Jack Purchase, son of Melbourne Tigers Legend Nigel Purchase, has committed to playing with the Auburn Tigers in 2014.
The Carey Grammar student who was also pursued heavily by TAC Cup team Northern Knights in the hopes he would choose football over basketball committed to the Tigers only five days after officially visiting Auburn.
As of late Purchase has been playing for the Melbourne Tigers BIG V Championship squad in 2013 where he finished the season averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-10 prospect was Grand Final MVP of the BIG V’s under 23 league the year before, averaging 21.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and five assists in that competition. Remarkably during that season he also hit an astonishing 47 percent from 3-point range.
Purchase, who was a member of the under 17 Australian squad which featured Ben Simmons and Dante Exum and came home with the silver medal in 2012. Being the son of Nigel Purchase who had a very successful career playing in 250 NBL games for the Tigers and the Brisbane Bullets, makes Jack one of the many second-generation basketball talents who will look to help the Australian men’s basketball team win their first Olympic gold medal.
Purchase has a unique skill set, generally listed as a center, however he never really takes any inside shots. Instead he has played in systems that would use him to stretch the defense with his ability to shoot the 3-point shot. His profile as a player is a very interesting mix of size and shooting ability. On defense, he will be able to use that size to grab tough rebounds and he is a capable passer.
Along with Purchase, the Tigers added a commitment from three-star prospect Sam Longwood a day later. Purchase and Longwood are the only players currently committed to the Tigers for the 2014 class.