The incoming freshman comes to Purdue out of the Queen City, Cincinnati, Ohio. He’s listed at 6’10 and 230 pounds so not quite the 7-footer that Purdue is used to but that’s okay because he isn’t supposed to be playing center for Purdue. He’s a power forward that can occasionally slide down into the blocks to make plays. Depending on where you look you can see him measured at anywhere from 6’10 as on the Purdue website, or 7’0 elsewhere. For now I’ll go with the Purdue official height and let things move forward from there.
Burgess committed to the Boilermakers over offers from Wisconsin, IU, Butler, Cincinnati, Iowa, Ohio State, and Virginia. A pretty good crop of schools to go up against in a recruiting battle.
Burgess is a 4-star recruit though he dropped a bit in the recent Rivals rankings, though honestly how much difference is there between the 89th ranked recruit (where he was) and the 116th ranked recruit, where is he now? I mean, I dare you to watch the current 89th ranked recruit and the current 116th ranked recruit and tell them apart. All I know, is that Painter wanted him, recruited him hard, and got him. So what do we know about Raleigh Burgess as a player?
Well, he wouldn’t be a Purdue recruit if he didn’t have a leg injury cut short one of his seasons. For Burgess it was his junior year in which he injured himself. Burgess can play both down low if needed but also step out onto the perimeter. Before his injury his junior year he was averaging 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.2 blocks. During his senior year he averaged over 14 ppg, 9.3 rpg, and 3.5 bpg. He has been heralded as one of the best big men in the state of Ohio.
So, what does an incoming freshman need to do for homework? Well, in my opinion, and keep in mind I’m an easy grader, the best thing a freshman can do is get acclimated to the college game. There’s so much different between the HS season and the college game. First and foremost, the level of competition is ratcheted up. Everyone is going to be one of the best players in their state. You’re going up against some of the best players in the country. Also, the sheer number of games will cause most freshman to hit the wall. We saw it with Loyer and Smith during their freshman years. The best bit of advice then to Burgess could be to be in the best physical condition of his life. Strong legs and strong lungs. Those are a couple of the best things he can do.