Skip to content

Ad Disclosure

Illinois’ Brad Underwood has major praise for Purdue’s Jaden Ivey

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Anyone who has been following college basketball this season understands Jaden Ivey is a special talent. He’s been a big reason behind Purdue’s success this season and is considering one of the Player of the Year candidates.

Ivey put his talent on full display in Purdue’s blowout win over Illinois on Tuesday night inside Mackey Arena. The sophomore scored 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting and also dished 6 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds.

Illinois had no answer when Ivey kicked it into another gear in the second half. It propelled the Boilermakers to an 84-68 victory to climb to the top of the B1G standings.

Following the game, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood had incredible praise for the Purdue star.

“Anyone who doesn’t know what a pro looks like, that’s what they look like,” he said after the game.

Ivey is averaging 17.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game this season while shooting better than 48% from the floor. He’s hit several big shots this season, including a game-winning 3-pointer against Ohio State last weekend.

Several draft experts are projecting Ivey as a lottery pick, with some having the Purdue standout as a potential Top 5 pick. If he continues to play at this level, he’ll undoubtedly be one of the first players selected.

Purdue will be back in action on Thursday night, traveling to Ann Arbor to take on Michigan.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB