Nojel Eastern and Matt Haarms eagerly awaited their opportunities to be leaders for Purdue, and that opportunity has come now.
Maybe now.
The Boilermakers are 1-2, having dropped consecutive games to Texas and Marquette. In both games, Purdue sat pretty, with golden opportunities to win, whether it was being up five on the Longhorns with three minutes to play — at home, no less — or up 18 on the Golden Eagles late in the first half.
Each opportunity went by the wayside.
"I'm nowhere near panicking," Eastern said Friday, a day before Purdue returned to the Mackey Arena floor to play an Emerald Coast Classic game against likely-overwhelmed Chicago State. "Not at all. Like, zero.
"I promise you, we're going to turn it around for sure."
Eastern and Purdue's other more influential voices don't have to look far for precedent.
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