Different role allows Purdue's Matt Frost to embrace senior season following knee injury

WEST LAFAYETTE – Sunday is the moment Matt Frost will share the spotlight on Senior Day at Mackey Arena, but the former walk-on isn’t sure about his emotions when it’s time to address the sellout crowd.

He’s watched two Senior Days during his tenure at Purdue but admits he’s “not good at talking in front of people” and jokes about just “making it through my speech.”

He’ll take fans through his journey, which includes coach Matt Painter putting him on scholarship in January, and what it’s meant to be a part of this program and university after the fifth-ranked Boilermakers play Illinois in the final regular-season game.

But this hasn’t been the senior season Frost envisioned. Before Purdue played its first game, the Columbus East graduate suffered a torn ACL in his knee in practice.

Frost clearly understood his role during this time in the program and playing a lot of minutes wasn’t part of the plan. For three years, though, Frost had put in the offseason work, brought energy and effort to practice, and was engaged in all of the off-the-court activities.

Knowing this would be his final season as a Boilermaker, it was going to be his reward, pushing his teammates toward a Big Ten title and a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

He’s still doing those things, but in a different role than on the practice floor.

“You work, and you do a lot of things in practice as a walk-on that helps the program, and it helps the team, but it’s not a lot of fun to be frank with you,” Painter said. “They’re guarding a lot, they’re doing a lot of different things in drills to make the drills work and things of that nature.

“When you sacrifice, and you do all of that, you want to have your senior season, especially the year that we’ve had and all the positives that we’ve had throughout the year.”

Frost exits the program with a positive mindset, knowing he made the decision to bypass extensive playing time at a smaller school to fulfill his goal of playing for his dream school and adding to his family legacy of Boilermakers.

Frost quickly learned how much Painter, his staff and the rest of the program value walk-ons.

“You can’t just have anybody come off the streets and play here,” said Frost, who joins transfer David Jenkins Jr., as players will be recognized after Sunday’s game. “All the walk-ons we have here were stars in high school. They sacrificed their playing time so they can help the team and the program and help Purdue be better.”

TOUGH SETBACK

Days after suffering his season-ending knee injury, Frost – who is majoring in industrial management with a concentration in finance –  was still coming to grips with his situation.

He underwent surgery on Dec. 19 and is slowly working his way back.

“Once I accepted it, I realized there was nothing I could do about it,” said Frost, who has appeared in 20 games. “I’m going to cheer my team on as best as I can and get myself as healthy as I can at the same time.”

Frost leaned on Brian Waddell, a redshirt freshman for the Boilermakers, who suffered a similar injury.  The two have been able to bond over the misfortune, but it’s given Frost an idea of how to deal with the rehabilitation process and what comes next.

“He knows all the things I’ve been doing rehab-wise, and he’s done them all too,” Frost said. “He’s a good friend to have.”

Frost’s injury was also tough for his teammates to absorb, knowing the time and work he’s put in during his career on campus.

“Super tough,” junior Ethan Morton said of Frost’s situation. “All of our walk-ons have been pretty unbelievable, and Frost is no different. They have great personalities, and they’re great people in the locker room.

“It helps so much having a guy like that who is still here and engaged and is really a part of it every day even though he’s been hurt. It means the world to all of us.”

‘SUPER SUPPORTIVE’

Frost is also important for the Boilermakers off the court.

He’s Zach Edey’s roommate on all road games, a relationship that started when the pair lived together for two years.

“Sometimes it’s on me to make sure he’s on time for film and dinner,” Frost said. “It’s been fun. It’s an important job on this team.”

The idea of rooming with who many believe will be the National Player of the Year is another element of Frost’s time at Purdue that won’t be forgotten.

“It’s kind of weird because we’ll be in the hotel room watching one of the other Big Ten games and they’ll bring us up and whoever we’re playing the next day,” Frost said. “ ‘It’s Zach Edey and the Boilermakers taking on so-and-so.’ Part of me doesn’t realize that this is the Purdue basketball team. It just seems normal because I’ve been around it so much.”

Here’s what Frost has learned about Edey and his approach.

“For the most part, what you see is what you get,” Frost said. “He’s an incredible worker on the court, even aside from games. He has his routine that he does after practice every day just doing hook shots and small post moves. He does it every day after practice.

“For shootarounds, he has to do his same routine. When he does his routine, he gets in the right mental state for the game, and it really gets him going. Routine is important for Zach.”

Edey said Frost “definitely helps me way more than I help him. It’s not even close.” He’s also a good roommate who is considerate of the 7-foot-4 junior’s time and understands it’s important that Edey is as comfortable as possible heading into each game.

“He’s super supportive and he understands … I’m kind of weird about certain things in the hotel room,” Edey said. “He’s fine with that stuff. He always makes sure I’m taken care of and showing up to stuff. He’s very good at managing time and that really helps me.

“If I want to go to sleep at 10 o’clock, he’ll go to sleep at 10 o’clock and he’ll turn all the lights off and he’s fine with that. He works around me very well.”

It’s all part of the Purdue experience for Frost, who will take plenty of memories with him into the next stage of his life.

He’s followed in the footsteps of his family, which includes 11 Purdue graduates, and his brother, Kyle, who currently attends the university. Even if Painter didn’t offer him a walk-on opportunity, Frost was coming to West Lafayette.

“Since it was Purdue, it was pretty easy to make the decision because being a fan of Purdue my whole life, no matter if I was playing or not, this would be a tremendous experience,” said Frost, who considered attending Rose-Hulman and Anderson. “To watch the games from the best seat in the house on the sidelines, I can’t complain. I wouldn’t do this anywhere else.”

.