Top 5 transfer portal targets for Matt Painter as Purdue looks to replace Myles Colvin

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional-Purdue at Houston - Source: Imagn — NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional-Purdue at Houston - Image Source: Imagn

Myles Colvin and the No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers bowed out of March Madness with a 62-60 loss against No. 1 Houston in the Sweet 16 round of the tournament. Now that coach Matt Painter and the Boilermakers are out of the tournament, it is time for them to address their offseason needs.

One of the most pressing issues for the team is adding players in the transfer portal. Notably, the team needs to replace Myles Colvin who entered the transfer portal following the team's elimination at the hands of Houston. These are five players who could replace the former top-100 recruit from the 2023 class.

Top 5 transfer portal targets for Purdue to replace Myles Colvin

#1 Blake Harper

Freshman Blake Harper was named the MEAC Player of the Year in his first college basketball season. As a player for Howard, he established himself as one of the elite young players in the country, averaging 19.5 points per game and shooting at a 40.4% rate from 3-point range. If the Boilermakers can add him to replace Myles Colvin, it would significantly boost their offense.

#2 Jaron Pierre Jr.

If Purdue is looking for a veteran player to replace Colvin, Jaron Pierre Jr. would be a good option from Jacksonville State. He won the Conference USA Player of the Year award this season, averaging 21.6 points per game. He will be looking to play a big role at a more prestigious program like Purdue.

#3 Abdi Bashir Jr.

Abdi Bashir Jr. was one of the highest-volume 3-point shooters in the nation this season, averaging 10.1 attempts per game and making them at a 38.3% rate. After spending two seasons at Monmouth, he could come to Purdue and play a bigger role than Myles Colvin had last season.

#4 Lamar Wilkerson

Lamar Wilkerson is an interesting option because of how efficient a player he was last season. He averaged 20.5 points per game while shooting at a 44.5% rate from beyond the 3-point arc. If the Boilermakers want an outside threat, there are not many better options than Lamar Wilkerson.

#5 Keyshawn Hall

Keyshawn Hall is set to transfer to his fourth team in as many years. This past season, he averaged 18.8 points and 7.1 rebounds playing for UCF. He would add a significant offensive boost to the Purdue Boilermakers. The only issue is he is likely earning attention from many top teams, making it challenging for the Boilermakers to recruit him.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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Edited by Rajdeep Barman