2026 Recruiting: Caden Pierce (Transfer) potential interest

[Scrutineer]

Likely 2026 Mr Basketball Indiana Luke Ertel to Purdue.

Uconn the right fit for Mullins if he is indeed one and done. Hurley has a great record getting his players to the next level.

My IU grad cousins are upset that Painter has been reeling in most of Indiana's talented HS kids year after year while IU sits by watching it happen.

 

[superjohn]

My IU grad cousins are upset that Painter has been reeling in most of Indiana's talented HS kids year after year while IU sits by watching it happen.

Tell them about Braylon Mullins.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[OceanDoggie]

I saw him at the end of the game with gray Parka. Didn't put two and two together.

 

[Umami Zen]

A taste of the Storrs South vibe for Caden. Notice Dan has been on very good behavior at the Garden this year with Family seated courtside. LOL

 

[RuffRuff]

My IU grad cousins are upset that Painter has been reeling in most of Indiana's talented HS kids year after year while IU sits by watching it happen.

Can you blame them? IU has been a mess and Purdue has been in the the spotlight and the model of consistency and development. That may change soon.

 

[RuffRuff]

From a pure NBA skill translation standpoint, it's hard not to put AJ at the top. We haven't seen enough of DP yet. Boozer just bullies college kids at this point, so hard to know how that will look in the NBA. He is smart, just doesn't compare on the iso game.

 

[controlfade]

From a pure NBA skill translation standpoint, it's hard not to put AJ at the top. We haven't seen enough of DP yet. Boozer just bullies college kids at this point, so hard to know how that will look in the NBA. He is smart, just doesn't compare on the iso game.

As I said before, I think Boozer is a great college player but it will not translate to the NBA. I think he will be a good pro but reminds me of Pablo a bit.

 

[UCTitleTown]

Hand to explain AJ Dybantsa's slow 1st halves and absolutely dominating 2nd halves. A man among boys at this level. That's the #1 pick in 2026.

From a pure NBA skill translation standpoint, it's hard not to put AJ at the top. We haven't seen enough of DP yet. Boozer just bullies college kids at this point, so hard to know how that will look in the NBA. He is smart, just doesn't compare on the iso game.

 

[mauconnfan]

Hand to explain AJ Dybantsa's slow 1st halves and absolutely dominating 2nd halves. A man among boys at this level. That's the #1 pick in 2026.

I mean he is so good, the ceiling is crazy with this kid. And he shares the ball and defends love his game.

 

[RuffRuff]

I mean he is so good, the ceiling is crazy with this kid. And he shares the ball and defends love his game.

So good in an interview too - a joy to watch. I was a bit wrong about him, thought he was a bit of a hot dog. He’s anything but. Great kid.

 

[AllHusky]

On topic sorta, were we interested in last years Princeton grad transfer(Xavian Lee)? He'd fit nicely on this club!

 

[Leebo]

On topic sorta, were we interested in last years Princeton grad transfer(Xavian Lee)? He'd fit nicely on this club!

He's been struggling mightily until this game

 

[auror]

Hand to explain AJ Dybantsa's slow 1st halves and absolutely dominating 2nd halves. A man among boys at this level. That's the #1 pick in 2026.

He's probably trying to "feel the game" and let his teammates get involved early. Sometimes that's advice given to really ball dominant players so they don't lose the locker room. He's not usually a high assist player, though improving, so if he takes over from the start he may lose engagement of teammates.

 

[auror]

He's been struggling mightily until this game

(And he still struggled in this game, despite racking up a bunch of random FTs and getting a nice steal and finish).

 

[UCFan1513]

Lee was especially tremendous on that Karaban iso step back with 2 minutes to go

 

[UCFan1513]

On topic sorta, were we interested in last years Princeton grad transfer(Xavian Lee)? He'd fit nicely on this club!

He’s shooting 20% from the field. I know he was mentioned but not sure if we offered or seriously pursued. Think is asking price was pretty high

 

[6&counting]

The Caden Pierce recruitment screams Aidan Mahaney to me. Maybe worse because he hasn't done anything against high major competition. He's a 6-5 Karaban. At best, seems like a deep bench piece on a winner, but that might be what we're after.
No inside intel on it, but I would bet a handful bigger midmajor wings - like Thomas Dowd at Troy for instance - get a deeper look by spring

 

[OceanDoggie]

The Caden Pierce recruitment screams Aidan Mahaney to me. Maybe worse because he hasn't done anything against high major competition. He's a 6-5 Karaban. At best, seems like a deep bench piece on a winner, but that might be what we're after.
No inside intel on it, but I would bet a handful bigger midmajor wings - like Thomas Dowd at Troy for instance - get a deeper look by spring

By my assessment, he's basically Tyler Burton from a few years back who left Richmond to play for a talented 'Nova team. Stuck in between position at the High major or pro level, but very serviceable. The drop off for Burton was real so I'd also be concerned with what the Staff thinks they can get out of him. I think if they signed him, they would 100% attempt to recruit over Him.

 

[RuffRuff]

The Caden Pierce recruitment screams Aidan Mahaney to me. Maybe worse because he hasn't done anything against high major competition. He's a 6-5 Karaban. At best, seems like a deep bench piece on a winner, but that might be what we're after.
No inside intel on it, but I would bet a handful bigger midmajor wings - like Thomas Dowd at Troy for instance - get a deeper look by spring

It really depends on how we use him. Mahaney was a collosal disaster because we put so many eggs in his basket with zero insurance. If we have enough behind him or aside him, could be a fine piece. My guess is that Hurley is looking for another high IQ player to be the QB out on the floor, which we aren't going to have going into next year as none of the current pieces seem to have that level of on court IQ.

 

[Inyatkin]

The Caden Pierce recruitment screams Aidan Mahaney to me. Maybe worse because he hasn't done anything against high major competition. He's a 6-5 Karaban. At best, seems like a deep bench piece on a winner, but that might be what we're after.
No inside intel on it, but I would bet a handful bigger midmajor wings - like Thomas Dowd at Troy for instance - get a deeper look by spring

How would a 6-5 Karaban not be valuable?

 

[husky429]

How would a 6-5 Karaban not be valuable?

At 6'5 he'd be too slow to defend many 3s, too small to defend many 4s.

He's listed 6'7 220lbs, so I'm not sure why we're arguing about it though.

 

[bendm]

How would a 6-5 Karaban not be valuable?

a 6'5 karaban sounds like the ivy league player of the year. a 6'11 karaban sounds like the BE player of the year. hopefully pierce is somewhere in the middle.

 

[NJHusky]

Is expecting a 1 yr player to replace AK being realistic? As a backup ok. Seems like it takes guys time to learn this system fully. I know Cam did it, but he’s a one of kind imo

 

[uconnever]

He's been struggling mightily until this game

I was curious why everyone has been saying that, I watched the first game Florida vs Arizona and he looked exactly like he did against us, and I even said he looked good that night in a thread, forget which one. But trust me, he looked the same against Arizona. Maybe not the same numbers I have no idea, but I knew exactly what was coming.