A Purchase for the future

Consider Jack Purchase an investment for the future for Eran Ganot and Hawaii.

The 6-8 (or 6-9) Purchase will have to sit out a year as a transfer from Auburn. For Purchase, that will be tough considering he basically just spent a season doing the same thing under Bruce Pearl (he appeared sparingly in seven games with the Tigers).

But not only will Purchase potentially provide something for three years after that — his shooting and passing are said to be his greatest assets, especially for his size — he marks the first in what Ganot hopes will be a long line of Australians eager to join the program in seasons to come.

Sunday’s print edition story about Purchase, including quotes from the latest Rainbow Warrior, is here (subscriber content).

Purchase himself hinted that he’d spoken to several other up-and-coming Aussies who were excited about the prospect of a (relatively) close Division I school with a staff friendly toward their general outlook.

Here was Ganot on Sunday about Purchase, once the addition became official:

“We are fired up to welcome Jack to the Rainbow Warrior basketball family. Jack is well regarded for his high skill set and tremendous basketball IQ, particularly at his size. He and his terrific family are a great fit for our program, this university, and the islands. It’s no secret that Australia is a place we would like to target and for Jack to start us off there is a real shot in the arm. He comes from the very highly respected Melbourne Tigers program, where his father, Nigel, played professionally.

“While we are thrilled with his current abilities, the opportunity is there to make significant strides as his potential and ceiling are very high. Jack has a very bright future and we are ecstatic it will be at the University of Hawaii.”

Here was a brief video interview Purchase gave Auburn media. Here’s a highlight package in an Aussie game from three years ago, when he was 17. He wore #20.

But maybe most importantly, Purchase was one of three members of “The White Caboose” at Auburn. Their game antics (at the end of the bench) became pretty well-known on campus. Here’s an Auburn video explaining the phenomenon. The Caboose even had its own Twitter handle.

Stay tuned for some Q&A with Purchase … including his thoughts on the Caboose.

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Ferd Lewis had an extensive story in Sunday’s paper about the latest in the NCAA saga between UH and Gib Arnold. If you missed it, it’s here (subscriber content).
UH is firing back pretty emphatically at Arnold’s claims in his response to the NCAA.

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Happy Fathers Day to all the dads.