In Jaden Ivey and Ethan Morton, Purdue might have just experienced a breakthrough of sorts on the guard-recruiting front, as the pair of Rivals.com four-star prospects represent inarguably the most highly regarded single-class tandem Matt Painter's added to his backcourt during his years at Purdue.

Their future teammates saw it live first-hand during the two guards' official visits in September.

"A lot of kids, they're not really trying," sophomore Sasha Stefanovic said of official-visit pickup ball, "but they were the best players in the gym that day.

"Both of them are going to be really, really, really good. I love both of their games."

Recruiting rankings matter only to a point, but prior to this 2020 class, Painter had signed only a few top-100-ranked guards over the years.

This class, Purdue signed two of them, Morton ranked No. 75 and Ivey 80th.

Morton was a national recruit; Ivey would have been had he not committed to Purdue a few days before playing his first game, and starring, on the Nike EYBL circuit.

Both were players Purdue's head coach personally locked into, Morton a priority for two years prior to his commitment and Ivey an intense focus beginning last August.

They join late-addition Zach Edey as part of the 2020 Purdue signing class that put pen to paper last week.

Here's a look at the three-man class.

In terms of backcourt scorers, perhaps only Moore and Carsen Edwards came to Purdue with skill sets like the one Ivey will bring to West Lafayette this summer, part of the reason that Painter took a particularly personal interest in recruiting the then-Mishawaka Marian star during the season last year. (Ivey is now at prep school powerhouse LaLumiere.)

"He's got elite speed," Painter said, "a guy who can really push the basketball, but also make a pull-up, make threes, play out of ball-screen action."

And he's all of 6-foot-3.

"Great size and speed," said assistant coach Brandon Brantley, who was heavily involved in recruiting Ivey.

Coaches nowadays especially covet versatility in their guards, the ability to play multiple positions, but also for scorers and shooters to be able to facilitate and make decisions and vice versa. For Painter, a coach who lives and dies with the turnover column after games and puts ample focus on decision-making from his guards, it's especially important. Ivey will check that box, as well, since he's shown he's more of what Painter would call a "lead guard" than purely a scorer or purely a scoring point guard.

The key for Ivey, Painter says: Playing without the ball.

"He's very good on the basketball. He's got to put some time in away from the basketball," Painter said. "You see that a lot of times with lead guards. They're good with it and they're good on it, but they're not good when the ball's not in their hands, just because of a lack of experience.

"I think that's going to be the tell-tale for him, being able to play without the basketball some and being able to be a good defensive player away from the basketball and understand our defensive rules."

Purdue was drawn to Ivey's intangibles, as well.

He's the son of Memphis Grizzlies assistant coach Niele Ivey, the former Notre Dame women's basketball star and long-time associate head coach, so his basketball upbringing has been considerable. Those who know Ivey laud his work ethic, in particular.

"He's a driven, driven kid," Brantley said, "and wants to succeed."

Ivey may be one of the best backcourt scorers In his class nationally, but Purdue hopes that drive brings productivity at both ends of the floor.

"He's a guy who can be really good on both sides of the ball," Brantley said. "He's got the ability and the toughness to be a really good defender."

About Ethan Morton, Painter recently said, "He's probably someone we need right now to be honest with you."

Why?

His passing, and when Painter says what he said about Morton, he was echoing comments he made years earlier about the former Boilermaker Morton is most often compared to.

"He's probably the best passer we've recruited here and that's a big statement because Dakota Mathias was a really good passer," Painter said. "(Morton) just has a little more physicalness, a little more size and a little more athleticism, but he's not as good a shooter as Dakota Mathias.

"That's your initial (question): Do you make other players better? Sometimes you have talented guys and they're good players, but they don't make anyone else better. Dakota always made people better, Ryan Cline made people better and Ethan definitely makes people better."

Morton, who chose Purdue ultimately over Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana off a list of dozens of offers, is all of 6-foot-5, with uncommon height and length for the point guard position, which he'll play at Purdue, though he's equipped to play any perimeter position.

His identity as a basketball player, Purdue believes, jibes perfectly with traditional point guard qualities.

"He naturally is that guy who's an extension of the coach," Painter said.

Morton "talks a lot" on the court, in high school and AAU alike, a reflection of leadership, and another Intangible coaches covet.

Morton's a deep basketball thinker. When assistant coach Steve Lutz took over his recruitment after Greg Gary departed for the head coaching job at Mercer, conversations with the recruit became less the typical recruiting fodder — music, movies, etc. — and were all basketball. Painter calls Morton "cerebral and competitive" and pays him one of his highest compliments: "He knows how to play."

"Ethan is one of the best passers I've seen over the past four or five years," said Lutz, who traveled to Mongolia in the summer to watch Morton win a gold medal for Team USA in 3x3. "He has that very unique ability, very similar to Dakota Mathias, that he knows where to get the ball, when to get the ball there and delivers it on time. He has a tremendous feel for the pace of the game, a tremendous feel for the players on his team — maybe who needs a boost, or who's hot — and he's very, very unselfish."

Lutz got Purdue involved with the massive Canadian center from IMG Academy in Florida this summer, as soon as it came to light Edey would be moving from the Class of 2021 to 2020, and long before Purdue would know it would need to be offering more centers.

When the assistant coach came to Purdue three years ago, he joined a team that featured Isaac Haas.

"He was the first guy I worked out when I got here," Lutz said of Haas, "and I was just amazed at how large he was and how he'd affect and change the game. So as I'm watching Zach, I'm thinking, 'Boy, he's just as big, he runs better, he moves better laterally, and he's a much better passer.'

"But obviously the shortcoming Zach has as compared to Isaac is that he's just not physically developed at this point. His lower body is very good, but his upper body still has a ton of improvement that can happen."

That's part of the reason Edey — 7-foot-3, 280-plus pounds — is all up-side. He only began seriously playing organized basketball a few years ago. Prior, the Toronto native was a pitcher in baseball and defenseman in hockey.

He's only now playing for IMG Academy's flagship team. In the summer, he played grassroots ball at Under Armour events, but in an open division against unaffiliated teams, and even then wasn't exactly featured on his team, as is generally the case for raw big men in summer basketball.

His size, though, is unparalleled and Purdue was sold in part on Edey's movement, and the flexibility it took to play other sports. Those who've seen Edey at his best to this point say his raw materials from a skills perspective are considerable and his understanding of the game belies his experience level. Lutz says that while it may not be his strength, per se, Edey has shown he can make jump shots.

"He's in a great basketball environment and he's going to get better every day, but he's going to have some tough days too," Painter said. "When you take somebody that size who's really just starting, they're going to have some tough days and you have to have some patience. It doesn't mean that here in a year he can't come in and give himself a chance to play.

"You just have to keep working with them fundamentally to get them to a point where they're really good in organized basketball. Guys of that nature, they've got to get the ball in their hands (to improve) but it's not like they're going to be in the game 30 minutes. In his defense, he can move, and that's going to be something that's really going to help him initially, his ability to move at that size."

Worth a shot.

"He has ultimate size," Lutz said, "and we've done well with ultimate size.

"It's all going to depend on how hard he works and how quickly he's able to learn and adapt and pick it all up."

Membership Info: Sign up for GoldandBlack.com now | Why join? | Questions?

Follow GoldandBlack.com: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

More: Gold and Black Illustrated/Gold and Black Express | Subscribe to our podcast

Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited.