Breakdown: Purdue basketball recruiting targets Saturday at the Charlie Hughes Showcase
CARMEL — The first June evaluation period again brought scores of college coaches to Carmel and Westfield for the annual Charlie Hughes Showcase, put on by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association and IHSAA.
Though long-time Purdue target Trent Sisley was a late scratch due to a bout with pneumonia, several Boilermaker targets and prospects played on Saturday, with head coach Matt Painter and/or assistant coach Brandon Brantley watching.
Here is some analysis on a few of them based on Saturday games.
STEVEN REYNOLDS III — CLASS OF 2026
Steven Reynolds III was offered by Purdue long ago, and has looked the part of a priority-level recruit in Indy, scoring 21 points, with numerous rebounds and blocked shots, in a loss to Warren Central that was very competitive for three quarters or so, largely due to Reynolds’ shot-making for his South Bend Washington team.
With Painter, Tom Izzo and assistant coaches from Michigan, Indiana and Xavier looking on, Reynolds rode a first-half heater highlighted by several threes, an acrobatic transition finish and a pair of fallaway jumpers out of post-ups, all big-time shots and college basketball-translatable plays. After going off in the first half, drawing really aggressive defensive attention from a very well coached Warren Central team — Criss Beyers is as good as they come — Reynolds did often use his gravity in the second half to help generate opportunities for others.
That’s what the 6-foot-5, 170-plus-pound Reynolds is more than he is any particular position: He’s a scorer, a multi-level bucket-getter and strong passer who also shows some surprising toughness on the glass and in blocking shots. Developing size and strength will be important for him moving forward, but his scoring skill set is pretty well refined, as often tends to be the case with sons of coaches.
Reynolds’ father is the girl’s basketball coach at South Bend Washington. Older sisters Mila and Amiyah are each members of Purdue’s women’s team. Another sister, Kira, is also being recruited by Katie Gearlds and her staff.
See what Reynolds had to say about recruiting and his connections to Purdue in the video embedded above.
Class of 2026 forward Noah Smith
NOAH SMITH, CLASS OF 2026
Plainfield junior-to-be forward Noah Smith is very much on Purdue’s watch list in his class and certainly should be.
The 6-9, 185-pounder right now is part wing, part true forward with high-level shooting ability and a frame that would seem highly likely to develop into something much more.
Best way to put it is this: Seems like every class has a player who just blows up at some point in his high school career and transforms into something much more. For as raw as he may be physically at this point, Smith’s very coordinated, moves extremely well, controls his body well in traffic and can shoot on the move.
The raw materials in Smith sure make him look like he could be that eruption guy in Indiana’s 2026 class.
High-major programs ought to be all over him in anticipation of that possibility. Purdue and Michigan State were the only two who had coaches at his afternoon game Saturday.
BRAYLON MULLINS, CLASS OF 2025
Nothing new here: Greenfield-Central wing Braylon Mullins had already established himself as a cream-of-the-crop recruit nationally in the rising-senior class. He was the biggest reason big-name coaches from all over were in town and both of his games had to be played in Carmel High School’s arena-ish main gym.
Among those who watched Mullins Saturday: Dan Hurley, Izzo and Mark Pope, along with the big three in Indiana of Painter, Mike Woodson and Micah Shrewsberry.
Mullins was excellent in a nice win over Ben Davis, scoring 32 points, putting the ball in the basket all sorts of different ways. He is a big-time shooter with a quick-trigger, fearless release but also a great athlete and transition finisher.
His second game of the day, a GC loss to Cathedral, was marred by him coming down hard on his face after a dunk, bloodied and requiring attention. He returned to the bench, but not the game.
Nevertheless, Mullins did put on a show today at an event that sometimes reveals how worn down these players can get following team camp and all-star-game season. Mullins looked fine on Saturday at least.
Mullins has an unofficial visit scheduled to Purdue for June 26, part of a gauntlet of visits.
LUKE ERTEL, CLASS OF 2026
Painter, Fran McCaffery and Chris Collins were all present for Mount Vernon’s morning loss to Attucks to see Luke Ertel. Mount Vernon just lost a couple transfers so it’s in a bit of a transition mode and dropped a close game to an Attucks team playing without big man Dezmon Briscoe.
Ertel scored 22 points, showing again a really effective pull-up jumper to go along with his reliable three-point shooting. A classic winning-qualities sort of player, Ertel looks more like an Eric Hunter-ish combo guard than he is a true point guard, but would seem to have real defensive-versatility potential at the next level on top of the toughness and hustle and high IQ that define him. He’s not an elite-quickness or elite-athleticism sort of player, but his intangibles are there. He’s a gamer.
Butler recently offered Ertel.
Purdue was among those that have called him since open season on 2026s commenced on June 15.
The post Breakdown: Purdue basketball recruiting targets Saturday at the Charlie Hughes Showcase appeared first on On3.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings