Hummel's loss casts doubt on Boilermakers' season

Purdue fans spent Wednesday night and Thursday morning with their fingers crossed, hoping that somehow, someway, an MRI on Robbie Hummel's knee would show a sprain, a twist, maybe even just some mild cartilage damage. Anything but a torn ACL. Fingers crossed. And they prayed.

But deep down, they knew.

We all knew.

Robbie Hummel and his 15.7 points and 6.9 boards a game are gone. (AP)

We all saw the replay, all saw Hummel drive into the lane at Minnesota, all saw his right leg buckle, all saw him collapse without ever being touched, and we all know knees aren't supposed to turn the way Hummel's knee turned. To believe this injury wouldn't be bad was to ignore every piece of evidence, including the fact that Purdue officials silenced Hummel by telling him to refrain from publicly discussing his injury.

When things might be OK, you say they might be OK.

But nobody connected to Purdue said that.

Nobody said anything hopeful.

Which said a lot.

So news that Thursday's MRI revealed a torn ACL was not a surprise as much as it was confirmation of Matt Painter's worst fear. Over the next few days, some will try to spin it positive, talk about how this is an opportunity for Hummel's teammates to "step up" and show the country they're a tough bunch of SOBs who can still guard and cut and create enough to win a Big Ten title and much more.

And perhaps that's true.

But do you believe it'll go that way?

The reality is that very few schools -- and the number might actually be zero -- could afford to lose somebody as gifted as Hummel and continue on the path they were traveling. Maybe Kentucky or Kansas could do it because those teams are unusually deep and talented. But Purdue is not that deep and talented. The Boilermakers don't have three projected Top 10 picks (like Kentucky) or at least four players projected to be selected in the first round of the next two NBA Drafts (like Kansas). What they have is a handful of very good college players who play smart, play hard and work well under Painter, the 39-year-old former Purdue guard who has developed into one of the nation's best coaches.

The Boilermakers are a pleasure to watch.

They were on track to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

But now that track has obstacles that most likely can't be overcome.

If you're decent, you hope for the best because the fan base really does deserve better. They've watched their Boilermakers make 20 of the past 27 NCAA tournaments without making a Final Four, and this season was supposed to snap the string. It was going to be a great story -- Purdue in the Final Four in Indianapolis, just 65 miles from campus. And it still would be a great story. But the odds are now stacked against the Boilermakers thanks to Thursday's MRI that delivered bad news and changed everything.

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