Lawson, Marcius Leave Purdue: How Boilers' Depth is Affected

Two days, two defections. In the post-Mike Rice era, the more scurrilous conspiracy theorists (especially those near Bloomington, Indiana) will begin searching for video of Purdue coach Matt Painter throwing toasters at his players.

Forward Sandi Marcius received his release to transfer on Thursday and another Boiler frontcourt player, Jacob Lawson (No. 34 in your picture), did the same on Friday.

In workouts before the 2012-13 season, Painter was excited about the idea of having plenty of big men at his disposal. With Marcius and Lawson bailing, though, how does that depth look now?

Cranky Coaches Coming Out Against Grad Transfer Exemption (or: Shame On You, Matt Painter)

The 2011-12 NCAA waiver allowing graduated student-athletes to play immediately at their new schools, provided the new school offered a grad program not offered at the player's previous stop, doesn't seem particularly insidious on the surface.

To the contrary, it's a carrot. It's a pot of immediate-gratification gold at the end of a player's four-year rainbow, letting him decide where he can spend his final year of eligibility if one of the first four was compromised. The player is also bound to continue his education even beyond the Bachelor's degree that a sizable number of athletes don't bother to finish.

But coaches are getting pissed off about the continued use of this exemption. Who and why, exactly? Read on.