Purdue's pursuit of four-star forward Ben Carlson continues
More ($): Purdue 2020 recruiting breakdown | Saturday in Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — On a 2020 recruiting board loaded with very good guards and highlighted by at least one five-star-caliber center prospect, forward Ben Carlson stands out as a Purdue priority, perhaps the priority at his position.
Among the Boilermaker coaching staff's long-established targets for its next signing class, the 6-foot-9 Minnesota native is one of few true forwards, albeit a versatile one.
"It's how I fit really well with the program with my size and how I can play and guard a bunch of positions," Carlson said of Purdue's message to him at this stage of the recruiting process. "It was great to watch them in the NCAA Tournament. I wished they could have made the Final Four, because I was at the games. They had a great run this year and I know they can be just as good again."
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Carlson officially visited in February for Purdue's win over Penn State. It was his second visit to Purdue.
"They're really interested in me and I'm really interested in them," Carlson said. "They've had a bunch of players like me come to Purdue and a really great history, a really great coaching staff in Coach (Matt) Painter and Coach (Steve) Lutz, and they're really good. It's definitely an exciting time for them."
The four-star forward, ranked 84th nationally by Rivals.com, also made a junior-year official visit to Xavier. He said he may take more official visits in June, then in the fall, before eventually making a decision months from now.
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Carlson said that Xavier and Minnesota had plans to make recent in-home visits thrown off by weather, and that Purdue intends to visit him soon.
Among the many others who've offered Carlson to this point are Iowa, Iowa State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Stanford, Creighton and others.
"I'm not close to making a decision," Carlson said. "I don't want to rush it at all, but probably I'll decide before high school season, September or October.
"The biggest thing is probably how I fit with the program, the playing style and the coaching staff. And academics. Those are probably the biggest things I'm going to look at."
Carlson's currently sidelined by the sprained ankle he sustained in the Minnesota state tournament, but expects to be back on the floor for the NCAA's lone evaluation weekend in two weeks, when his D1 Minnesota program will be playing at the adidas Gauntlet event in Dallas.
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