Purdue basketball recruit Luke Ertel puts college on hold for state tournament run
Luke Ertel, a Purdue basketball commit, is leading Mt Vernon to its first state title game. He'll end his high school career at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
With a couple minutes remaining, Luke Ertel checked out of Saturday's game at Harrison on Jan. 31, donning his black and gold Mt. Vernon uniform just a few miles away from where he'll wear similar colors as a college freshman next season.
Ertel walked off the floor in May Gymnasium with a smile, high fiving teammates as he settled into a seat on the bench to watch backups put the finishing touches on another Marauders victory. It was one of several masterpieces in a masterful senior season that'll surely lead to Ertel being named IndyStar Mr. Basketball.
Ertel exited with 24 points, 13 assists, and 9 rebounds, just shy of a triple-double in a year where he has three others, including last week's Class 4A south semistate championship win over New Albany and one on Dec. 23 against Crown Point. While a future with Purdue basketball awaits, Ertel has pushed that out of his mind as much as he can in hopes the Marauders would be playing in Gainbridge Fieldhouse this weekend.
Driven by a semistate loss last season, Ertel wouldn't allow himself to think of being a Boilermaker until he was done being a Marauder. That day is Saturday. "We have aspirations of winning a state championship," Ertel said nearly two months ago.
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