Caleb Swanigan announced his commitment to the NBA on Wednesday. He went out in predictable Purdue fashion, taking shots at the Indiana Hoosiers.
All eyes were on the NBA draft deadline to withdraw this week. Some of the notable prospects who were still undecided made it clear whether or not they would return in the fall to school. Among those players is Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan.
Swanigan, 2017 Big Ten Player of the Year, announced that he will be staying in the draft. He didn’t go out without taking one last shot at the Indiana Hoosiers as a whole.
The Boilermakers went 27-8 and 14-4 in conference play. Swanigan averaged a double-double (18.5 PPG, 12.5 RPG) and led his team to the Sweet 16. We get it.
A few things to point out here though. The first and most important is referring to Indiana basketball or the school as a whole. The definition of fabrication is the action or process of manufacturing or inventing something. The alternate definition is an invention or a lie. So it got me thinking about the possibilities of the ‘fabricated b.s.’ he was referring to.
Did Indiana fabricate the five National Championships and the banners that hang in Assembly Hall? Perhaps coach Knight and the Hoosiers fabricated the last perfect season in NCAA Men’s Basketball? How about the 66 NCCA Tournament wins as a program? Or it could be the outright Big Ten Championship he watched Indiana basketball win last season…
Or maybe the ‘fabricated b.s.’ is the number of Indiana players currently in the NBA, which is seven. The number of Boilermakers in the NBA currently stands at two. Indiana has produced 68 NBA players to Purdue’s 33, so maybe it’s not a shot at the development of NBA talent.
Who knows, maybe it’s the candy stripe pants.
Next: Thomas Bryant's most important moments at Indiana
According to Draft Express, the Hoosiers O.G. Anunoby (No. 13) and Thomas Bryant (No. 36) are both projected to be picked over Caleb Swanigan (No. 40). It’s clear, this shot at Indiana University is all a part of the rivalry but maybe a fact check or two would help next time.