By: Jacob Allen ⎟ Grand Canyon University
There are certain players that seem to linger in college, for what seems like decades. KU’s Perry Ellis, North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, and Wichita State’s Ron Baker come to mind as prime examples. These players went to programs for four years, and dominated their respective conferences. Purdue’s Robbie Hummel was one of the best to put on a Boilermaker uniform, and played during an era that had enough talent to make a run in March.
Hummel was the second-leading scorer for the Boilermakers in the 09-10 season, a Boilermaker team that looked from outside of the top 10 ranking just a single week throughout the college basketball year. Hummel averaged 20.7 points per 40 mins before he went down with a torn right ACL in February of his junior season. At the time, Purdue was ranked top 5 in the nation led by juniors E’Twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson, and Hummel. Each averaged over 15 points a game, in a season which was ended to Duke in the Sweet 16. The injury was a disappointment, but it was not the end of the world. Moore and Johnson pulled out of the NBA draft to rejoin Hummel at Purdue for their final season.
This gave many the reason to believe that Purdue would be a force, not only in the Big-Ten, but on the national scale. 3 dedicated seniors with good chemistry: One of them being a 2010-11 pre-season All American, and the other two being 09-10 First Team All-Big Ten. Senior lead talent in a power 5 conference, usually leads to a high pre-season ranking, and higher expectations.
On October 16, 2010, the first preseason practice of the year, Hummel, the predicted Second Team All-American, went down with a torn right ACL. No that is not a typo. Yes, he tore the same ACL, in the same knee. Purdue’s 2010-2011 season turned out just as everyone thought. The VCU Rams bounced Purdue in the round of 32, Florida State in the Sweet 16, and Kansas after them. Purdue simply ran into a buzz-saw that ended up losing to Butler in the Final Four. It’s remarkable to think about what the legacy of Purdue basketball could have been had Hummel played that season.
Hummel could be a close second to Perry Ellis for the “How Long Have You Been Playing College Basketball For?” Award. However, put an asterisk on that award because this one was strictly injury related. This injury may have kept Purdue from their second ever NCAAB National Championship. The super-senior went on to average his career best 16.4 points in the 2011-2012 season. Purdue only made it as far as the round of 32 when it met Thomas Robinson and the Jayhawks. The Jayhawks lost in the Final Four that year. Yes, Purdue played against an eventual Final Four team yet again.
Purdue faced UConn in 08-09, Duke in 09-10, VCU in 10-11, and Kansas in 11-12. Those teams either lost in the Final Four, or proceeded to win the national title. 4 out of 5 years that Robbie Hummel played basketball for Purdue, he faced a top 4 team in the tournament. If Purdue ever gets to the point where they are a legitimate pick in March, think again. This University is snake-bitten.
Injuries are not something any school wants to deal with, let alone to a key piece of the puzzle. Purdue had all the pieces to the puzzle, the last piece just happened to show up a year too late.