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Published Nov 10, 2023
Purdue Basketball - CJ Cox, From No Stars to Dream Offer
Casey Bartley  •  BoilerUpload
Basketball Columnist
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@CBartleyRivals

Matt Painter did it again.


Before CJ Cox steps on campus as a Purdue Boilermaker, before he puts on the jersey, before he scores a point, he might just be your new favorite Boilermaker.



In a class of five commits, it's hard to stand out. CJ Cox is the least decorated of the five. Before committing, Cox didn't have any stars to his name. He has three now, mostly off the respect of Matt Painter's scouting, but also because if you do know to look at CJ Cox and watch him play, it's obvious. He's a player. A dynamic scorer with the ability to get his own shot, a tough defender with some of the best hands in high school, and a heart that's hard to measure without sounding cliche.



"CJ Cox, I thought that was an absolute steal for us," Matt Painter said about Cox on Thursday. "Just kind of stumbled upon him."



It's one of the best recruiting stories of the year.

I could tell you about that first game, the one in Vegas where Matt Painter saw CJ Cox, accidentally, for the first time, but it's better if Painter tells you instead.



"I was seeing somebody else and he had 26 in the game and I just kind of watched him afterwards. And it was his last game with his AAU group and he'd been with them since third grade, so I wanted to know why all these people were hugging him," Painter said on Thursday, stopping there and smiling a little. "And I know that comes off crazy, but I did. I wanted to know why everybody was worried about him. Everybody was like going to him and worried about him and he had a good game. I didn't know their coach. Didn't know anything about him. I knew a bunch of people in and around his prep school and his AAU. I'd actually been to his prep school before and recruited a guy about seven, eight years ago.



And so right as I started asking and talking - it was like off the charts substance. Off the chart toughness. He's developed into a shot maker. He can play both the one and the two as a combo. So everything in his boxes really checked. I was really shocked that no other high majors especially in that area went on him just because when you're that skilled and have that much substance, you're gonna find your way."



CJ Cox's way will be heading west, to West Lafayette, Indiana from Massachusetts where he'll join a class of at least five commits to Purdue. He joins two four-stars, Raleigh Burgess and Kanon Catchings, and two fellow three-stars Jack Benter and Daniel Jacobsen.


Matt Painter didn't reach out at the first game, but it didn't take long for Painter to do his background work. Cox was checking all the boxes. Then Painter reached out.



"He was basically just talking to me about what Purdue's like. How he could see me playing for the team, my role," Cox told Boiler Upload. "Things he liked about my game while he watched me play."



Substance. That's the word Painter keeps coming back, too. CJ Cox has substance, an abundance of it.



It was a waiting game for Cox though. Purdue had been rumored to be in the hunt for other guards, primarily the one that Painter was recruiting when CJ Cox took on Indiana Elite in Las Vegas.



"I knew sort of beginning of school year," Cox told Boiler Upload about when he knew Purdue was going to be an option for him, his only real high major school after him. "Mid to early September because they didn't give me the offer but they basically scheduled my official visit for the last weekend in September because they were recruiting a couple other guys who were on their radar who they'd been talking to for a while. So if either of them committed before the weekend I came, then they wouldn't offer me the scholarship."



Cox's trip to West Lafayette happened and he liked the campus, the atmosphere, the coaches, and the players.



"I thought it was really nice," Cox said of Purdue. "Very big. Didn't seem like really huge or like it would take you a long time to get from class to class. It had like a big campus environment. Coaching staff is really nice. They're all good guys. The players are good guys, got to meet them, spend some time with them... nice arenas."



It worked out. Painter offered Cox and he committed. It happened fast. That's what happens when dreams show themselves in front of you, you have to take a swipe at them, and as Michael Crotty, Middlesex Magic's and Cox's AAU coach told me while getting background on Cox, if Cox wants the ball he's gonna take it.



Cox is thrilled with the opportunity to play for a school with such rich basketball pedigree.



"Awesome, definitely awesome," he told me. "Felt amazing that I could play on that like high level competition and be able to experience traveling all over the country and playing at places against the best teams in the country."



It wasn't easy. Cox's life hasn't come without its hardships, but that's part of his character that seems to speak to Painter the most.



"I feel like the hard work I've put in, especially this year has paid off," Cox went on. "To be able to show off my ability in front of these coaches is something that I've dreamed about. My dreams came to reality so I'm grateful for that."



Cox has only visited West Lafayette at this point. After his final high school season, he will make it home for at least a few years. Indiana, the state that loves basketball more than anything. It shouldn't take Cox long to feel like he's home.



"I feel like when I play basketball, I'm not stressed out. I'm relaxed," Cox told me about why basketball speaks to him. "I don't really think about anything like that. Good things happen when I'm on the court and when I play basketball, all the negative thoughts are out of my brain, only positive thoughts. I feel like that's why I love it so much."


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