Skip to main content
Purdue

Another rivarly awaits David Jenkins Jr; Fletcher Loyer shares Purdue-Indiana connection with grandfather

b8vTr9Hoby: Mike Carmin02/03/23
Nebraska v Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - JANUARY 13: David Jenkins Jr. #14 of the Purdue Boilermakers brings the ball up court during the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Mackey Arena on January 13, 2023 in West Lafayette, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

WEST LAFAYETTE – When David Jenkins Jr., played at South Dakota State and the game against rival South Dakota arrived, he heard stories of jackrabbits and coyotes being tossed on the court.

The jackrabbits and coyotes were usually dead and frozen.

The tradition of animal carcasses being flung to the floor had ceased by the time Jenkins joined South Dakota State’s program. The Purdue senior has seen plenty of rivalry games during his long basketball journey but it’s unlikely anything will match what awaits Jenkins on Saturday in Bloomington.

He’s witnessed a battle for bragging rights in South Dakota but has also been a part of UNLV-Nevada and Utah-BYU.

“This right here is second to none,” Jenkins said of the upcoming Purdue-Indiana game at Assembly Hall.

Jenkins and his teammates will jump into one of college basketball’s top rivalries with high stakes on the line. The top-ranked Boilermakers, winners of nine straight, are looking to take another step toward winning the Big Ten championship.

The 21st-ranked Hoosiers want to derail Purdue’s momentum and move up in the conference standings, preferably into one of the top four spots and earn a double bye in the league tournament.

“I knew a little bit about it before I got here,” Jenkins said. “When I first got here, everybody’s like, ‘I know it’s a long way away but are you ready for this Purdue-IU game?’

“All my teammates are preaching it and it was hard earlier in the week because I knew we played them Saturday, but we had Penn State first. I was trying hard not to think about it because you can’t overlook anybody in this conference.”

Freshman Fletcher Loyer didn’t grow up in Indiana but was exposed to the Purdue-Indiana rivalry at a young age. His grandfather, Al McFarland, played for the Boilermakers during the 1963-64 season and became well aware of what the annual matchups meant.

“We watched a lot of games together and grew up being familiar with the rivalry,” Loyer said. “It’s a little bit getting used to having to come in and be a part of it now.”

The idea of the grandson and grandfather participating in the same in-state rivalry isn’t lost on Loyer.

“It’s something cool to carry on,” Loyer said. “It’s not very often you have a grandfather that played at the Big Ten level and at the same school as you. I get to make him proud as he gets to come to the game and watch.”

Loyer, Jenkins and the rest of the Boilermakers arrive in Bloomington following an impressive victory over Penn State when Mason Gillis came off the bench to score a career-high 29 points, including nine 3-pointers.

Purdue could’ve easily overlooked the Lions and escaped with a victory. However, the Boilermakers played well and were sharp in a lot of areas in what some considered a trap game with the Hoosiers next.

“Some teams lose those games because they’re thinking about the IU game or the rivalry game,” Jenkins said. “For us to go out there and have that energy and go out there and beat them like we did, it speaks everything to this team and how good we are.”

You may also like