Purdue women's basketball report: Roster set, offseason surgeries, absorbing Pacers knowledge and more
Summer workouts begin Monday for the Boilermakers
As the program transitions into summer workouts, items of interest:
• The roster stands at 13 players. That’s how Katie Gearlds expects to begin the season, but “if someone came to the door and they’re worth it, I’m not going to turn them down.” Gearlds doesn’t anticipate adding walk-ons. The program will continue to use male practice players.
• At least 11 players are expected on campus by the end of the weekend. Incoming freshman Keona Douwstra and Hila Karsh will arrive later. Douwstra is competing in the FIBA U20 Women's EuroBasket 2025 for The Netherlands, and the tournament runs through early August. Karsh, who is from Israel, is going through the international student visa process.
“We expect her here, but not this weekend,” Gearlds said on Wednesday.
What impact the Israel-Iran conflict might have on travel restrictions is unknown.
The first to arrive was guard Taylor Feldman, a transfer from Northern Arizona. Feldman was in West Lafayette on Thursday.
• Sophomore Kendall Puryear and junior McKenna Layden are coming off surgeries and may be limited during the summer. Puryear underwent ankle reconstructive surgery, and Layden had a procedure performed on the top of her foot. Layden has battled foot issues during her first two seasons.
Gearlds said Puryear’s ligaments were loose and needed to be tightened.
“She’ll tell you the story,” Gearlds said. “She was a passenger, and Lana (McCarthy) turned left, and she sprained her ankle. That’s how loose her ligaments were.”
During her recovery, it allowed Gearlds and the coaching staff a chance to “break down her (shooting) form from the beginning.”
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• Gearlds believes the roster is capable of playing fast, but she’s only watched the transfers on film. Next week, the Boilermakers will play pickup games, and Gearlds will get her “eyes on them collectively.”
With the help of former Boilermaker Stephanie White, who is the Indiana Fever’s head coach, Gearlds and associate head coach Kelly Komara are in the process of setting up a meeting with Indiana Pacers assistant Jenny Boucek to learn more about the team’s offensive system.
“I think our roster will allow us to play kind of like the Pacers play right now - their fire transition stuff where the ball just gets out and they're shooting it before the other team gets down the floor,” Gearlds said. “Maybe that's what I think we're gonna do, but maybe it goes a completely different way.
“When we allow them the opportunity to play pickup, we'll get an idea of ‘OK, can we continue down this route?’ I don't want to keep taking this circular piece and trying to put it in a triangle and try to make it work when that's not what our group looks like and what they can do.”
• The non-conference schedule likely won’t be announced until July.
• Gearlds and the coaching staff attended Thursday’s IBCA Top 100 Showcase at Ben Davis High School. Their primary interest was watching 2027 prospect Lillie Graves from nearby McCutcheon. Graves had a solid day competing against other in-state players. Purdue offered Graves a scholarship in middle school.