Purdue freshman point guard and Evanston grad Nojel Eastern has pulled his name from the NBA draft and will be returning to the Boilermakers next season.
On Aug. 16, Eastern announced that he planned to test the NBA waters, but never hired an agent, making him eligible to return to West Lafayette. Eastern played in all 37 games for the Boilermakers (30-7) this season and was instrumental in the team’s Sweet 16 run while averaging 2.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists on 48 percent shooting.
In a press release, Eastern said that he learned a lot from the process and is grateful for having had the experience.
“I want to thank the teams that gave me the opportunity to work out for them,” he added in the release. “I learned so much and took away a lot of knowledge that can help me reach this level. The feedback I received from the evaluations can help (me) to take the next step to become a better player.”
Purdue coach Matt Painter graciously welcomed Eastern back into the fold.
“Nojel used this process to the best of his ability and received very valuable feedback that will help him become a better player,” Painter said in the release. “We are excited about his future at Purdue, and he will have a big role on our team moving forward. He has a very bright future ahead of him.”
At Evanston, Eastern was a consensus four-star recruit who also attracted interest from several other Big 10 programs. The Boilermakers have visions of slotting him in the backcourt next season alongside Lake Forest grad Evan Boudreaux, a graduate transfer from Dartmouth.
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