Purdue's Luke Ertel Finishes Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Series on High Note

Luke Ertel closed out his high school basketball career on a high note in front of a large crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday night. The incoming Purdue guard put together another masterful performance, leading the Indiana All-Stars to a 94-80 victory over the Kentucky All-Stars.

Ertel finished Saturday night's All-Star Game with 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in his final game of Indiana All-Star Week. He helped lead the Indiana All-Stars to a sweep of Kentucky and a perfect 3-0 record during the week.

Saturday night's performance in Indianapolis was a nice bounce-back for the Boilermaker. In Friday night's Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Game, Ertel shot just 4-of-16 from the floor and finished the game with only eight points. He was able to impact the game in other ways, totaling 10 assists and five rebounds.

Indiana defeated Kentucky 106-83 in the first game on Friday night.

Earlier in the week, Ertel led the Indiana Senior All-Stars to a win over the Indiana Junior All-Stars 105-100. In the three games this week, the point guard averaged 16.3 points, 9.3 assists and 6.3 rebounds per contest.

Saturday's Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Game marks the official end of Ertel playing at the high school level. Now, the four-star guard heads to West Lafayette to begin his college career.

Ertel now heads to Purdue

Indiana All-Stars' Gracyn Gilliard (1) and Luke Ertel (1) pose for a photo. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ertel isn't wasting any time moving from high school to college. Following Saturday's win over the Kentucky All-Stars, Indiana's Mr. Basketball said he's immediately heading to West Lafayette to begin his journey at Purdue.

"I'm finally done with high school hoops, and it's time to go to college," Ertel told Kyle Neddenriep of The Indianapolis Star. "It's been a fun ride. I feel like I've been doing this for a while."

Now that we're in June, Purdue will begin summer practices to prepare for the 2026-27 season. Ertel enters the program hoping to carve out a role for himself as a true freshman. He will battle returning point guard Omer Mayer for the starting job over the next several months.

After leading Mt. Vernon to a state championship and winning the Indiana Mr. Basketball title, Ertel heads to Purdue with a lot of hype. Many are excited to see what the state's top-ranked prospect can do in his first season with the Boilermakers.

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