"Marcus is a tremendous rebounder and a blue collar-type player," said associate head coach Matt Painter in a press release this afternoon. "We feel we're getting a guy who has all the qualities of what we want our student-athletes at Purdue to possess."

White officially has logged 1 and 1/2 seasons of playing time at Connecticut, but sat out a year in between due to a bulging disc in his back that required surgery. NCAA regulations give a player five years to complete four years of eligibility from the time of his first enrollment. While White would technically have 2 and 1/2 seasons of eligibility remaining, he loses a year for the medical redshirt plus the year he will have to sit out for transferring. If he gets enrolled at a new program this spring, he would have to sit out until late December of next season, then have 1 and 1/2 seasons of eligibility remaining.

White will be looked at to provide an experienced post presence for Purdue in the 2006-07 season, when the only player on the Purdue roster taller than 6'7 will be forward Adam Liddell. That will prove important since coach Painter will likely be bringing in a couple of green freshmen post players in that class yet to be announced.