I've been a Purdue fan since I can remember...and the last three years have been absurd, plain and simple. In the two sports I follow most-closely, basketball & football, attrition has become the norm. This morning, the New Hampshire press reported that Chris Lutz was heading back East at the end of the semester...this evening, Jon Uchendu announced his intentions of going back to his home in the South next year. Are either of these guys all-stars? Not yet. But, on a team that will desperately need veteran leadership next season, even fewer leaders will be on the roster come December. Maybe Coach Painter has a goal to have no one from outside of the state of Indiana on the team from here on out...Uh oh, that means our Boilers will have enough to field a starting five, with two subs.
I'm not as bothered by the loss of Uchendu as he had a disciplinary problem last season and contributed little more than sweat, but the loss of Lutz, in my opinion, is large. The sum of the two parts is even bigger. Plus, it makes the rebuilding project all-the-more difficult. I don't know if someone yelled "Fire!" up at my alma mater's athletic department buildings in the past week, but I'd be willing to bet this exodus will continue with more than one football player in the next 2 months, and maybe even Marcus Green heading out of town (I have no reason to believe this other than a gut feeling). Sadly, no one who follows my Boilers will be surprised; disappointed? Sure. Surprised? Nope.