5/15/2017 basketball Edit

Caleb Swanigan discusses upcoming NBA draft decision

Brian Neubert • BoilerUpload

GoldandBlack.com staff

INDIANAPOLIS — A month ago, Matt Painter said he'd yet to hear from an NBA official that suggested Caleb Swanigan should return to Purdue.

For Swanigan's part, he is leaving the door open, perhaps more open, even, than he was a year ago at this time. Or at least taking a different tact publicly.

A year ago at this time, his approach both publicly and privately was as long as there was an opportunity — even a less-than-ideal one — for him at the pro level, he was gone. Ultimately, he heeded the consensus feedback he was given, though, and returned to school.

Now ...

"I'm not in a rush this year," Swanigan said Monday, following a workout with the Indiana Pacers. "I'm just more about figuring out what I'm doing and it's still early.

"It's more the maturation in myself, just being more mature about things and not having a sense of entitlement."

A return to the Boilermakers likely remains the more unlikely of the two outcomes for a player who couldn't do a whole lot more as a junior at Purdue than he did during his first-team All-America, player-of-the-year type of season.

NBA decision-makers have directed a similar message to Swanigan than the one delivered to his college coach much earlier in the process: That his time is now.

"I'm getting that, too. The guys I'm talking to, none of them are saying go back to school but there's things I want to do, goals I want to meet. If our goals are the same when I talk to NBA people, then it'll be my time."

But Swanigan seems to be taking a different approach this year. Last year, he gave little indication that returning to college was a palatable option, though he ultimately did come back.

Now, his historic season behind him, that rush has subsided. This process is about enhancing his stock, not establishing it at all. Last year, consensus opinion pegged Swanigan as a player who might not have even been drafted had he departed.

Now, his first-round potential is very much real, though his biggest obstacle might be outside his control. This year's draft is considered deeper than most, perhaps the biggest counterargument, if not the lone counterargument, to the thought that he should leave.

"Right now I haven't really made any concrete things I'm going to base my decision on," Swanigan said, when asked if his standing as a first-rounder would guide his decision. "It's early and really teams just started to get to know you at last week's combine. These next three weeks, I'll have a better idea."

Swanigan cited Tim Duncan, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson as examples of players who played more than two seasons of college basketball and found the sort of success they set out for, another subtle indicator that he's not closed the door on a third year of college basketball.

"You just have to make the best choice for you," said Swanigan, who's enrolled in classes at Purdue still and has long maintained he'll earn his degree regardless of when he departs. "It may not be something you want to do, but you just have to make the best choice for you and your family."

Should he return ...

"As I said last year, we want to win a national championship at Purdue," Swanigan said. "That (would be) our goal and that's how we'd carry ourselves, just like we did last year."

Swanigan, who attended the NBA draft combine in Chicago late last week but opted out of five-on-five play, said he will work out for the Brooklyn Nets Thursday and that he has a session with Orlando scheduled for May 22.

The deadline for NBA entries to remove themselves from the draft and retain remaining elibility is May 24 at 5 p.m.

Swanigan said he'll likely make his decision within a day or two of the deadline.

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