A look back at Purdue Basketball: Antione West

It was easy to see the temptation. West is a plus athlete, with great length, and showed a tenacity on the defensive end. In high school, West was as dangerous a play maker as he was a scorer. At times, he looked really good against developed, senior guards, and Purdue was lacking big guards in the rotation.

But West also was a freshman, still adjusting to college life, college schemes, and college talent. The shot wasn’t the most consistent, and even though he was good on scout teams throughout the season, and flashed in the summer, West wasn’t a finished product or a freshman masquerading around with a professional background in his belt like fellow freshman Mayer.

West was the right choice to redshirt, even if the talent remains tempting. So it wasn’t a shock to most when it was announced West would redshirt his freshman season.

Through the season, West operated on the scout team, taking in knowledge from experienced guards ahead of him and learned the nuances of Purdue basketball. Braden Smith went as far as to say that West would lead the team in scoring this upcoming season.

Purdue’s backcourt is still pretty loaded with experience, and another incoming freshman, Luke Ertel, will no doubt be pushing for immediate minutes, but that is the talent West offers.

West is a potential complete lead guard. He can score and distribute, shoot and get to the hoop. The latter being one of the most needed qualities for next team. With the void of Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer in the back court, Purdue’s identity will shift and a new offense is likely to come in its place.

Trey Kaufman-Renn, Smith, and Loyer was the identity of Purdue’s offense for the last two seasons. This season’s Purdue team will likely be orchestrated by Omer Mayer, but his style, and Purdue’s need to replace a lot of scoring will leave avenues for someone as good with the ball in his hands as West to make an immediate and substantial impact.

As always, Painter’s decisions to redshirt comes down to how much better a player could be for Purdue in his fifth year rather than his first. West is now set on that path. He has the kind of dynamic scoring that could make him a major contributor from the get go next season, and could be one of the defining Purdue guards for the next four seasons.