2024-25 ITH Season Preview: Purdue Boilermakers

  • 09/27/2024 9:19 am in

With the start of college basketball season in early November, we’ll examine the conference as a whole and Indiana’s roster over the coming weeks.

Today, our team previews conclude with Purdue.

Previously: Penn State, Washington, Minnesota, USC, Northwestern, Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon, Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA, Illinois, Rutgers, Michigan State

Purdue basketball reached new heights in the 2023-24 season. The Boilermakers captured another Big Ten title but finally broke through in the NCAA tournament.

Led by national player of the year Zach Edey, the Matt Painter-led program advanced to the national championship game and fell to UConn, 75-60. The Boilermakers finished 34-5 and No. 3 in the final KenPom ratings.

Edey is now in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies and a new era for the program begins with junior guard Braden Smith leading the way.

Smith is the only returning first-team All-Big Ten player in the conference this season. The 6-foot guard was among the nation’s top point guards last season. He averaged 12 points, 7.5 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 34 minutes per game. Smith shot 44.1 percent from the field and 43.1 percent on 3s. All signs point to Smith being named the league’s player of the year in the preseason.

Junior Fletcher Loyer, an elite perimeter shooter, will join him in the starting Purdue backcourt. Loyer averaged double figures last season – 10.3 points per game – with 2.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He shot 44.4 percent on 3s.

Redshirt sophomore Camden Heide and sophomore Myles Colvin will both take on larger roles following Lance Jones’ graduation and Ethan Morton’s transfer.

Heide – a 6-foot-7 wing – can do a little bit of everything. He brings tremendous energy, can finish plays at the rim and can also knock down perimeter shots. He averaged 3.3 points last season in 12.4 minutes last season while shooting 45 percent on 3s. Heide can defend multiple positions and will see time at the four in smaller lineups.

Colvin, a top 75 recruit in 2023, had a limited role last season because of Purdue’s depth. It’ll be his turn to shine in his second season. Colvin played just 8.6 minutes per game last season but did play double-figure minutes in four of Purdue’s six NCAA tournament games. A wing who can knock down 3s and also make shots from the midrange, Colvin could start at the three or be the first man off the bench. Either way, Purdue will look to him for scoring.

Trey Kaufman-Renn is expected to become one of Purdue’s featured options offensively. Kaufman-Renn was often the man opposing defenses chose to leave last season when sending help at Edey. This season, he’s the most proven interior scorer on the roster. The Silver Creek product averaged 6.4 points and four rebounds in 17 minutes per game last season. He’s expected to play both the four and the five this season, depending on the matchups.

Caleb Furst, a 6-foot-10 senior, should have more opportunity to play in his final season. Furst was stuck behind Mason Gillis and Kaufman-Renn last season, both better complementary players for Edey. The Fort Wayne native played just nine minutes per game last season and averaged 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds.

The other returning Boilermakers are redshirt junior Brian Waddell and sophomore Will Berg. Both played sparingly last season. The 6-foot-7 Waddell, a Carmel product, shot just 16.7 percent on 3s. The 7-foot-2 Berg played only 52 minutes all of last season and averaged 2.6 points and 1.9 rebounds. With Edey moving on, the physical big man will have a chance to carve out a more regular role as a backup.

The rest of the Purdue rotation will be freshmen. Purdue added five of them and didn’t add a single player from the transfer portal.

Up front, the Boilermakers added 7-foot-4 big man Daniel Jacobsen and 6-foot-11 Raleigh Burgess. Jacobsen drew rave reviews for his play with USA Basketball’s U18 team in the AmeriCup. Jacobsen averaged 9.2 points and seven rebounds in that event. Jacobsen must gain strength and put on weight, but should figure into the Purdue frontcourt rotation. Burgess, a Cincinnati native, was a top 150 player nationally but may have to wait his turn to crack the rotation.

Gicarri Harris, the son of program legend Glenn Robinson, is the highest-ranked recruit in the class. The 6-foot-3 guard led his team to a state championship in Georgia last season.

Purdue also welcomes Brownstown Central guard Jack Benter and C.J. Cox from Milton Academy in Massachusetts. The 6-foot-5 Benter scored more than 2,500 points in high school. Cox is the lowest-ranked recruit in the class and had no high major offers before the Boilermakers offered him. Given Painter’s ability to identify talent and develop players, it won’t be a surprise to see Cox make an impact in West Lafayette in the years to come.

At No. 17, Purdue is the highest-ranked Big Ten team in Bart Torvik’s 2024-25 season projections. Blue Ribbon college basketball yearbook picked the Boilermakers to finish third in the Big Ten while Lindy’s Sports college basketball preview magazine has Purdue second in the conference.

Bottom line: Edey’s production or presence cannot be replaced, as he was twice named national player of the year. Painter, however, has proven himself to be one of the best coaches in the country and will mold his team around his personnel. This Purdue team will be more perimeter-oriented, but there’s no shortage of size on the roster. It will be a surprise if the Boilermakers aren’t a contender for the Big Ten title.

Quotable: “We still have three guys that, as sophomore, started on a Final Four team. All three of those guys are juniors and very productive players. So, I think we have a good place to start. We have some guys who are returning who played on that team that can really enhance their roles. They have to earn that, because we have good freshmen that are coming in.” – Painter to the media earlier this week.

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