Finality At Last: Booker Done With Boilermakers

Forty days and 10 games after his basketball career at Purdue was put on life support, Chris Booker’s hopes of returning to the Boilermakers died.

In a statement issued by the athletic department at roughly 8 p.m. Tuesday night – with Purdue set to depart town for Wednesday night’s game at Penn State – it was announced that the senior big man has been ruled academically ineligible for the remainder of his senior season, thus ending his college basketball career.

Purdue has been without Booker since Dec. 26, just after Christmas break. It was then that deficiencies in a first-semester class pulled him off the basketball floor.

Since then, Booker has been caught up in a lengthy appeals process, the duration of which seemingly frustrated all involved.

"I was completing work in one of my classes," Booker explained in the university’s statement. "I finished up at the end of last week and, unfortunately, didn't do well enough to continue (to be eligible). I regret how things turned out for my teammates, coaches and the fans. I'm still close with my teammates and will be their biggest supporter for the rest of the season."

In the 10 games it’s played without Booker, Purdue is 6-4, though it should be noted that the Boilermakers have also been without senior Kenneth Lowe the past game-and-a-half.

Keady made it clear at his weekly teleconference Monday that he’d grown weary of the Booker ordeal. Now, he’s certainly glad to have it done with, though he might not have gotten the final verdict he was hoping for.

"It's unfortunate for Chris and his teammates, but we've got to move on as a team," Keady said in the released statement. "Chris will always be a part of this basketball family, and we will continue to do whatever we can to help him in his future endeavors."

Though ineligible, Booker remains enrolled in school. He’s been attending classes since Jan. 23. He will keep his scholarship.

"I plan to finish out this semester and continue working toward a degree," Booker said in the released statement. "I'll continue to work out on my own in hopes of furthering my basketball career in the summer."

The 6-foot-10 Fort Worth, Texas, native was named honorable-mention All-Big Ten by the league’s coaches last season, his first at Purdue after transferring from Tyler Junior College. He averaged 9.4 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds.

In 10 games this season, he was averaging 9.4 points and 5.6 boards.

His 20 points in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout were critical in the Boilermakers’ upset of then-No. 2/now-No. 1 Duke.