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Matt Painter wants to get old and stay old, but that will not be the case in 2020-21. Nojel Eastern has decided to enter the transfer portal per Gold and Black Illustrated:
#Purdue senior-to-be Nojel Eastern has entered his name into the NCAA transfer portal, https://t.co/mDoTruoyzI has learned. https://t.co/Z18LFM1f8u pic.twitter.com/I4TpIMegsx
— GoldandBlack.com (@GoldandBlackcom) May 12, 2020
Eastern had already decided to test the draft waters and enter the NBA Evaluation process, but it was strongly suspected that he was going to return to Purdue. Now, it appears he is gone. He is free to return to Purdue once in the portal, but it seems unlikely. With one year of eligibility remaining he would have to graduate in order to play immediately elsewhere, otherwise he would be forced to sit out a season (he has a redshirt year available) in order to play.
Purdue Basketball Scholarship Grid
| Player | ('20-'21) | ('21-'22) | ('22-'23) | ('23-'24) | ('24-'25) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | ('20-'21) | ('21-'22) | ('22-'23) | ('23-'24) | ('24-'25) |
| Aaron Wheeler | RS Junior | RS Senior | |||
| Sasha Stefanovic | RS Junior | RS Senior | |||
| Trevion Williams | Junior | Senior | |||
| Eric Hunter | Junior | Senior | |||
| Emmanuel Dowuona | RS Soph. | RS Junior | RS Senior | ||
| Isaiah Thompson | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | ||
| Mason Gillis | RS Freshman | RS Soph. | RS Junior | RS Senior | |
| Brandon Newman | RS Freshman | RS Soph. | RS Junior | RS Senior | |
| Jaden Ivey | Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | |
| Ethan Morton | Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | |
| Zach Edey | Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | |
| Caleb Furst | Freshman | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | |
| Scholarships Used | 11 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 1 |
| Scholarships Left | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 12 |
This leaves Purdue in the strange position of having zero seniors on next season’s roster and two open scholarships, compared to just one for 2021-22. With two open spots it seems likely that coach Painter will browse the graduate transfer wire, but that can be hit or miss. Purdue will definitely miss Nojel’s defensive presence, but his offense had regressed in 2019-20.
With the departure of Matt Haarms and now Nojel Purdue lost probably its two best defenders, but the offensive effects remain to be seen.
Thank you Purdue
— Nojel Eastern (@NEblessed_20) May 12, 2020