33 Days to B1G Basketball: Purdue’s Jacquil Taylor Suffers Another Injury

Purdue got some bad news heading into the weekend as they learned that forward Jacquil Taylor will miss the next month as the season rapidly approaches.

Earlier in the week the 6’10” junior learned that he has a stress fracture in the left ankle he previously had had surgery on this past season. With the ankle in it’s current state, it would be susceptible to further damage if Taylor continued to play as is.

"I am frustrated, but you can't blame the doctors for being cautious," Taylor stated. "I'm not mad. Well, I am mad about it. But it's not really my fault. It's not anyone's fault it happened. It's just unfortunate."

The end result is that Taylor is currently in a walking boot and will miss the rest of October, with the intent of returning just prior to the season opener next month. Everything had been progressing positively for the oft injured forward, though he reportedly had experienced some pain this summer participating in the World University Games.

Taylor has struggled with injuries throughout his entire career at Purdue and was looking to finally be fully healthy this season. With the departure of Caleb Swanigan, there will be additional minutes in the frontcourt and Taylor was looking to help fill that void.

While Matt Painter has 7’3” Matt Haarms as an option, he’s only a redshirt freshman and has no playing experience. The addition of 6’9” JUCO transfer Eden Ewing helps add some depth in the frontcourt, though, but if Taylor’s injury issues linger into the season it could leave the unit on the thin side. Of course with 6’8” Vincent Edwards and a strong backcourt, Purdue could elect to run a more small ball oriented offense.

Either way, it’s unfortunate that Taylor is once again dealing with injuries. After being sidelined after the beginning of his freshman season, Taylor also missed all of last year. Now with more minutes available, Taylor is looking for a larger role this upcoming season. While the injury is a setback, if Taylor can recover over the next month or so he should be ready to go for the season.