Hammer and Rails Readers Reacts Survey Results: Purdue Men’s Basketball Young Player Career Impact

PISCATAWAY, NJ – DECEMBER 02: Gicarri Harris #24 of the Purdue Boilermakers, Daniel Jacobsen #12 and Antione West #1 on the bench prior to the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on December 2, 2025 at Jersey Mikes Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

We’ve made it to the end of another week folks and this is the last week of the year where we won’t have official Purdue men’s basketball games. Get excited! That’s right, Purdue men’s basketball officially starts next week with real games and Purdue will start their season in Las Vegas against Gonzaga in what should be a very tough game.

This week on the survey I asked which of the freshman or sophomores on the team would have the biggest CAREER impact. Not just this season but over their entire career. We’ve got your answer folks (again, I don’t make the graphics so please ignore the typo)!

We had a close race on this one with two players over 40% and no one else in double digits. Antione West Jr. finished with 47% just slightly ahead of Luke Ertel. The freshman point guard came in second place with 41% of the vote. I think these two will have huge opportunities to leave their marks on Purdue history if they develop as we all think they can. The future, and the present, are both bright.

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