Purdue Basketball Honors Caleb Swanigan

Life is fragile. It’s a cliche that you’re here one second and gone the next, but things are often cliche’s because they are true. Earlier this year the Purdue family was shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Caleb “Biggie” Swanigan. Biggie had been such a sensation at Purdue and to see him go the NBA before ultimately succumbing to his demons and passing away at age 25 was incredibly difficult. He will always have a place in the rafters of Mackey Arena due to reaching All-American status. This year however, he will be front and center each time Purdue puts on their jerseys. The team announced today that a uniform patch will be added to the new Nike jerseys for this season. They shared a picture on their Twitter account.

You can see it there on the right shoulder of the uniform the same 50 that Biggie wore during his time at Purdue. If you click the image and enlarge it you can make out the words above the number. Biggie. That’s all that’s needed.

I’m so glad that Purdue found a way to celebrate Biggie this year. There’s something beautiful about the clean and non-flashy nature of the patch. Because that’s how Biggie was. He wasn’t loud or showy, he was a worker. He just got things done. I hope that every time the team steps onto the court this year they’ve got Biggie and his attitude and work ethic in mind. I hope this team honors his legacy by going out there and leaving it all on the floor every night.