Purdue targeting California's Nikolas Khamenia for 2025 class

LEBANON, Ind. — After earning MVP honors and leading his team to the 17-and-under title at this past weekend’s Puma PRO16/NXT circuit event in the Indianapolis area, it’s time for Nikolas Khamenia to turn some of his attention to recruiting.

“After this weekend I’m going to sit down with my coaches and family to try to decide which couple schools I really want to focus on and go from there,” Khamenia said Sunday in Lebanon.

For the consensus four-star and top-30ish recruit nationally, it will be no small task sorting through his options.

Among those who’ve offered the diversely skilled 6-foot-8, 210-pounder from around Hollywood: Gonzaga, UCLA, Duke, USC, Arizona, Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame. Purdue, as well, doing so after Khamenia stood out for USA Basketball’s 18-and-under national team in June (alongside Boilermaker freshman Daniel Jacobsen).

“I talk to Coach Painter quite a bit and have had a Zoom call with their staff,” said Khamenia, the reason Painter opened this past evaluation period in Lebanon Friday night. “They say they need a guy like me who can make plays for other people and shoot, dribble and pass for a guy my size.”

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Purdue is hoping to line Khamenia up for an official visit, to build on his base of knowledge about a program hundreds of miles away.

“Growing up, I watched a lot of college basketball, so I know a whole lot about a bunch of schools and they’re just coming off a Final Four run,” Khamenia said. “It would be hard not to know a lot about Purdue.”

Painter and his staff seem to be looking for a forward and a guard with their two open scholarships for ’25, a season in which any newcomers may be joining a team with credible Final Four hopes.

Khamenia would seem to fall into the forward mix, but the lines blur with him, as he is more point guard offensively than he is power forward, though his size is an asset to his well-refined post-up game and the defensive versatility he takes to heart.

“Some schools think that I can eventually play 1 through 4,” he said. “They just see me as a 6-8 guy who can pass it, dribble it and shoot it. And I’m someone who wants to defend. They know I’m hard-nosed and I want to be good that way, too.”

As perfect as that may seem for Purdue, he’ll fit well anywhere he goes, and there are many destinations to consider.

“It’ll (come down to) the relationship I have with the head coaches and the coaching staffs,” Khamenia said. “That kind of stuff really matters to me, and I’m looking for a system I can go into and play right away.”