Frank Kendrick seemed bigger than life, even at an imposing 6-foot-6.

The man who played a key role in recruiting Glenn Robinson, Cuonzo Martin and a host of other Purdue basketball standouts in the 1990s died Dec. 18 in his hometown of Indianapolis after a four-week battle with an aggressive sarcoma.

Long before he brought his charismatic recruiting skills to Gene Keady’s coaching staff, Kendrick enjoyed a Hall of Fame playing career at Indianapolis Tech and Purdue in the early 1970s. Arriving in West Lafayette just before freshman eligibility was granted by the NCAA, Kendrick recorded 28 double-doubles during his three-year career.

Kendrick was one of the stars of Purdue’s 1974 NIT championship team, back in the days when the NIT wasn’t just programming filler for ESPN. Eighth-ranked North Carolina was the first school vanquished by the Boilermakers on their path to the title in Madison Square Garden.

The high point of Kendrick’s basketball career came a year later when he earned an NBA championship ring with the Golden State Warriors. Kendrick proudly wore that ring the rest of his life, and it was quite a selling point on the recruiting trail when he joined Gene Keady’s staff in 1990.

Robinson, Martin, Brandon Brantley, Roy Hairston, Chad Austin and Brad Miller bought Kendrick’s sales pitch. They contributed to three consecutive Big Ten championship teams from 1994-96. Then came Jaraan Cornell and McDonald’s All-American Mike Robinson, starters on the 2000 Elite Eight squad.

Kendrick’s love affair with Purdue endured a bitter separation when NCAA sanctions led to his departure in 1999. Time healed his wounds, and the reconciliation was complete when Kendrick was inducted into the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

“I was very emotional, and I cried,” Kendrick told the Journal and Courier’s Sam King upon the news of his election. “There’s not many things I can say I love. I love my family, and I love Purdue. Purdue is family.”

Kendrick also was elected to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Portal insanity

Among major college football schools, only Ball State, Tulsa and Kent State had lower rated defenses in 2024 than the Purdue football team.

So why then have three of the eight Boilermaker starters with eligibility in 2025 been snapped up by College Football Playoff schools?

Safety Dillon Thieneman is the biggest loss, heading to Oregon for a likely significant payday and a better chance at finishing 11-1 than 1-11.

Former Carmel standouts Will Heldt and Cole Brevard are also out the door in West Lafayette. Heldt made history as the first transfer portal signing at Clemson. Brevard is headed for Texas.

Also in the portal but yet to find a new football home are defensive backs Nylan Green, Kyndrich Breedlove and Botros Alisandro, plus defensive lineman Jamarius Dinkins.

Linebacker Hudson Miller (so far) is staying with new head coach Barry Odom.

Was it poor coaching or players who didn’t fulfill expectations which led to 2024 being arguably the worst defense in Purdue history? Something to watch in 2025.

Purdue’s offense will also have a lot of new faces in the 2025 starting lineup. Gone is five-year starting center Gus Hartwig, whose eligibility has been exhausted. The same goes for quarterback Hudson Card, and offensive linemen Corey Stewart and DJ Wingfield. Guard/tackle Marcus Mbow has entered the NFL Draft.

The transfer portal has found new homes for tight end Max Klare (Ohio State), tackle Mahamane Moussa (Louisville), tight end Drew Biber (Minnesota) and wide receiver Jahmal Edrine (Virginia). Wide receiver Shamar Rigby is also in the portal.

The last man standing is running back Devin Mockobee, who enters his senior season as one of 14 Boilermakers with more than 2,000 career rushing yards.

Welcome to the club

Three former Purdue basketball standouts recently joined Kendrick in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025.

Wilburn Cummins’ election comes on the 100^th anniversary of leading Frankfort High School to the state championship. One of the state’s first great scorers, Cummins totaled 1,140 points as a Hot Dog, including a school-record 49 points against Owensville on Dec. 11, 1923. This feat is more impressive considering this was the era when a jump ball took place after every made basket.

Under Piggy Lambert at Purdue, Cummins earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 1927 after leading the league in scoring at 10.3 points in 12 conference games.

Another great scorer was Troy Lewis, who put up 1,966 points while helping Anderson go 68-11 during his three-year varsity career. Lewis shared the 1984 Indiana Mr. Basketball honor with Delray Brooks. A McDonald’s All-American, Lewis joined Todd Mitchell and Everette Stephens in West Lafayette to help the Boilermakers win back-to-back Big Ten titles in 1987 and 1988. All three were inducted into the Leroy Keyes Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame with their coach, Gene Keady, in 2010.

Lewis is one of six men in Purdue history to score more than 2,000 points (2,038) and is a member of the school’s Centennial All-Time Men’s Basketball Team.

Forest “Jake” Weber of Plainfield amassed 1,384 points during his four-year high school career before helping Purdue win the 1940 Big Ten championship. He played two seasons of pro basketball after World War II with the Indianapolis Kautskys of the National Basketball League in 1945-46 before moving on to the New York Knicks and Providence Steamrollers of the Basketball Association of America. The 6-6 Weber started in the Knicks’ opener on Nov. 1, 1946, which is now considered the first game in NBA history.

Silver Anniversary class

The 18-man Silver Anniversary team announced by the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame includes four former NBA/NFL athletes and a couple of Purdue players.

The team was selected based on outstanding accomplishments as a senior basketball player 25 years ago.

Mr. Basketball Jared Jeffries (Bloomington North) went on to play at Indiana University before spending 11 seasons in the NBA with Washington, New York, Houston and Portland.

Zach Randolph (Marion) set the school record for rebounds (1,068) and put up 1,607 points while helping the Giants win a state championship his senior year. After one season at Michigan State, Randolph began a 17-year NBA career that saw him total 18,578 points and 10,208 rebounds during stops with Portland, New York, the Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis and Sacramento.

Andre Owens (Perry Meridian) made collegiate stops at Indiana and Houston before spending parts of two NBA seasons with Utah and the Indiana Pacers.

John Standeford (Monrovia) played briefly for the Indianapolis Colts after a record-setting career as a wide receiver at Purdue. He set Monrovia career records for points (1,899) and steals (190). At Purdue, Standeford was a freshman All-American for the 2000 Big Ten champions. He set then-Big Ten records for receiving yards (3,788) and receiving touchdowns (27).

Brett Buscher (Chesterton) and Austin Parkinson (Northwestern) would become teammates at Purdue under Gene Keady.  Buscher scored 1,365 points over four varsity seasons, including his freshman year at Whiting. Parkinson scored 1,667 points and set a school record with 678 assists. He is now the women’s head basketball coach at Butler.

The other honorees were Michael Bennett (Brebeuf, Ball State), Braden Bushman (MIssissinewa, Wright State), Ron Dokes (South Bend Riley, Duquesne), Steve Drabyn Jr. (LaPorte, Belmont), Mark Drake (Shelbyville, Alaska-Anchorage), John Hamilton Jr. (Greenfield-Central, Weber State), Adam Mark (Bremen, Belmont), Mickey McGill (Rossville, Indianapolis), Bryant Northern (Jeffersonville, Louisville), Shane Power (Andrean, Iowa State/Mississippi State), Corey Seegers (Columbus North, Morehead State/Saint Joseph’s College) and Aaron Thomas (Northridge, Robert Morris).

The Men’s Silver Anniversary Team members will be honored at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame’s 63rd Men’s Awards Banquet on March 19, 2025.