Purdue senior Robbie Hummel re-tore his ACL in practice Saturday morning and will miss the entire 2010-11 season, the university said.
Hummel missed the Boilermakers' final eight games last season after tearing the ACL in his right knee the first time in a Feb. 24 game against Minnesota.
Before the injury, Hummel started all 27 games for Purdue, averaging 15.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. The forward earned All-Big Ten and honorable mention All-America honors.
"This is obviously disappointing for Robbie, as well as our team, since he worked so hard to return from the tear he suffered in February,'' Purdue coach Matt Painter said in a statement. "As he begins his rehab and recovery, we'll persevere together and provide Robbie with all the support possible. I have no doubt he'll continue to play a pivotal role for this season as a leader for our team.''
Because Hummel never redshirted, he will be eligible for a fifth year and would be able to rejoin the Boilermakers next season.
The news is a serious blow for Purdue, a team widely considered to be among the top three in the nation with Hummel in the lineup.
Last season when Hummel was injured, Purdue rallied and surprised many with a trip to the Sweet 16, in which it lost to eventual national champion Duke. Graduation already has cost Purdue two starters from that team in Keaton Grant and Chris Kramer.
"Rob does something for us offensively and defensively that balances our team," Painter said in February 2009, while Hummel was recovering from that injury. "He's a facilitator. He moves the basketball, he makes the extra pass, he gets the ball inside.
"Some of the basic things that don't show up in a box score is what we miss."
Purdue still has talented seniors E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, who decided to return after considering entering the NBA draft.
Moore, a 6-foot-4 guard, was a first-team All-Big Ten pick last season. He led the team with 16.4 points per game as the Boilermakers went 29-6 and shared the Big Ten regular-season title. He also became the third player since 1971 to lead Purdue in scoring and assists, and the first player since Troy Lewis in the late 1980s to lead the team in scoring three consecutive seasons.
Johnson, a 6-10 center, averaged 15.5 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds this past season. Purdue's career leader in blocked shots has been on the Big Ten All-Defensive team the past two seasons, and was second-team All-Big Ten after earning first-team honors as a sophomore.
Dana O'Neil covers college basketball for ESPN.com. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
