Purdue guard Nojel Eastern said Wednesday he will not play in Friday's exhibition vs. Southern Indiana but does expect to return in time for the season opener against Green Bay next week.
Eastern, who's wearing a boot on his left foot, sat out Purdue's Sunday scrimmage vs. Providence in Indy after missing practice the day before.
"It's basically precautionary," Eastern said Wednesday, before sitting out Purdue's practice. "It's nothing too crazy. I shouldn't be out more than a week. ... Next week is when I should be back practicing."
Coach Matt Painter suggested it was inflammation-related and Eastern traced the issue back to a 2015 surgery. Eastern said there's no break, tear or anything particularly serious.
"I'm not a doctor," Eastern joked. "They say a lot of doctors words, and I'm just left out of it."
Sophomore Eric Hunter, considering himself much improved and more confident now than at this time a year ago, moves into the point guard role for Purdue In Eastern's brief absence.
"I needed a game like that," Hunter said. "Coach Paint talked about that, too, that I needed a game like that to rough me up, just a super-physical game like that.
"Everybody just kind of needs a wake-up (call). When you think you (made a lot of progress) in the summer, and I think I got better all summer, then someone hits you and knocks you out, it brings you back to earth a little bit, and everybody kind of needs that."
Purdue's Sunday scrimmage loss to the Friars gave Hunter the chance to be Purdue's primary point — he and freshman Isaiah Thompson — and the tandem combined to shoot 1-for-7, with three assists and Hunter's two turnovers.
"I don't think anybody really took advantage of their opportunity," Painter said. "That's something that happens in competitive sports, somebody gets injured, someone's out or something happens, and it's a great opportunity for the next person or persons. Nobody took advantage of that.
"That was my message to them, that for selfish reasons, you come here to play, and if he was there, my guess is he would have played 25-30 minutes ... and now that time is gonna go to other people, and nobody really played that well, to be frank with you. But I think Providence had a lot to do with that. They were very athletic, had good size, good quickness, and I thought they played a lot harder than us."
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