Caleb Sylvester Swanigan (April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname is also used as colloquial designation ...

. He was ranked among the top prep players in the national class of 2015 by

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

and

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

. He completed his senior season in the 2014–15 academic year for Homestead High School in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in and the county seat of Allen County, Indiana, United States. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 as of the 2020 Censu ...

, who went on to win the first state championship in the school's history. Swanigan was named Indiana's

Mr. Basketball Mr. Basketball is an unofficial award given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in many U.S. states, regions, or metropolitan areas. Conversely, the title Miss Basketball or Ms. Basketball is used for the best high ...

and a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...

. Swanigan originally committed to Michigan State University, but later decommitted and committed to

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

. He was named

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

Freshman of the Week three times, a record at Purdue. He was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team and also received a National Freshman of the Week award. Swanigan finished the season with 10.2 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game. During his sophomore year, Swanigan was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten, and was a unanimous first-team All-American. He was a finalist for the 2017

Karl Malone Award The Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award is an annual basketball award given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame to the top men's collegiate power forward. Following the success of the Bob Cousy Award which had been awarded ...

, given to the nation's top

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

. He was selected 26th overall in the first round of the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

by the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. Over his three-year NBA career, Swanigan had two stints with the Trail Blazers; he also played for the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

Early life

Swanigan grew up in an unstable home due to his father, Carl Swanigan Sr., who had a crack cocaine addiction. Swanigan's mother, Tanya, had six children. Swanigan moved between

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and Indianapolis during his youth, spending time in homeless shelters. Swanigan inherited two key features from his biological father—height and a tendency to obesity. The elder Swanigan, who died in 2014 from complications from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

, was and weighed nearly at his death. By the time Swanigan was entering eighth grade, he was and . His father had many brushes with the law, battled drug addiction for most of his adult life, and physically assaulted his wife. According to a story in '' Bleacher Report'', he was accidentally dropped by his mother as an infant, leaving a bruise on his face; this incident led her to move with her children to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

. For the next decade, the family bounced between Indianapolis and Utah; he recalled that he lived in five different homeless shelters and attended 13 different schools by the time he was 13. When his mother decided to move the family to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, his older brother Carl Jr., concerned that Caleb would keep gaining weight if he moved with his mother, called his former AAU basketball coach, Roosevelt Barnes, a former three-sport star at Purdue who played on the school's 1980 Final Four

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...

and now a successful sports agent. Barnes, living in

, agreed to take Caleb in if he could adopt him and raise him as his own son. Barnes adopted Swanigan prior to his 8th grade year. Barnes addressed Swanigan's eating habits and, after receiving clearance from a cardiologist, began putting him through workouts similar to those Barnes himself went through in college. By the time Swanigan finished high school, he had slimmed down to .

High school career

In the fall of 2011, Swanigan attended a basketball camp led by NBA former coach John Lucas after Barnes convinced Lucas to let him into the invite-only camp in Louisville. When it came to selecting his high school, Swanigan's guardian Barnes said, "When he chose his high school, his high school had never really done much in the tournament, and his goal was to win a state championship at a school where that had never been done before." Swanigan attended Homestead High School and wore the same number as Barnes, number 44. As a senior, he was named Indiana Mr. Basketball and led Homestead to a first-ever state title. He was ranked as a top-20 national prospect in his class. He was named a

. Swanigan averaged 22.6 points and 13.7 rebounds as a senior. Academically, Swanigan maintained a 3.1 GPA and graduated in three years instead of the usual four. Swanigan finished his career at Homestead with records for career points (1,649) and rebounds (1,048), as well as the single season points (704) and rebounding records (424). He was also second all time for career blocks (106) and assists (204).

National team career

Swanigan qualified for the 2014 U17 World Championship Team, beating out twenty other players vying for a spot to make the 12-man squad. Swanigan played in the U17 World Championship Game. The team finished with a 7–0 record and earned a gold medal in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, extending the USA's total record at the U17 World Championship Game to 23–0. He finished the series with 8.0 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game, and was the most efficient player on the U17 team, with a 69.6 shooting percentage. Before starting his freshman season at Purdue, on June 18, 2015, Swanigan was announced as a member of the 12-man 2015 USA Basketball Men's U19 World Championship Team for the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship that won a gold medal in Heraklion, Crete. On making the team, Swanigan said, "I always set goals for myself. I set goals for this spring. One of my goals is to make this team to end my high school career." To prepare for the games, Swanigan played in the Nike Hoop Summit, the McDonald's All American Game, and the Jordan Brand Classic. Swanigan did not take part in the Indiana-Kentucky All Star Game so he could attend the U19 training camp. He was one of five players returning from the gold medal-winning U17 squad. Swanigan's teammate Vince Edwards was also in the running to make the team, but was cut at the round of 16. The team finished 7–0, and Swanigan averaged 6.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

College career

Recruiting

Swanigan had several teams recruit him and offer scholarships;

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

, Cal, and

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

were among the schools that gave Swanigan an offer. Caleb Swanigan verbally committed to

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

on April 10, 2015, but decommitted on May 7. He said, "I just felt like it was better basketball-wise for me." Similar to his high school decision, Barnes said, "He wants to win a national championship and said he wants to do it in the state of Indiana and wanted to do it at a place he's never done it before." Some people believe Barnes had ulterior motives in adopting Swanigan, to which Barnes said, "Maybe if I wanted to develop the next hot-dog-eating champion, the next

Joey Chestnut Joseph Christian Chestnut (born November 25, 1983) is an American competitive eater. As of 2022, he is ranked first in the world by Major League Eating. He is a California native and resides in Westfield, Indiana. Chestnut's height is ; his weigh ...

, people would have a legitimate gripe." Swanigan had not consulted Barnes before he committed to Michigan State, and some believe that since Barnes played sports at Purdue he was a major influence in Swanigan decommitting from Michigan State. Barnes said that was not the reason Swanigan switched, and the primary reason for Swanigan choosing Purdue was the presence of two centers that were taller than 7',

Isaac Haas Isaac Haas (born October 2, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers. High school career Haas is the ...

and A.J. Hammons, which allowed Swanigan to play the 4 spot. He decided to stay in-state and chose Purdue on May 19. Swanigan announced his decision by tweeting "#BoilerUp". Swanigan was Purdue's first Indiana's Mr. Basketball recruit since Glenn Robinson in 1991, and was the first

for Purdue since 1996. Swanigan joined Ryan Cline and Grant Weatherford in Purdue's 2015 recruiting class.

2015–16 season

Swanigan chose to major in general education/educational studies. Swanigan chose the number 50 to honor his father who had died at 50 years old. Swanigan started every game his freshman year. His highest scoring game was in a win against Wisconsin in Purdue's last regular season game, where he scored 27 points and missed only one shot from the field. He scored 6 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in #4 Purdue's loss to #13 Arkansas-Little Rock, and did not play at all during the overtime period. After his freshman season, Swanigan was one out of 162 underclassmen to enter their names for the 2016 NBA Draft. However, despite being one of 63 invitees for the

NBA Draft Combine The NBA Draft Combine is a multi-day showcase that takes place every May before the annual June NBA draft. At the combine, college basketball players are measured and take medical tests, are interviewed, perform various athletic tests and shootin ...

that year, he ultimately decided to return to college on May 25, which was also the new date set for players to withdraw their names from the draft and try again for another year. An NBA scout said, "I think he has a chance if he can improve his jump shot and help defense. Big-time rebounder, works hard on his own. He's still more undersized center than power forward, though." Swanigan set several records as a freshman. He was ranked as a top-10 freshman nationally. He set Purdue program records for most rebounds by a freshman (282), games started (34), double-doubles (8), and rebounds per game (8.3). He was also the first major-college player in 25 years that had 600 points, 400 rebounds, and 100 assists in a season.

2016–17 season

Similar to his freshman year, Swanigan started every game as a sophomore. Swanigan set his personal record for points against Norfolk State with 32, with an 83% field goal, 33% three point, and 90% free throw percentage. Swanigan also managed to grab 20 rebounds, making it one of his four games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds that year. As of March 6, 2017, Swanigan was second in the nation in rebounds per game (12.6) and led the nation in double doubles (25) for the 2016–17 season. He was rated first in CBS National Player of the Year voting. In his sophomore season, Swanigan broke several Purdue records, including rebounds in a season, double-doubles in a season, and an NCAA record with four 20–20 performances. Purdue finished as the regular season Big Ten Champions, but were knocked out in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament by Michigan, the eventual tournament champions. In the Sweet Sixteen, Purdue paired off against Kansas. Swanigan was 3 for 4 from the three point line, finishing with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Purdue ended their tournament run in a loss to the Jayhawks, 98–66. Purdue entered the tournament as the 4th seed in the Midwest bracket and played Vermont in the first round. Purdue came away with an 80–70 win for their first tournament win in five years, with Swanigan posting a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Purdue continued its tournament run against Iowa State in the second round. Swanigan nearly got a triple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists in Purdue's 80–76 win. At the conclusion of the season, Swanigan announced he would declare for the NBA draft and not hire an agent, therefore maintaining his college eligibility for at least one more year, if necessary. Swanigan was expected to go in the late first or early second round of the NBA draft. Swanigan finished his academic career with a 3.60 GPA during his last semester, and maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.34. As a sophomore, Swanigan continued to set records at Purdue. He broke the school single season record for rebounds, surpassing

Joe Barry Carroll Joe Barry Carroll (born July 24, 1958) is an American former professional basketball player who spent ten seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After retiring from basketball, he became a wealth advisor, philanthropist, artist, a ...

's record that was set in 1979 by recording a rebound against Penn State in their February 21, 2017, matchup. Swanigan broke the single season record for double-doubles at Purdue against #25 Northwestern by recording his 19th double-double. All Big Ten players combined for the last twenty years have two 20–20 games, and Swanigan had four in a single season. On June 22, 2020, the Big Ten Network named Swanigan to the "All-Decade Basketball Team", placing him on their Third Team. Swanigan was one of 16 players honored by the Network for accomplishments between 2010 and 2019.

Professional career

Portland Trail Blazers (2017–2019)

On June 22, 2017, Swanigan was drafted in the first round (26th overall) by the

. On July 3, 2017, Swanigan signed with the

. On being drafted, Swanigan said: "Being selected tonight in the NBA Draft is a dream come true. I have been thinking of this moment for a long time. I know this is only the first step in my professional career, but I am extremely excited for to begin this journey". Painter said, "We are thrilled that Biggie has achieved his lifelong dream of being selected in the NBA Draft. It’s been an incredibly tough road for him to get to this point and no one deserves it more than he does". Swanigan was the first Purdue basketball player to be drafted at the sophomore level or lower. During the

2017 NBA Summer League The 2017 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Eight teams participated in the wee ...

, Swanigan earned All-Summer League First Team honors for leading the Trail Blazers into the Summer League Finals, despite not winning the final. Swanigan received his first

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

assignment, starting December 22, 2017, with the

Canton Charge The Cleveland Charge are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Cleveland, Ohio, and are affiliated with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The team plays its home games at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland. The fr ...

. On February 4, 2018, Portland recalled Swanigan back to the Trail Blazers. On December 30, he was assigned again to the G League, this time with the

Texas Legends The Texas Legends are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Frisco, Texas, and are affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks. The Legends play their home games at the Comerica Center. The team began as the Colorado ...

Sacramento Kings (2019–2020)

On February 7, 2019, Swanigan was traded to the

in exchange for

Skal Labissière Skal Labissière (; born March 18, 1996) is a Haitian professional basketball player for the Capitanes de Ciudad de México of the NBA G League. He graduated from Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee, before playing one season of col ...

. He was assigned to the G League franchise the Stockton Kings on December 16.

Return to the Trail Blazers (2020)

On January 20, 2020, Swanigan was traded back to the

along with

Trevor Ariza Trevor Anthony Ariza (born June 30, 1985) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won an NBA championship in his first stint with the Lakers in 2009 ...

and

Wenyen Gabriel Wenyen Gabriel (born March 26, 1997) is a South Sudanese-American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, after being a 5-sta ...

in exchange for

Kent Bazemore Kenneth Lamont "Kent" Bazemore Jr. (born July 1, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a junior at Old Dominion University in 2010–11, Ba ...

Anthony Tolliver Anthony Lamar Tolliver (born June 1, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays, and played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for 11 different franchis ...

and two future second-round picks. He opted out of playing with the Trail Blazers in the

2020 NBA Bubble The 2020 NBA Bubble, also referred to as the Disney Bubble or the Orlando Bubble, was the bio-secure bubble at Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, that was created by the National Basketball Association (NBA) to protect its p ...

due to personal reasons.

Post-basketball career and death

Following his departure from the NBA, Swanigan was charged with misdemeanor drug possession in 2021. A photo went viral around that time which showed he had regained significant weight. The photo and

Damian Lillard Damian Lamonte Ollie Lillard Sr. (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Weber State Wildcats and earned ...

's defense of Swanigan against online criticism received significant media coverage. On June 20, 2022, Swanigan died in a

hospital at age 25. The Allen County Coroner's Office reported that Swanigan "died of natural causes".

Career statistics

Sources:

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2015–16 , style="text-align:left;", Purdue , 34 , , 34 , , 25.7 , , .461 , , .292 , , .713 , , 8.3 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .2 , , 10.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;", Purdue , 35 , , 35 , , 32.5 , , .527 , , .447 , , .781 , , 12.5 , , 3.1 , , .4 , , .8 , , 18.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 69 , , 69 , , 29.2 , , .501 , , .376 , , .760 , , 10.4 , , 2.4 , , .4 , , .5 , , 14.4

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, 27 , , 3 , , 7.0 , , .400 , , .125 , , .667 , , 2.0 , , .5 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 18 , , 0 , , 8.1 , , .318 , , .200 , , .857 , , 2.9 , , .4 , , .2 , , .0 , , 1.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 3 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .444 , , .000 , , .000 , , 4.0 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 2.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 7 , , 0 , , 3.3 , , .500 , , , , .500 , , 1.0 , , .3 , , .1 , , .3 , , .7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 20 , , 1 , , 13.3 , , .605 , , .000 , , .605 , , 4.7 , , 1.5 , , .1 , , .3 , , 3.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 75 , , 4 , , 8.7 , , .438 , , .118 , , .614 , , 2.9 , , .7 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.4

NBA G League

Regular season

, - , align="left", 2017–18 , align="left" , Canton , 14 , , 12 , , 30.3 , , .500 , , .308 , , .673 , , 11.9 , , 2.6 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 14.2 , - , align="left" , 2018–19 , align="left" , Stockton , 8 , , 3 , , 29.5 , , .462 , , .111 , , .714 , , 12.9 , , 2.4 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , 15.3 , - , align="left" , 2018–19 , align="left" ,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, 4 , , 3 , , 22.5 , , .500 , , .286 , , .667 , , 7.0 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , 1.0 , , 8.5 , - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 26 , , 18 , , 28.8 , , .486 , , .262 , , .688 , , 11.4 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , 13.7 , -

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, style="text-align:left;", Stockton , 1 , , 1 , , 36.0 , , .545 , , – , , .667 , , 17.0 , , 5.0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , 14.0

Awards and honors

High school

20150329 MCDAAG closed practice Caleb Swanigan (3)

Swanigan was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball and also was selected as a McDonald's All-American. He was selected as the Gatorade Player of the Year and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Underclass All-State first team. He was the All-USA Today Indiana Player of the year, and was selected to the Associated Press All-State Third Team.

College

In his freshman year, Swanigan earned the Big Ten Freshman of the week three times, a school record. He was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Swanigan was also named the National Freshman of the Week on March 8, 2016. During his sophomore season, Swanigan was selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Swanigan received the Big Ten Player of the Week award six times, the second most in a season in conference history. Swanigan also was selected unanimously for the Big Ten Player of the Year in the coaches poll, the fourth in Purdue's history, and the AP Big Ten Player of the Year. He was named the Basketball Times National Player of the Year and to five All-America teams: USBWA, Sporting News, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports. Swanigan was named the Lute Olsen National Player of the Week two times. He was also the Naismith Trophy Player of the Week and Academic All-District. Swanigan was a top-four finalist for the Naismith Award, the player of the year award, joining

Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earn ...

, Frank Mason, and

Josh Hart Josh Hart (born March 6, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2017 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz with the 30th ...

. Swanigan was also an Academic All-American for maintaining a 3.3 GPA. Swanigan was a unanimous selection for First Team All Big Ten in both the coaches and media polls.

References

External links

Draft Express profile

Purdue Boilermakers bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swanigan, Caleb 1997 births 2022 deaths 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Fort Wayne, Indiana Basketball players from Indianapolis Canton Charge players Centers (basketball) McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Portland Trail Blazers draft picks Portland Trail Blazers players Power forwards (basketball) Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Sacramento Kings players Stockton Kings players Texas Legends players