Purdue's GOAT walk-on? A case can be made for Grady Eifert

By just about any measure, Grady Eifert stands tall as one of the two most productive walk-ons in Purdue men's basketball history.

Since Mackey Arena opened in 1967, Purdue has had 36 walk-ons* that have appeared in at least one game in a Purdue uniform. But only one, 1984 Big Ten MVP Jim Rowinski, has made a greater impact on the program.

This season isn't over, by a long shot, for Eifert, so the above prognostication is a bit premature. He is averaging 5.2 points and 4.8 rebounds for a 17-6 Purdue team that is No. 12 in the nation, 10-2 in the Big Ten and a half-game out of first place as it plays at No. 24 Maryland tonight.

Yet, Eifert's list of accomplishments is impressive. And as all Purdue fans and observers know, the 6-6 senior from Fort Wayne doesn't get credit in the box score for many of the effort plays he makes on the court.

Eifert has appeared in more games than any other walk-on (85), surpassing Bobby Riddell (2006-09) two games ago. He is second only to Rowinski (1981-84) in minutes played, games started, points scored and rebounds. With a 2.3-point career scoring average that is likely to improve, Eifert ranks third behind Rowinski (8.3) and Dick Satterfield, a guard in 1974-75, (2.7). Eifert's .561 field-goal percentage is tops among walk-ons that have attempted five or more shots in their career.

And Eifert is one of the best from long range. When comparing 3-point shooters with 10 or more career attempts, Eifert is second only to Chad Kerkhof. In his four years (from 1997-2000) Kerkhof was 10 of 20 (50%) from deep (.50), Eifert 22 of 52 (42%) and Bobby Riddell is third (27 of 69 39%).

And in terms of the greatest game ever by a walk-on, it would be hard to argue against Eifert's "perfect-game" this past Saturday against Nebraska. Scoring 16 points without missing any of his 10 shots from the field or free-throw line, grabbing seven rebounds, handing out two assists and throwing in four steals for good measure is a remarkable performance by any standard. It shines even brighter considering he started his career at Purdue without a scholarship.

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Only Rowinski's 24-point, 13-rebound effort over top-10 ranked Illinois on Feb. 25, 1984, stands above Eifert's work last Saturday. The effort by the muscle-bound Rowinski--the personifcation of Purdue Pete--vs. the Fighting Illini helped the 6-8 center/forward from Long Island, N.Y., be featured the following week in Sports Illustrated, en route to winning the Silver Basketball as the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player in 1983-84. Purdue, picked to finish ninth in the Big Ten that season under fourth-year coach Gene Keady, shared the Big Ten title with the Illini. Coincidentally, Rowinski's teammate in the early 1980s was Eifert's dad, Greg, a scholarship player who was in Keady's first recruiting class and started all 29 games in his senior year during the Boilermakers' 1984 title run.

One other single-game performance by a walk-on merits mention: Dick Satterfield's effort at Iowa in 1974. The junior guard had 17-points in a crazy 112-111 loss, coming off the bench to relieve foul-plagued teammates. The '74 Boilermakers fell just short of a Big Ten title but went on to become the first Big Ten team to win the NIT.

If Eifert leads Purdue to a league title, a strong argument about who is the greatest Purdue walk-on ever could be made. And in terms of a player who time and again has mopped the court with his body in making winning plays that don't show up in the box score, Eifert has no peer in Purdue walk-on history.

Here's a look at some of Purdue's most active walk-ons ever.

*Note: Walk-ons are defined as players who began their career without a Division 1 scholarship at Purdue or any school. Source: Purdue Men's Basketball Media Guide. Willie Deane, for example, came to Purdue as a walk-on but had a previous scholarship at Boston College. The list also doesn't include players who were on scholarship in other sports: most notably football tight end Charles Davis, who appeared in 19 games in 2005, and baseball pitcher Sherard Clinkscales, who played in four contests in 1990.

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