The Purdue Boilermakers have been making their mark on college basketball for a long time before now.
The Boilermakers have made five Elite Eight appearances, two Final Fours, and played in the national championship game once. Along the way, Purdue has produced some great basketball players, many of whom went on to become great pros.
Now, we honor some of the greatest Boilermakers who have even worn the black and gold. Here are the 10 best Purdue Boilermakers basketball players of all time.
10. Brian Cardinal, power forward
Brian Cardinal played at Purdue for the legendary Gene Keady. The power forward was a second and third-team Big Ten selection during his college career and ranks 18th on Purdue’s all-time scoring list (1,584). He ranks second in career starts with 125, behind E’Twaun Moore. His career 259 steals is the second-most in school history. He also set a freshman record in steals with 51.
9. E’Twaun Moore, shooting guard
E’Twaun Moore spent four years in a Boilermaker uniform, making either the All-Big Ten team first team or second team every year, also notching a third-team All-American nod. Moore’s best season was his senior season when he averaged career highs of 18 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and .5 blocks while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor. Moore was just the third Big Ten player to ever rack up 2,000 points (2,136), 500 rebounds (611), and 400 assists (400).
8. Robbie Hummel, small forward
Robbie Hummel racked up the accolades while at Purdue. A third-team All-Big Ten player in 2009, he was first-team All-Big Ten the other three seasons he played. He was also a two-time honorable mention All-American and a second-team All-American. Hummel became the 44th player in school history to score over 1,000 career points, finishing his career with 1,772 points (9th in school history), 862 rebounds, 268 assists, 132 steals, and 112 blocks,
7. Caleb Swanigan, power forward
Before he died tragically at the age of 25, Caleb Swanigan was a star for the Boilermakers. Swanigan was an All-American, Big Ten Player of the Year in 2017, was selected first-team All-Big Ten, and won numerous other post-season awards. Before leaping to the NBA, he broke the school single-season record for rebounds and the single-season record for double-doubles. Swanigan averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds throughout his career at Purdue.
6. John Wooden, guard
Before he became the legendary coach of the UCLA Bruins, John Wooden played guard at Purdue. Wooden was named All-Big Ten and All-Midwestern three times and he was the first player in school history named a three-time consensus All-American. Before moving on to coaching, Wooden played several years of professional basketball. You know the rest…
5. Terry Dischinger, small forward
Terry Dischinger was a star for the Boilermakers in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Dischinger was a consensus second-team All-American in 1960 and two-time consensus first-team All-American in 1961 and 1962. He averaged 28.3 points a game in three seasons, leading the conference in scoring each time. He’s currently the sixth-highest scorer in Boilermaker history with a total of 1,979 points. He averaged a double-double during his Purdue career, shooting 55.3% from the floor and 81.9% from the line in 70 games.
4. JaJuan Johnson, power forward
JaJuan Johnson is another big man to make his mark on the Boilermakers program. Johnson was a first-team All-American, Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and made the Big Ten All-Defensive Team three times. He also won the Pete Newell Big Man Award. Johnson finished his career at Purdue as the seventh-highest scorer in school history (1,919), averaging 13.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He also shares school records with games in a season (37), total games (140), and games won (107).
3. Joe Barry Carroll, center
Purdue has produced some great forwards and centers but one of the best was Joe Barry Carroll. Carroll was a two-time All-American and two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection. He holds the all-time school records for career rebounds (1,148) and blocks (349). With 2,175 points, he ranks second only to Rick Mount. In his senior season, Carroll averaged almost 23 points per game, leading Purdue to a 27-win campaign.
2. Rick Mount, shooting guard
Rick Mount is the only player on this list to lead his team to the national championship game. Mount was a three-time All-American and two-time Big Ten Silver Basketball winner. In his junior season, he led Purdue to a Big Ten Conference title and an appearance in the 1969 national title game, though they lost to John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins (who were led by Lew Alcindor). The team averaged nearly 95 points per game with Mount averaging 33 points a game. He averaged 40.6 points per game in the NCAA Tournament. As a senior, he boasted two 53-point games and a 61-point performance en route to averaging 35.4 points per game and Big Ten Player of the Year honors. Unfortunately, he played at the same time as Alcindor and LSU’s Pete Maravich, so he didn’t win as many player awards as he would have otherwise.
1. Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson, small forward
Probably the most decorated player on this list is Glenn Robinson. The Big Dog was a two-time All-American, 1994 NCAA scoring leader, Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Athlete of the Year, and National Player of the Year. Robinson was a dominant force for the Boilermakers, leaving as the only Purdue player to have more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 100 steals, 100 assists, and 50 blocked shots. In Robinson’s junior season, he led the Boilermakers to the Elite Eight and averaged over 30 points a game. Robinson went on to have a nice NBA career and won an NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2005. His son, Glenn Robinson III, played basketball for the Michigan Wolverines.
