Those who knew Caleb Swanigan best tell bittersweet story of Purdue's 'gentle giant'

FORT WAYNE — It seems like everyone has a story about Biggie.

His family and friends came from far and wide to remember Caleb Swanigan’s impact on their lives. His coaches recalled his ascent to greatness. His adoptive father, a great in his own right, regaled those in attendance with tales of how “Biggie” became a star.

Thursday’s funeral service in Fort Wayne was bittersweet — a joyful remembrance of who Swanigan was, and a reminder that he is gone far too soon. He died of natural causes June 20 at the age of 25.

“He was a gentle giant — not because of his height, but because his heart was so big,” said Susan Thomas, a friend who was one of the first people to meet Swanigan when he came to Fort Wayne before his eighth-grade year. “He had friends everywhere. People were drawn to him.”

Doyel:Purdue's Caleb 'Biggie' Swanigan escaped brutal childhood, but story ends at age 25

Roosevelt Barnes is on a roll, captivating us again with what a miracle it was that Caleb “Biggie” Swanigan rose to the highest of athletic heights.

Carl Swanigan Jr., Caleb’s older brother, called Barnes in 2011 with a plea for help — Caleb needed a rescue. Swanigan was one of six children. His father, Carl Swanigan Sr., was a crack cocaine addict. Caleb had been in numerous homeless shelters and in and out of more schools than he could count. 

But what if Barnes could save him?

Carl had told Barnes on the phone that Swanigan had untapped basketball potential, and was 6-5 and 280 pounds. When Barnes arrived at the airport, he saw that Swanigan was 6-2 and 360 pounds.

So they went to work. 

When he got to Fort Wayne, Swanigan played football and basketball. He wanted to play tight end or quarterback, but ended up at left tackle — with one exception, the team called a play for him to catch a touchdown pass at the end of the season.

“He always talked about that,” Barnes said.

Barnes convinced Swanigan, the boy who wouldn’t make eye contact or open his mouth when he arrived in Fort Wayne, that he could be great.

“I said, ‘You can be the very first No. 1 player in the country at left tackle and power forward.’ That was our goal at first,” Barnes said.

There was just one problem.

“He didn't like being dirty, nor did he like being hot,” Barnes said. “I remember when I took him down to Alabama. They started recruiting him at left tackle because he was just so long. It was probably 99-100 degrees down there. Nick Saban was like, ‘Oh, man, look at this kid.’ He got in his stance. The defensive end took off and Biggie was still standing there. I said, ‘Biggie, I’ve seen you guard power forwards. I’ve seen you guard guards.’ I said, ‘If you're not gonna give me good effort, let's just go home.’”

Not long after that. Swanigan decided he was done with football — and shifted his attention entirely to basketball. 

"I asked him, ‘What do you want to do, Biggie?’ He said, ‘I want to be great,'" Barnes recalled. "I said, ‘Biggie, you're not even supposed to be here. You’re a miracle. The circumstances that you were conceived under, the fact that you're alive, you’re supposed to be special. …  I want you to say, ‘I'm the best power forward in the world.’ I made him say it every day, because he didn't believe it yet."

Soon, that aspiration became reality. He was a McDonald’s All-American, shattered Homestead records, won a state title, was named 2015 IndyStar Mr. Basketball and went to Purdue as one of the highest-ranked prospects in program history.

Barnes is telling story after story. He’s smiling. He’s laughing. But as he finishes speaking, his voice catches. He removes his glasses and wipes his eyes.

“Biggie was a blessing to me,” he said. “He was more of a blessing to me than I ever was to him.”

Swanigan’s brother Courtlynd says his little brother was “one of the greatest people I’ve known in my life. He was the best little brother anybody could ever ask for.” His brother Corey said that “most people look up to people with more wisdom or more experience, but my baby brother made his legacy. I tried to be there any way I could. If he needed me, I was there for him anyway I could. No questions asked.”

His mother, Tanya Swanigan, said, “Caleb is my hero.”

“The person everyone is talking about who had a kind spirit, a loving heart, all those attributes that Caleb had, he had them before he came here to Fort Wayne,” she said. 

His sister Crystal recalled how Caleb instilled confidence in her so that she can achieve her dreams.

“He accomplished everything that he wanted to,” she said. “And that let me know that I can do it, too — that everybody in here who has a dream, a vision and a purpose can accomplish it.”

Swanigan Jr., who is 11 years older than Caleb, remembers watching Biggie play basketball on TV. His son would watch in awe.

“He said, ‘I want to play on TV, too,’” his son told him. “I said, ‘If you practice like Biggie practiced, you can make it too.’”

Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter recalled the immediate impact Swanigan had on Purdue’s program — not because of his physical ability, but because of his attitude.

“He wasn’t the best shooter on the team. He wasn’t the best defender on our team. He wasn’t the tallest,” Painter said. “But he set the standard through hard work.”

Painter would frequently have his assistant coaches rave about the work ethic of potential recruits. He would always ask the same question.

“Does he play as hard as Biggie?”

“Well, no, he doesn’t play as hard as Biggie,” they’d respond.

“Well, he doesn’t play hard then,” Painter would reply.

“Your standard is always your best,” Painter said. “He didn’t come from flash, he came from substance. He wanted to win, and he worked so hard. He made other people on our team better, but he made them better off the court. … When he was locked in and he had his goals, he was going to get better.”

Swanigan was named the Big Ten Player of the Year after his sophomore season and was a first-round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Portland Trailblazers. He played 75 games in three seasons with Portland and Sacramento.

But Thomas’ memories of Swanigan have nothing to do with basketball. The two developed a familial bond. She considers him a son. Every year, she’d get a text from him on Mother’s Day. But one year, Swanigan showed up to her house. He emerged on her back porch. She leapt up to give him a hug.

“He said, ‘There you are. I brought you this rose,’” Thomas recalled. “He didn’t have to do that, but that’s who he was. He made sure those who he loved and cared about knew it."

Swanigan’s love was mentioned time and time again during the service that lasted three hours — love for his family, his friends, his sport and for strangers. His sister Crystal said Caleb’s love “overshadowed everything.” 

“It overshadowed pain. It overshadowed insecurities,” she said. “If you don’t have love, you have nothing on this earth. And he was rich in love. He loved everyone he met and treated them all the same. We can all learn from him that love covers all.”