Glenn Robinson III to Purdue? Matt Painter says he ran out of scholarships for the Michigan freshman

Michigan freshman forward Glenn Robinson III was recruited by Purdue -- his father's alma mater -- but the Boilermakers eventually ran out of scholarships, leading him to Ann Arbor.

ANN ARBOR -- In case you weren't aware, Michigan freshman Glenn Robinson III has a famous father.

Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson, regarded as one of the best college players of the 1990s and the No. 1 overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft, was a megastar at Purdue from 1992-94.

Robinson averaged more than 30 points a game for Gene Keady's Boilermakers in 1993-94 -- and a year earlier, he played alongside current Purdue coach Matt Painter.

So, fast forward 17 years, and it might make sense that Painter would be all over Robinson's son, Glenn III, with a college scholarship.

That wasn't the case, however, as Painter says he just ran out of room.

"We recruited him, and we actually ran out of scholarships," Painter told reporters Monday during a teleconference. "We really liked him, he was a good player, he really made strides from his sophomore to junior year (of high school). ... He's a great kid. He's really worked hard. He has a good feel and knows how to play.

"I obviously played college basketball with his dad, but it never really matriculated to that point."

When Michigan coach John Beilein obtained a verbal commitment from Robinson in 2010 at the beginning of his junior year at Lake Central (Ind.) High School, he was nowhere near the recruit he ended up becoming when he signed a letter of intent in 2012.

At the time, Robinson was 6-foot-6, 195 pounds. He was a three-star prospect and the No. 118 recruit nationally, per Rivals.com.

Robinson finished his high school career as a five-star player, ranked No. 11 nationally -- a rise of 107 spots. Currently 6-foot-6, 210 pounds, Robinson is averaging 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds for No. 2 Michigan.

Purdue's highest-rated prospect for the 2012 class was current 7-foot freshman A.J. Hammons, who was ranked No. 77 nationally by Rivals.com. Hammons, like Robinson, is having a fine freshman campaign -- averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds.

But most would argue he's not the player Robinson -- who is regarded as a fringe first-round draft prospect -- is right now.

"Those guys (the Michigan coaching staff) believed in me before anyone else really did, and that means a lot," Robinson told MLive.com prior to arriving at Michigan this past summer. "I really knew I wanted to go there (right away), they have a great coaching staff and their job is to see how players might progress in their upcoming years, not necessarily what they are right now.

"I believe some schools look too much into what a player is right now, and not what their potential could be. Michigan did a great job with that, though, and that's what I really liked about them."

Robinson and Michigan host Purdue on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN) at Crisler Center.

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