got some good news as key big man Filip Rebraca announced his return to Iowa City:

While Rebraca had a slow start last season, he was the perfect pick for Iowa’s small ball lineups and should be able to fill a similar role next season. It’s also hard to understate the significance of this return with exits elsewhere. Getting Rebraca back is even more important with Keegan Murray off to the pros and Josh Ogundele transferring.

3. Indiana trending for elite prospect?

Hoosier fans may still be licking their wounds after the team’s loss to St. John’s last month, but there was some news last week that should help them recover. Elite 2023 prospect Kwame Evans cut his list to five and Indiana made the cut:

There’s still a long way to go in this recruitment, but this is where Mike Woodson can really put his stamp on the program. Get a commitment from Evans and the Hoosiers instantly become one of the more dangerous teams in the Big Ten.

4. Purdue joins loaded Maui field.

Boilermaker fans got some exciting news this week as the program announced it would be participating in the 2023 Maui Invitational. The field looks absolutely loaded:

So, get those hotels booked and Hawaiian shirts ready.

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