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Big Ten for Bade

Patrick Bade had to make a decision – football or basketball for college and where would he play his future college sport? The 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward from Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis announced the answer on Wednesday.
Bade, a three-star prospect, is headed to Purdue. According to his high school coach Mark James, the decision was a difficult one.
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"He was really struggling with it because he had some good choices so I asked him where would he feel the most comfortable outside of basketball, and for him, the answer was Purdue," James said. "He likes coach [Matt] Painter and the whole program. You can't go wrong there."
Bade also considered Butler and Iowa, James said. "He couldn't go wrong with any of them," the coach added.
James said the Boilermakers have a promising player coming to town in 2009.
"I think when they looked at him, they were very interested in his ability offensively. All of the coaches like his touch and his ability to step out and shoot the three," James said. "He can score pretty well with his back to the basket and he's relatively young. He only played one year of varsity because he played behind [current Purdue player] Jejuan Johnson. But he played really well this year."
Bade had a breakout junior season, his coach says, and averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds a game. Bade played tight end in football and could be a player that carries 250 pounds on his frame in college, James added.
For Purdue, Bade is the fourth in-state player to commit to the Boilermakers in 2009. D.J. Byrd, Kelsey Barlow and Jeff Robinson are also pledged to the Big Ten school.
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