Caleb Swanigan

Swanigan had several teams recruit him and offer scholarships; Arizona, Kentucky, Cal, and Duke were among the schools that gave Swanigan an offer.[16] Caleb Swanigan verbally committed to Michigan State on April 10, 2015, but decommitted on May 7.[17][18] He said, "I just felt like it was better basketball-wise for me."[3] Similar to his high school decision, Barnes said, "He wants to win a national championship and said he wants to do it in the state of Indiana and wanted to do it at a place he's never done it before."[5] Some people believe Barnes had ulterior motives in adopting Swanigan, to which Barnes said, "Maybe if I wanted to develop the next hot-dog-eating champion, the next Joey Chestnut, people would have a legitimate gripe." Swanigan had not consulted Barnes before he committed to Michigan State, and some believe that since Barnes played sports at Purdue he was a major influence in Swanigan decommitting from Michigan State. Barnes said that was not the reason Swanigan switched, and the primary reason for Swanigan choosing Purdue was the presence of two centers that were taller than 7', Isaac Haas and A.J. Hammons, which allowed Swanigan to play the 4 spot.[4]

He decided to stay in-state and chose Purdue on May 19.[19] Swanigan announced his decision by tweeting "#BoilerUp". Swanigan was Purdue's first Indiana's Mr. Basketball recruit since Glenn Robinson in 1991, and was the first McDonald's All-American for Purdue since 1996.[5] Swanigan joined Ryan Cline and Grant Weatherford in Purdue's 2015 recruiting class.[6]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Caleb Swanigan C	Fort Wayne, IN	Homestead High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	May 19, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 94

Swanigan chose to major in general education/educational studies.[10] Swanigan chose the number 50 to honor his father who had died at 50 years old.[4] Swanigan started every game his freshman year. His highest scoring game was in a win against Wisconsin in Purdue's last regular season game, where he scored 27 points and missed only one shot from the field. He scored 6 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in #4 Purdue's loss to #13 Arkansas-Little Rock, and did not play at all during the overtime period.[20][21]

After his freshman season, Swanigan was one out of 162 underclassmen to enter their names for the 2016 NBA Draft. However, despite being one of 63 invitees for the NBA Draft Combine that year, he ultimately decided to return to college on May 25, which was also the new date set for players to withdraw their names from the draft and try again for another year. An NBA scout said, "I think he has a chance if he can improve his jump shot and help defense. Big-time rebounder, works hard on his own. He's still more undersized center than power forward, though."[3]

Swanigan set several records as a freshman. He was ranked as a top-10 freshman nationally. He set Purdue program records for most rebounds by a freshman (282), games started (34), double-doubles (8), and rebounds per game (8.3).[10] He was also the first major-college player in 25 years that had 600 points, 400 rebounds, and 100 assists in a season.[22]

Similar to his freshman year, Swanigan started every game as a sophomore. Swanigan set his personal record for points against Norfolk State with 32, with an 83% field goal, 33% three point, and 90% free throw percentage. Swanigan also managed to grab 20 rebounds, making it one of his four games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds that year.[23]

As of March 6, 2017, Swanigan was second in the nation in rebounds per game (12.6) and led the nation in double doubles (25) for the 2016–17 season. He was rated first in CBS National Player of the Year voting.[24] In his sophomore season, Swanigan broke several Purdue records, including rebounds in a season, double-doubles in a season, and an NCAA record with four 20–20 performances. Purdue finished as the regular season Big Ten Champions, but were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament by Michigan, the eventual tournament champions.[25][26] In the Sweet Sixteen, Purdue paired off against Kansas. Swanigan was 3 for 4 from the three point line, finishing with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Purdue ended their tournament run in a loss to the Jayhawks, 98–66.[27]

Purdue entered the tournament as the 4th seed in the Midwest bracket and played Vermont in the first round. Purdue came away with an 80–70 win for their first tournament win in five years, with Swanigan posting a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.[28][29] Purdue continued its tournament run against Iowa State in the second round. Swanigan nearly got a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists in Purdue's 80–76 win.[30]

At the conclusion of the season, Swanigan announced he would declare for the NBA draft and not hire an agent, therefore maintaining his college eligibility for at least one more year, if necessary. Swanigan was expected to go in the late first or early second round of the NBA draft.[31] Swanigan finished his academic career with a 3.60 GPA during his last semester, and maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.34.[32]

As a sophomore, Swanigan continued to set records at Purdue. He broke the school single season record for rebounds, surpassing Joe Barry Carroll's record that was set in 1979 by recording a rebound against Penn State in their February 21, 2017, matchup.[33] Swanigan broke the single season record for double-doubles at Purdue against #25 Northwestern by recording his 19th double-double.[34] All Big Ten players combined for the last twenty years have two 20–20 games, and Swanigan had four in a single season.[35] On June 22, 2020, the Big Ten Network named Swanigan to the "All-Decade Basketball Team", placing him on their Third Team. Swanigan was one of 16 players honored by the Network for accomplishments between 2010 and 2019.[36]

On June 22, 2017, Swanigan was drafted in the first round (26th overall) by the Portland Trail Blazers.[2] On July 3, 2017, Swanigan signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.[37] On being drafted, Swanigan said: "Being selected tonight in the NBA Draft is a dream come true. I have been thinking of this moment for a long time. I know this is only the first step in my professional career, but I am extremely excited for to begin this journey". Painter said, "We are thrilled that Biggie has achieved his lifelong dream of being selected in the NBA Draft. It’s been an incredibly tough road for him to get to this point and no one deserves it more than he does". Swanigan was the first Purdue basketball player to be drafted at the sophomore level or lower.[32] During the 2017 NBA Summer League, Swanigan earned All-Summer League First Team honors for leading the Trail Blazers into the Summer League Finals, despite not winning the final.[38]

Swanigan received his first NBA G League assignment, starting December 22, 2017, with the Canton Charge.[39] On February 4, 2018, Portland recalled Swanigan back to the Trail Blazers.[40] On December 30, he was assigned again to the G League, this time with the Texas Legends.[41]

On February 7, 2019, Swanigan was traded to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Skal Labissière.[42] He was assigned to the G League franchise the Stockton Kings on December 16.[43]

On January 20, 2020, Swanigan was traded back to the Portland Trail Blazers along with Trevor Ariza and Wenyen Gabriel in exchange for Kent Bazemore, Anthony Tolliver and two future second-round picks.[44] He opted out of playing with the Trail Blazers in the 2020 NBA Bubble due to personal reasons.[45]

Swanigan driving on Chase Jeter at the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game closed practice

Swanigan was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball and also was selected as a McDonald's All-American. He was selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Underclass All-State first team. He was the All-USA Today Indiana Player of the year, and was selected to the Associated Press All-State Third Team.[9][10]

In his freshman year, Swanigan earned the Big Ten Freshman of the week three times, a school record. He was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Swanigan was also named the National Freshman of the Week on March 8, 2016.[10][54]

During his sophomore season, Swanigan was selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Swanigan received the Big Ten Player of the Week award six times, the second most in a season in conference history. Swanigan also was selected unanimously for the Big Ten Player of the Year in the coaches poll, the fourth in Purdue's history, and the AP Big Ten Player of the Year.[55] He was named the Basketball Times National Player of the Year and to five All-America teams: USBWA, Sporting News, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports.[22] Swanigan was named the Lute Olsen National Player of the Week two times. He was also the Naismith Trophy Player of the Week and Academic All-District.[10] Swanigan was a top-four finalist for the Naismith Award, the player of the year award, joining Lonzo Ball, Frank Mason, and Josh Hart. Swanigan was also an Academic All-American for maintaining a 3.3 GPA.[22] Swanigan was a unanimous selection for First Team All Big Ten in both the coaches and media polls.[55]