From the Bartel files of “Oh my goodness, they’re still alive!”:

OK, it’s just a receding hairline, but one look at former Indiana University/Iowa Hawkeye forward Luke Recker’s diminishing follicles and, well, everyone here at the Meaningful Collateral feels as aged as Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy (WE’RE 40! … ok, not really, but he’s looking that way).

Recker, by the way, is 29 years old.

Our former Hoosier/Hawkeye friend is starting his second season with the Spanish ACB league team Billbao Basket (if you can filter through the Spanish, you can find Recker’s last box score here … and if you can’t I’ll tell you Luke scored 10 points, second on his team).

In case you forgot, here’s what Luke’s hair looked like just five years ago at Iowa:

Can anyone believe this May it will be nine years since Recker transfered from Indiana University? Since then, Luke transfered to Arizona, then Iowa, tried out with the Miami Heat, played a year in the NBDL before spending the last four seasons split between Italian- and Spanish-league hoops.

There’s nothing wrong with a career in Europe: Most good college players aren’t quality enough to last in the NBA, but can make six figures consistently overseas. This seems the way Luke’s career will go.

That said, with his new-found European fame and fortune, couldn’t he buy some Rogaine? Just a thought …