Purdue Players, Coaches go to Social Media to Say Goodbye
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Thursday was one of the strangest days in college sports history, and it was no different for the Purdue basketball team. It was a crazy day, one that started with practice in Indianapolis and hopes of playing their first game in the Big Ten tournament.
And then word came down that the Big Ten tournament was cancelled, which was hard. But the big haymaker came a few hours later when the NCAA announced that all sports were being shut down until the end of the school year.
Just like that, a season was over. And for three Purdue players — Evan Boudreaux, Jahaad Proctor and Tommy Luce — their college careers were also over, in an instant.
Players and coaches alike went to social media to put a bow on the season. The Purdue basketball official site summed it up best, that the suddenness of the ending might have been the most difficult thing to take. And yes, all we have now are memories from the 2020 season, without a happy ending.
"It ended way too suddenly, but hopefully we provided you all some unbelievable memories.'' the tweet said.
Here's the best of what your favorite Boilermakers had to say:
💛🖤
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) March 12, 2020
It ended way too suddenly, but hopefully we provided you all some unbelievable memories. pic.twitter.com/Q2TX5ay6UX
MATT PAINTER TWEET
1) We are disappointed we aren’t able to continue our season, but this is much bigger than basketball. This is a worldwide issue and we understand that difficult decisions needed to be made.
— Purdue’s Matt Painter (@CoachPainter) March 12, 2020
SASHA STEFANOVIC TWEET
Weird end to the year. Lots of ups and downs, but a ton of growth. I promise that we will get better and can’t wait to get back after it! Proud to represent this university every night that we play! 🚂 pic.twitter.com/hCBEREbVfu
— Sasha Stefanovic (@stefanovicsasha) March 13, 2020
MATT PAINTER TWEET ON SENIORS
Thank you @tluce_, @EBoudreaux12 & @Haadi_A1 for all you’ve done in your Purdue careers.
— Purdue’s Matt Painter (@CoachPainter) March 12, 2020
You are a big part of our family and you will always be a Boilermaker. No one can take this family & memories away from you. pic.twitter.com/R5q8eDDQnX
MICAH SHREWSBERRY TWEET
@tluce_ @EBoudreaux12 @Haadi_A1 - I’m heartbroken that we won’t get one more chance to compete together, but I’ve enjoyed being here for your last ride. Thank you for being great representatives of @BoilerBall pic.twitter.com/lk4WFhMLnJ
— Micah Shrewsberry (@Coach_Shrews) March 13, 2020
There are conspiracy theories, of course, and it starts with the fact that everything went wrong AFTER Purdue center Matt Haarms got a haircut that nearly broke the internet.
When we broke the story right here on Sports Illustrated Purdue — great hustle by our young gun Brett Douglas — we thought it would be a fun little thing. It turned out to be huge, the biggest story based on page views that we've ever had here.
How big? It was 331 percent bigger than the previous top-ranked story.
A haircut!!
This is all because Matt Haarms got a haircut
— Andy (@ydnA_swimfly) March 12, 2020
EVAN BOUDREAUX TWEET
— Evan Boudreaux (@EBoudreaux12) March 12, 2020
PURDUE ATHLETICS TWEET
A statement from the Big Ten Conference. pic.twitter.com/GQD651xsQK
— Purdue Athletics (@PurdueSports) March 12, 2020
PURDUE ATHLETICS TWEET
In accordance with Big Ten and NCAA recommendations, all Purdue-related athletic activities will be closed to the general public until further notice.
— Purdue Athletics (@PurdueSports) March 12, 2020
Related stories on Purdue basketball
- GENE KEADY, STILL THE BEST: Legendary Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady is loving his retirement, and is doing great at 83 years old. CLICK HERE
- MATT HAARMS GETS A HAIRCUT: The iconic locks that drove opposing Big Ten fans nuts are gone, as Purdue's center gets a buzzcut. CLICK HERE
- SPECIAL SENIOR DAY: Evan Boudreaux's long basketball journey is just about over, and he will enjoy Saturday with his parents and the Purdue faithful. CLICK HERE
- FIRST TRIP TO MACKEY: A Purdue senior who grew up in a basketball house in southern Indiana had never been to a game at Mackey Arena. So we fixed that. Here's her story. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who's worked at some America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Indianapolis Star. He also owns the book publishing company, Hilltop30 Publishing Group, and he has written four books and published 16 others.