34 Days to Purdue Basketball: Carson Barrett

When you have a team as good as Purdue is expected to be this season, walk-ons are more than guys just along for the ride. They are key practice players that help everyone get better. Their rewards is Big Ten titles and the Paint Crew going nuts when they enter for 90 seconds and hit a three. When they are townies, even better.

Carson Barrett – So.

Lafayette, IN (Central Catholic HS)

6’5”, 215 pounds

Guard

2021-22 Projection: Deep reserve

The walk-ons did not get in many games last year, but they did see some action in the blowout at Penn State. That is the only game where Barrett played, and he hit a free throw while gathering a rebound.

You can never go wrong with picking up the best player from Lafayette Central Catholic though. Barrett left as their all-time leading scorer with 1,601 points and helped them to a state runner-up finish in 2016-17 as only a freshman. He was also a really good baseball player (paging Greg Goff), who was a three year starter on one of the best small school programs in the state.

Barrett ended up at Purdue because his dad was a starter on the 1991 team with coach Painter. He grew up a Purdue fan in a Purdue family, so we are more than happy to have him.

In terms of playing time, the more blowouts, the better. We’re not going to see much of him on the floor Unless Purdue is up 20+ in the final minutes. That means his impact is in practice.