Purdue men's hoops has eight scholarship players available for season opener
Can they overcome the injuries?
Matt Painter not worried about lack of depth yet
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue men's basketball begins its 2018-19 season Tuesday against Fairfield at Mackey Arena, but the Boilermakers will be without three players due to injury.
Junior forward Grady Eifert and redshirt senior guard Spike Albrecht are out with foot injuries, while junior guard Sasha Stefanovic will miss the game due to a back injury.
Eifert and Stefanovic are both expected to miss multiple weeks, while Albrecht's status is day-to-day.
The injuries leave Purdue with just eight scholarship players available for the season opener.
However, coach Matt Painter said he's not concerned about the lack of depth just yet.
"We've got some guys who can play multiple positions," Painter said. "We're not going to be as deep as we were last year, but we've got some guys who can play different spots and we've got some guys who can play big minutes."
Purdue has three seniors in guard Ryan Cline, guard Carsen Edwards and forward Vincent Edwards leading the way this season. Cline and Vincent Edwards are both preseason All-Big Ten selections.
The Boilermakers also have two talented freshmen in guard Aaron Wheeler and forward Trevion Williams.
Wheeler is a five-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 22 overall prospect in the 2018 class by ESPN. Williams is a four-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 47 overall prospect in the 2018 class by ESPN.
Despite the injuries, Purdue is still expected to be a contender in the Big Ten this season. The Boilermakers were picked to finish second in the Big Ten preseason media poll, and they are ranked No. 12 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll.
