Antione West Jr. Explains Why Purdue Was His 'Dream School'

Antione West Jr. may be from Ohio, but his dream was to play college basketball at Purdue. This summer, he joined the program in West Lafayette and has already turned some heads through practices and scrimmages.

This week, the Purdue men's basketball program shared a video of West, who talked about his passion to play for the Boilermakers. He referred to Purdue as his "dream school," saying it felt like the perfect place to continue his career.

"It was the first school that I watched on ESPN. It was my dream school," West said in the video. "I grew up watching Purdue basketball. Everything about it — the coaching staff, when I actually came here and saw how the fans were, it just felt perfect."

West had the opportunity to see the fan support on Saturday, Aug. 2, when Purdue hosted its Alumni Game at Mackey Arena. He's already excited for the first opportunity to play in the raucous environment when the season begins.

"I think it will be electric, for sure. It'll be a full-circle moment, just being my dream school and something I'm really looking forward to," West said.

As a high school prospect, West received offers from 12 other programs. He committed to Purdue over Nebraska, Creighton, Ohio State, Dayton, Xavier, Arizona State, and others.

What separated the Boilermakers from the other programs?

"It feels like a family. I feel like at most places it feels more like a business — everyone gets caught up in the business aspect," West said. "But I feel like everybody here — not just the coaching staff, but the players and the people —it feels more family-oriented."