GoldandBlack.com's Purdue Roundball Roundball is a periodic notebook to be published throughout the season, or at least until we start forgetting to do it.
WHO FILLS IN FOR HUNTER?
At the doorstep of a season in which teams must be ready for anything, Purdue's already been hit by a lot of anything.
Eric Hunter's loss for up to eight weeks to a knee injury is a significant blow. Hunter can safely be described as Purdue's second-best player as of now, and that gap could have been closing, as the junior was said to be very good throughout preseason practice prior to his injury. So much of what matters to Purdue this season — improved guard play, added scoring punch, defensive identity, better leadership, veteran presence — Hunter was to be one of the faces of.
Not all is lost, however; it's reasonable to expect Hunter to be available for the bulk of the Big Ten season.
But to begin the year, his loss is a significant one, and compounded by the fact that freshman Ethan Morton has been lost for the past several weeks to an untimely bout with mono.
In the best-case scenario, he could be available for the opener in Florida vs. Liberty, but he will not have really practiced for weeks, and that would be a concern.
The combination of these two circumstances now shine a light on two players above all others, because Purdue is down half of its four-man corps of ball-handling guards.
