July Evaluation Period Day 3: Purdue recruit Luke Ertel's week in Rock Hill and more

ROCK HILL, S.C. — The July evaluation period rolls on, as adidas winds down its championship event and Nike readies to tip off the Peach Jam.

News and notes from Saturday in the Southeast.

PURDUE RECRUIT LUKE ERTEL’S WEEK

After spending the back half of June resting his troublesome ankle, hoping to be 100-percent in time for July, Purdue recruit Luke Ertel has rounded back into form, as he’s shown at adidas’ 3SSB Palmetto Road event.

According to event stat-keeping, Ertel has averaged 19.8 points, 6.2 assists and 5.4 rebounds in Rock HIll. Notably he helped his Indiana Elite team to within one win of playing for the event title for the second straight year.

In the morning on Saturday, Ertel went for 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a comfortable win over Team Loaded; in the evening he scored 12 with 10 assists in a relatively one-sided loss to a Game Elite team that has multiple future draft picks. Indiana did get the game down to two possessions in the final minutes, though, thanks in part to some key plays from Ertel, one of this 3SSB Circuit season’s top performers since tip-off in the spring.

Important context to Ertel’s play this weekend: Indiana Elite has never been flush with ball-handlers this spring and summer, and really doesn’t have many real playmakers. Terrence Hayes of Gary is normally the secondary ball-handling option and second-best scorer off the dribble, but he’s out with an ankle injury.

So not only did Ertel play all 64 possible minutes on Saturday, but he did so playing at his usual breakneck pace, as the focal point of opponents’ perimeter defense and needed badly to force the issue at times as a scorer. That this has come right after he’d been sidelined for weeks really adds some additional meaning to his productivity but also in Indiana Elite coming one win short of playing for a title.

A PRIME 2026 OFFER CANDIDATE

After he erupted for 35 and 30 points on Friday, the 35 coming against Indiana Elite in its 103-100 win, Class of 2026 prospect Jacob Webber might be on the verge of a Purdue offer.

Following his big day Friday, Virginia, Texas and Purdue called him.

“Purdue said it’s going to be calling me back after the weekend, like Monday or Tuesday,” Webber said.

At 6-foot-7, Webber is an elite shooter, clearly one of the finest in his class nationally. For Purdue-specific reference, his shooting skills remind most of Ryan Cline or Sasha Stefanovic in that he is really gifted shooting on the move, running into catches and letting fly. It’s a really important skill for intricate offensive teams like Purdue. Creighton, too. They’re another of the options presented to Webber, a Kearney. Neb., native who’ll play at LaLumiere in LaPorte this season.

Webber and his family drove from Kearney during the season to unofficially visit Purdue for its win over Alabama,

“Everything I’ve seen from them, I’ve loved,” Webber said. “I love Coach Painter, I love P.J. (Thompson) who’s been reaching out to me. It’s just been a great (relationship) so far.”

Creighton, Washington, Nebraska and Iowa have offered Webber to date. Danny Sprinkle attended Webber’s game against Iowa United Saturday afternoon, as did assistants from Purdue, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and more, though it bears mentioning that Iowa United has several prospects, including big man and Purdue target Arafan Diane.

A very well-coached team built around a core of personnel from the prep school of the same name, Iowa United paid Webber the ultimate compliment by throwing at least four different defenders at him, face-guarding him the whole game, often the full length of the court.

COLBEN LANDREW ERUPTS

One of the elite players in the 2026 class, recent Purdue official visitor Colben Landrew proved it in Game Elite’s win over Indiana Elite Friday night, shooting 8-of-10 for 24 points, to go along with seven rebounds and an equal number of eye-catching grown man plays in front of a crowd of coaches that included a heavy SEC contingent, including Nate Oats. (Game Elite also has five-star Caleb Holt and others.)

Game Elite’s point guard is Purdue 2027 target Kevin Savage Jr., who scored 11 points with six assists.

Here’s Landrew on his Purdue visit.

PURDUE’S WHEREABOUTS

Matt Painter was in Richmond Saturday to watch in-state 2026 forward Noah Smith help Grand Park Premier to two more wins on the Puma/Pro-16 circuit.

Brandon Brantley was at adidas and Paul Lusk at Nike’s EYBL in Augusta.

NOTEBOOK

• Jason Gardner Jr. was excellent in Rock Hill, drawing Jon Diebler and Darian DeVries and assistants from Purdue, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Arizona to his afternoon game Saturday.

And it’s been another shooting clinic from Cooper Zachary, who was 12-of-16 from three in two games Saturday, including 6-of-7 in a rout of Phenom United.

• In Augusta, big games from two of Purdue’s prime 27 targets, Jaxson Davis (28 points, eight rebounds) and Isaiah Hill (15 points, five rebounds, four blocks), in wins.