Purdue's search for point guard continues as NIL changes recruiting, transfer landscape

WEST LAFAYETTE – As we start the week, Purdue basketball is still searching for a point guard in the transfer portal.

Why haven’t the Boilermakers filled their void yet? Start with John Ruiz.

He doesn’t play point guard – his online bio doesn’t mention any athletic achievements. But he has enough financial muscle to lure Nijel Pack – Purdue’s top target in the portal – to South Florida. Ruiz, an attorney and the owner of LifeWallet (medical history app), is Miami’s NIL bag man.

He posted on Twitter Saturday afternoon the Name, Image and Likeness deal between his company and Pack, an Indianapolis native, who attended Lawrence Central. Pack is scheduled to receive $800,000 plus a car during the two-year deal. The make and model weren’t mentioned.

“The biggest LifeWallet deal to date,” Ruiz wrote.

He’s the same man who signed Miami guard Isaiah Wong after the season and helped bring Haley and Hanna Cavinder and their four million TikTok followers from Fresno State to the Hurricanes’ women’s basketball program. He’s signed deals with athletes from Miami and Florida International.

Don’t blame Pack or his family. Don’t blame Ruiz. They’re doing what’s permitted by NCAA and NIL rules. Blame the NCAA. Blame college presidents. The wild, wild west of recruiting is moving faster than ever before.

Nearly everyone wanted to see athletes get paid. What started as autographs, running camps, making personal appearances and endorsing products and companies on social media to earn money has ballooned into buying players out in the open.

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The bag men of yesterday no longer have to hide. They can come out from behind the curtain and be seen in the daylight. Or on social media.

From Purdue’s standpoint, two questions come to the forefront – who’s available to fill the point guard role and can the school compete in this NIL landscape?

Who’s next

There are plenty of point guards among the more than 1,500 players in the transfer portal.

Coach Matt Painter and his staff will find one, but the foundation had been laid with Pack, an All-Big 12 first-team selection who was coached by former Boilermaker assistant Bruce Weber, who promoted Purdue as a logical destination. Pack even arrived on campus for his official visit minutes after the NCAA dead recruiting period ended in early April. That was viewed as a positive.

Purdue has a lot of things in its favor – tradition, history, Mackey Arena, playing in the Big Ten, culture and plenty of talent coming back. It’s closer to home, a desire Pack had expressed, but you can’t deposit culture and tradition into a bank account.

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Will the Boilermakers have to deal with this again in trying to land a transfer? It’s possible.

Iowa State’s Tyrese Hunter - the Big 12 Freshman of the Year - along with Charlotte’s Jahmir Young, Princeton's Jaelin Llewellyn and Wichita State's Craig Porter Jr. are some of the prospects available. And don’t forget about Eric Hunter Jr., a senior on last year’s team who has entered the portal.

As always, Painter will seek the right fit along with making sure the talent level can help the Boilermakers remain in contention in the Big Ten and earn an NCAA tournament bid.

What’s next

Does Purdue have a John Ruiz?

The athletic department put its big toe in the water to gauge the temperature but hasn’t jumped into the deep end with a collective or hasn't announced one yet. A collective is a third-party group that is separate from the university and brokers these deals for athletes. That’s Mr. Ruiz.

Purdue has launched the Boilermaker Marketplace exchange with INFLCR. The objective is to bring the school’s athletes together with local companies and employers to create NIL opportunities. That’s likely what was presented to Pack and other recruits.

Sounds nice but will it be enough to make its programs relevant in the current environment?

How long did it take for the athletic department to give its assistant coaches cars several years ago? Don’t expect to see athletes driving around new cars as part of NIL deals. It’s not a look the school wants.

Two questions

► Will Purdue’s donors and boosters even want to live in this space knowing the price of admission and the optics it creates?

For example, Gator Guard was established to help line the pockets of Florida athletes last week. The group raised $3 million in 24 hours and has a war chest of $5 million in a few short days.

Granted, every deal isn’t going to be $400,000 a year for one player but the cost is going to add up. Who or what group is going to fund the collective with seed money to get it off the ground?

► Will Purdue – or other schools – bypass renovating facilities in order to keep the bank account of the collective full for future prospects?

Ross-Ade Stadium is set to undergo another renovation and it’s all privately funded. That’s good. But a lot of the same money used to spruce up the south end zone could be shifted to a collective. Would donors be willing to fund both at the same time?

You can have the best house in the neighborhood, but what's the point if you can’t put furniture in it.

The $15 million gift from the Rohrman Family is earmarked to improve Ross-Ade. Would Purdue see more benefits if that money was used to start a collective to make sure its coaches are in the running to lure the top players, regardless of the sport?

Meanwhile, Painter still needs a point guard.

Mike Carmin covers Purdue sports for the Journal & Courier. Email mcarmin@gannett.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram @carmin_jc

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue basketball | Name, image, likeness | Recruiting