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Former Northern Kentucky guard receiving interest from Purdue, but no offer just yet

Northern Kentucky v Nebraska

Northern Kentucky v Nebraska

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The 2014-15 season was a productive one for 6-foot-3 guard Tayler Persons, as he averaged 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest at Northern Kentucky. However things changed for Persons shortly after the end of the season, as NKU made the decision to replace Dave Bezold as head coach.

Persons decided to transfer, and at this time he’s one of the best available players heading into the summer. Going through a transfer process that includes offers from Ball State and Xavier, Persons’ available options became slightly more complicated earlier this week. The change: Caleb Swanigan de-committing from Michigan State, with many expecting Purdue to be a major player.

So how does that impact Persons? Nathan Baird of the Journal and Courier touched on that in an article written Friday night:

The Boilermakers like Persons but have not yet offered, in part because of a potential roster crunch. Purdue has two open scholarships but awaits decisions from Homestead big man Caleb Swanigan, who became available again this week, and potential graduate transfer Johnny Hill.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Persons says his own decision may be “a couple of weeks away,” and he thinks he fits in at Purdue.

“I feel like I fit the way they’re built — toughness, leadership, how hard they play on the floor,” said Persons, who must sit out a year but has three years of eligibility remaining. “I like how that transfers to my game.”


Baird will have to sit out the 2015-16 season and he’ll have three years left to play after that, and the reigning Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year would be a valuable pickup for whichever program he selects. Obviously there’s interest on both ends when it comes to Purdue, but the Boilermakers’ pursuit of Swanigan and Hill complicates things.

With Persons noting that his decision won’t come for “a couple of weeks” there’s still time for everything to shake out. This will be one recruitment to keep an eye on throughout the month of May.