Freshmen Sasha Stefanovic and Aaron Wheeler will both redshirt this season, Purdue announced before season-opener vs. SIU-Edwardsville.
Both players will sit out the season, retaining four years of eligibility beginning next season.
Purdue's opinion of both players, though, is high.
Stefanovic, a shooting guard from Crown Point, showed this summer during World University Games practices the potential to help Purdue short-term, but likely not with Carsen Edwards, Dakota Mathias and Ryan Cline playing largely the same position. There's simply not enough minutes to go around.
"It definitely makes a difference," Stefanovic said recently, prior to the formal announcement he'd redshirt, "to know that I would play, but there's just so many terrific seniors and upperclassmen above me that there's just not enough minutes. I totally understand that. Whatever happens happens and I totally respect whatever decision he makes on it."
In the case of Wheeler, he proved quickly as well to be one of the most promising prospects Purdue's signed in recent classes — an outstanding athlete, for one thing — but rough enough around the edges from a skill and strength perspectives for Purdue to want to give him a year of development in anticipation of a potentially prominent role next season following the departure of senior forward Vincent Edwards.
"Vince is a great player and he's going to play 30-plus minutes. I'm not really worried about that," Wheeler said earlier this month. "I'm just focusing on learning from this year, getting a little experience for next year and trying to get better at the things I need to get better at."
Following the SIU-E game, Painter said Wheeler's redshirt is "not definite," that Purdue would not play the freshman for a few weeks, then make a final determination.
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