Just hours after a fatal shooting rocked their world, the Purdue basketball team had a game scheduled. The Boilermakers were in Evanston preparing for a Big Ten match-up against Northwestern. The Wildcats won 63-60 in double overtime, in a game with offense that…well, let’s not speak of what transpired on the court. It barely qualified as college basketball, and I’m not sure that it actually truly does.
Let’s talk about the much bigger issues surrounding Purdue basketball and the Purdue community today.
“I don’t think basketball is all that important when something that tragic happens,” Purdue basketball coach Matt Painter said. (More from Painter regarding the tragedy here)
So where was the Purdue basketball team when they heard the tragic news?
“We were in the team hotel about to eat lunch, but we didn’t hear that much about it,” said Center A.J. Hammons ((17 pts, 10 reb, 4 blks), one of the main focal points for Purdue basketball this year.
The team did not have their phones so they were unable to contact anyone.
“It’s just a devastating thing to hear about, especially when you’re on the road.” said Guard Terone Johnson, another one of the main cogs for Purdue basketball this season.
“You have friends on the campus that you’re worried about, but I don’t think anyone (on the team) knew exactly who it was. We didn’t have our phones, so we found out through our Ipads and things like that. We’re just sending our prayers to everyone.”
I asked Johnson if he felt the tragedy may have been a distraction for the Purdue basketball team.
“I don’t feel it was really a distraction. We didn’t have our phones or anything, plus we weren’t on campus so I thought we were removed from it,” he responded.
The shooting victim was 21 year old Andrew Boldt, a TA for an Electrical Engineering class. The shooting occurred during that class, just before noon in Purdue’s electrical engineering building. Police believe he was individually targeted by the shooter, Cody Cousins. No motive for the slaying has been released yet, but the shooter was a TA for the same professor as the victim
Cousins is being held, without bond, at Tippecanoe County Jail and is possibly facing murder charges. Here’s more on the life of Boldt.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Andrew was an Electrical Engineering student from Marquette University High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served as an undergraduate TA in the Electrical Engineering department at Purdue. He had interned at John Deere before returning to Purdue, and was a senior in his second year as a TA.
Former Purdue basketball player Robbie Hummel, now with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA also spoke publicly about the tragedy. He wrote this via his social media:
“Obviously school shootings are horrible events, but when it happens at your school, it really hits home. I’m sad for our university today, as it is a place I love very much. I came to Purdue a boy and left as an educated adult. There is no question that Purdue is a place that not only shapes your life, but opens many doors as well. With our darkest hour this morning, we were given acts of heroism from first responders as they did everything in their power to keep students and faculty safe. Thank you to those who risked themselves this morning, and thank you to everyone and anyone who has put a piece of themselves into making our university an incredibly special place. My thoughts and prayers go out to the victim and his family. Stay strong Purdue. There will be better days. #HailPurdue.”
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. A Fulbright scholar in media studies, he’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. President Barack Obama follows him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)