West, Burgess Making the Most Out of Redshirt Season at Purdue
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ST. LOUIS — Antoine West Jr. stepped into several three-point shots, calmly watching them rip through the net. Raleigh Burgess went through big man drills with assistant coach Brandon Brantley, fighting through padded arm guards for rebounds and put-backs. Neither of those two will play for Purdue during the NCAA Tournament, but both are practicing as if they'll play 30 minutes on any given night.
Redshirting wasn't the optimal plan for either player, but circumstances forced both to make a difficult decision. West stepped into a loaded backcourt with five guys eating up a majority of the minutes. Burgess sustained a leg injury that delayed his offseason development, which may have allowed him to work his way into the rotation.
Watching from the sidelines for an entire season isn't an easy pill to swallow. For West, this was something he hadn't experienced at any point in his career. It was a new and difficult adventure.
"I've talked to everybody really, about the future, what's to come, the vision that they have for me, and just letting me know it's going to work out for me," West said. "That's been really big for me. It makes me feel more confident with this whole thing."
The road to this point was a little different for Burgess, who came to West Lafayette in 2024 and was part of Purdue's rotation as a true freshman last season. An injury severely limited his minutes late last year and kept him out of practice for the summer. The time away from practice, along with the transfer addition of Oscar Cluff, pushed the sophomore towards redshirting this season.
Burgess had a slightly different outlook on redshirting this year. As someone who played last year, he saw how others around him influenced the game without stepping on the floor. The adjustment to this new role was also aided by the fact that he roomed with Jack Benter, who went through the process last year.
"Playing last year, building an understanding of what it takes to win games, especially at this level. Bringing that perspective into redshirting has made me a little bit different," Burgess said. "It's given me a better understanding of like, I need to stay engaged, this is what I need to do to get better and be ready to go for next year."
Perhaps the one element of this season that has helped West and Burgess mutually is that they're going through it together. Both would rather be playing right now, but they also understand that their opportunities are coming.
Both have worked hard on Purdue's scout team this season, hoping to help their teammates in the best way possible. West and Burgess have built a strong connection that has made this process easier.
"When you're going through it with somebody you really care about, somebody that you're with every day, it makes it easier," West said. "Obviously, we push each other. We're just looking forward to the future."
Always bringing the energy
As the confetti poured down from the rafters in Chicago, Purdue's two redshirt players were quick to celebrate a Big Ten Tournament Championship Game win over top-seeded Michigan. West waved his arms, motioning for the Boilermaker crowd to celebrate. Burgess jumped up and down on the sideline in excitement before dapping up Braden Smith at midcourt.
At some point in the championship ceremony, the Big Ten Tournament trophy found West's hands.
West and Burgess didn't get a chance to contribute through the box score, but their sacrifices helped get the Boilermakers in position to make a run through Chicago. Rather than going through the motions of a championship celebration, both were as excited as if they had made the game-winning bucket.
"We're a really close-knit group. We're really a family," West said. "I feel like everybody is so included in everything. Even if you're the 15th man on the bench, not getting any minutes, everything is about energy and bringing it every day."
Energy was the buzzword around Purdue's locker room during NCAA Tournament practice. It's a way for West and Burgess to impact a game and their teammates without stepping on the court.
It's a quality that everyone on the team notices and appreciates.
"They give us a lot of energy," sophomore guard Gicarri Harris said. "Both of them are loud, vocal, and talking every single day. They're on the bench, so they see everything that's going on. Sometimes when we're in the game, they can let us know what's going on on the court. It's good for us to have a couple of guys like that who can always bring support and energy at all times."
West mentioned that, because this situation was so foreign, finding a way to impact the game without playing took some time to learn. That wasn't a problem for Burgess.
Leadership from the bench came naturally for Burgess, who said that's part of his personality. He has never been afraid of calling something out or trying to help one of his teammates through his words.
"It's just part of who I am as a person," Burgess said. "A lot of us understand, if you're not playing, using your voice, when our guys are out there guarding and probably tired, you can speak for them and help them out. In timeouts, talking to guys, telling them what I see. If I see Daniel [Jacobsen] do something I think he can do better, I let him know about it."
The qualities both West and Burgess bring to Purdue's program are something coach Matt Painter commends. He understands this isn't easy for anyone, especially for high-caliber players.
But those winning traits are why Painter brought both guys to West Lafayette in the first place, and why he believes they're both going to thrive at Purdue in the future.
"They are both engaged. They are both with it. They are a big part of our program," Painter said. "They are both going to have great careers at Purdue."
Looking ahead to next season
Neither West nor Burgess has played in an NCAA Tournament game yet. It's something they're both looking forward to in the near future. Right now, though, the two redshirts are trying to find ways to help the Boilermakers advance round by round.
It's hard for the current team to start looking ahead to next season, especially with so many goals still ahead for March Madness. But Harris praised West and Burgess for their growth and development this season, and how they've benefited the program through scout team looks.
"They make it tough on us with the scout team," Harris said. "Both of them have improved so much this year. I'm ready to play with them next year."
Next year won't begin until the summer, a few months after the NCAA Tournament comes to an end. While Purdue is still in the postseason, West plans to make the most of every remaining opportunity.
"Taking advantage of all the time I have to work out, getting better every day, asking questions, learning from the guys," he said. "Really, just getting better every single day. Taking that time and really locking in on it."
West and Burgess don't have to look too far to find Purdue's success with redshirt players. Benter went through the process last season and has become an integral part of the team's success.
During the 2021-22 season, Trey Kaufman-Renn utilized a redshirt year and transformed into an All-Big Ten forward and a 1,500-point scorer at Purdue.
Painter and his staff have a track record of turning redshirt players into major contributors. As challenging as this process has been, West and Burgess see the bright light shining at the end of the tunnel.
"There's kind of an understanding that it's a 'good' difficult," Burgess said. "It's tough for a reason; you grow a lot from it."
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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