PROVIDENCE, RI – After #4 Purdue took care of #13 High Point at the Amica Bank Pavilion in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, Purdue sophomore Myles Colvin and his family went out for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory at Providence Place.
For Myles, it was a well-earned postgame meal after a big win that pushed his team to the round of 32. But for his father, Rosevelt Colvin, it was more than just a celebration — it was the culmination of a full-circle moment.
Rosevelt spent six seasons with the Patriots from 2003 to 2008, playing a key role in their back-to-back Super Bowl victories in 2003 and 2004. During that time, he lived in Foxborough and frequently visited Providence, where Myles and his sister Raven were born.
While Myles may be too young to recall, Rosevelt has vivid memories of their trips to the Providence Place Mall, picking up new shoes at Foot Locker, grabbing meals at that exact Cheesecake Factory they were at Friday night, and attending functions at the Omni Hotel — just steps from where the game was played. He even remembers the scar Myles got from falling out of the car during a trip to the Providence movie theater.
“Just a full-circle moment for Myles,” said Rosevelt. “For him to come back to Providence, his birthplace, and do that is exciting. It was awesome, man. It’s a meaningful moment for him and us as a family. Very proud. Super proud.”
Rosevelt attends nearly all of his son’s home games. Since retiring from the NFL, he’s lived in Indiana, just a short drive from Purdue’s Mackey Arena in West Lafayette. What matters most to him is seeing his son play the game he loves, but he admitted this homecoming held a little more weight.
“Him playing means more than anything. I don’t care if it’s at a rec center, Providence, or a game in downtown Indianapolis,” he said. “Watching my kids play is awesome. Being in Providence adds a little bit extra weight, even though I don’t know if he knows, or feels the significance just because we left Providence when he was three.”
Rosevelt was a standout at Purdue himself, starting for three years and earning All-Big Ten honors in 1997 and 1998, along with MVP honors at the 1998 Alamo Bowl. His daughter, Raven, carried on the family legacy at Purdue, becoming a volleyball star before being drafted seventh overall in the Pro Volleyball Federation. Now, Rosevelt gets to watch Myles carve out his own legacy in the same black and gold.
“It’s big. Initially, Myles committed to Purdue, obviously, because he liked what he saw from the program, and then Raven was there,” said Rosevelt. “For the legacy and for the name, it’s meant a lot to us. I think he felt like he wanted to participate in it and wanted to see what that was like. For us, it’s always been good. It’s been easy to drive up the road to watch him for home games.”
Myles, who appeared in all six of Purdue’s NCAA Tournament games last year, playing 10 or more minutes in three of them, including the National Championship game, grew up hearing stories about how his dad yearned for the big moments. Rosevelt’s advice to his kids was always: Be ready when the chance to make the big play comes. And with his dad sitting just a few rows behind the Boilermaker bench on Thursday, Myles did just that.
“I used to tell them [Myles and Raven] all the time, to be able to make a play with 70,000 people on their feet going crazy, that was just an exciting thing for me. That was like the search of the moment as a pass rusher. Looking to try and get that sack – strip the ball, stuff like that,” Rosevelt said. “When you get the opportunity to make that play, go make it.”
For Myles, that moment came in the form of a monster put-back dunk off a missed three-pointer by Camden Heide in the closing minutes of the first half. It was the loudest bucket of an 8-2 Purdue run to close the half, giving the Boilermakers a 10-point lead heading into the break.
“I’ve seen him do things similar to that before, and every time it happens, it’s one of those proud parent moments,” Rosevelt said on the dunk, that had him on his feet. “It always surprises me.”
As the Boilermakers aim for their sixth Sweet-16 appearance in the last eight seasons this Saturday in Providence against the McNeese State Cowboys, Rosevelt will be back in the stands cheering on his son. The good news for the Colvin family and Boilermaker faithful is that the last five times Purdue has advanced to the second round, they’ve made it to at least the Sweet 16. Purdue hasn’t lost a round-two game since a 63-60 loss to No. 2-seed Kansas in the 2012 Tournament.
“He’s a very, very good dad. He’s supported me through all of this,” said Myles. “He’s got my back no matter what, and he’s done nothing but help me to get to this moment. I’m really grateful to have him as my dad.”
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