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Player-by-player Purdue basketball roster breakdown for the 2024-25 season

Online Niel October 28, 2024

Purdue basketball perfected Matt Painter’s system last season and landed a nationally-caliber team behind a generational superstar.

With Zach Edey is goneTHE Boilers the list contains no real unicorns. That means questions about how this team will rebound, how it will defend and where it will go for guaranteed buckets.

Painter, however, has assembled a stack of potential answers to these questions. Last season’s anticipation focused on what a fine car could achieve. The coming season carries another plot. How exactly do all the pieces fit together on any given night, and once calibrated, how far can that collection go?

CJ Cox, no. 0, freshman guard

Although he hasn’t played a game yet, Cox is already looking like a successful diamond in the rough find for Painter. He had no other major offers before committing to Purdue. All he has done since arriving this summer was impress his teammates with his consistent shooting, ability to run the point and his defensive will.

Lance Jones’ company has come quickly, and if Cox can fill that absence, he’ll have a major impact on this team’s ceiling. Regardless, his smarts and ball-handling skills will take the pressure off Braden Smith. Two years ago, an inexperienced backfield was seen as Purdue’s Achilles heel. Now he has the best of both worlds — veteran leaders at guard and young talent like Cox coming up the backcourt.

Caleb Furst. No. 1, senior striker

Furst’s name comes up a lot when Painter discusses the sacrifices players have made for the team’s accomplishments. After starting 33 games in his first two seasons, he started none last season. He played less than nine minutes per game, backing up Edey and Trey Kaufman-Renn in the low post.

He’s been through the struggles, though, and that experience seems imperative to the mix of the current squad. Like many other options in the frontcourt, Furst’s usage could change on a nightly basis depending on the matchups. He could just as easily be a source of stability in the starting line-up.

Fletcher Loyer, no. 2, junior guard

Although he started all 39 games last season, the Homestead graduate’s role will expand this season. That means more scoring impact when his 44.4% shooting in 34 points is applied to more minutes. It also means more will be asked of him rebounding and defensively.

The respect teams have to pay him because a shooter could open up other opportunities offensively, both off the dribble and as a passer. Sometimes he seems like a forgotten man because other players attract a bigger spotlight. He is, however, crucial to the team’s aesthetic and central plan for the next six months.

Braden Smith, no. 3, junior guard

The new face of the franchise – and yours preseason Big Ten Player of the Year for good measure. Over the last two seasons, Smith facilitated an offense that ran through a featured player in the post. Now, he’s the featured player — a point guard that Painter plans to use liberally outside of pick-and-rolls when he’s not relying on 40 percent three-point shooting.

However, Smith offers more than just production. His attitude, forged from a chip on his shoulder dating back to his under-recruited high school days, helps set the agenda for this team. For all he’s accomplished, he believes he still has so much to prove — and so do the Boilermakers.

“This is not my purpose”: Braden Smith stays on the sidelines as the preseason honors roll in

Trey Kaufman-Renn, no. 4, junior forward

The Silver Creek product enters his fourth season as the pivot point from which many of Painter’s plans could be possible. He operated in Edey’s immense shadow last season, averaging 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds as primarily a starting power forward. That will remain one of his roles this season, as Purdue always has a surplus of true big men to play under center.

However, stories of Kaufman-Renn giving Edey all he could handle and more in training over the past few years have established confidence in his other role. The small-ball Boilermakers will feature Kaufman-Renn in the post, where Painter believes his skill and quickness advantages also create matchups. The coach predicts an All-Big Ten jump for one of the players whose past sacrifices could pay off in the post-Edey dynamic.

“I’ve waited so long for this.” Trey Kaufman-Renn is Purdue’s new leader

Myles Colvin, no. 5, second guard

The athleticism is undeniable, but that’s not the only reason Colvin’s minutes increased in a rotation role during the NCAA Tournament. He’s one of four returning regulars who shot 40 percent or better from 3. This helps ensure that whatever lineup is on the floor can still cut through the defense with an inside approach or shots.

What makes Colvin even more intriguing is what he can accomplish if those shots aren’t falling. The more he makes his 6-5 length an asset on defense and the more he rebounds and helps the entire team’s effort on defense, the more his impact will grow.

Brian Waddell, no. 11, junior forward

One of the few pitchers to have a year more experience than their eligibility class due to the use of a redshirt. He was a 40.5 percent 3-point shooter as a Carmel senior, a skill that has yet to shine in his limited usage.

The battle for rotation minutes at the contingency spots will be tight. That touch of sleeper shooting alone would add value, if Waddell’s circumstances or development lead him to a bigger role.

Daniel Jacobsen, no. 12, freshman center

Yes, one more. Sends 7-4 center to NBA, orders replacement from Connecticut prep school Brewster Academy. Jacobsen and Edey, however, have little in common apart from their constant need to deviate. The freshman came in about 100 pounds less than what Edey weighed when he left.

Their games differ significantly as well. Especially now, Jacobsen is more comfortable away from the basket and can force defenders to respect him in the arc. However, he’s also a legitimate rim protector — a skill Painter wants on the floor as much as possible.

Jack Benter, no. 14, freshman guard

How much Painter finds an in-state prospect with championship credentials and an ability to score from distance. Benter made 44 percent of his 3s while leading Brownstown Central to a state championship and a Mr. Basketball runner-up finish.

With Cox and Gicarri Harris already establishing themselves as potential rotation players, Benter’s path may follow a longer arc. This profile, however, mirrors others who built their way to major impacts late in their careers.

Camden Heide, no. 23, advance payment for the second student

One of the keys to the skeleton of what Painter hoped to achieve with his formations. In small-ball looks, Heide’s 6-7 length can pair with the center version of Kaufman-Renn. He’ll also fill a more conventional 3-and-D role — potentially providing additional rebounding to bigger lineups.

As with many players on this list, the question is whether occasional occasional use can yield consistent results. However, last season no player with at least 75 attempts recorded a higher percentage of effective goals.

Gicarri Harris, no. 24, freshman guard

He showed up with a solid 6-3, 200-pound build and immediately started asserting it on defense. A tryout with Mexico’s national team in pre-Olympic qualifiers may have accelerated his acclimatization to the grown men he’ll face in the Big Ten. He’s on a trajectory that could start on opening night because of his ability to physically wear down opposing scorers.

He is also the son of Glenn Robinson. Given the importance of that legacy in Purdue history, it deserves mention here in his introduction. The impression he’s made in his first few months on campus suggests he’ll establish his own separate identity soon enough.

Raleigh Burgess, no. 34, freshman forward

A broken leg during Burgess’ senior season briefly hampered the Cincinnati prospect’s development. He caught on when he arrived this summer, impressing with his energy and 3-point shooting and drawing compliments from Painter on multiple occasions. Burgess entered a crowded situation from the front and forced people to notice.

Painter likes the 6-11 Burgess so much, in fact, that he worries about wasting him on the bench. He laments the redshirts he didn’t give to players like Ryne Smith, Grady Eifert and Ryan Cline. That’s why he uses red shirts as much as any coach in the country right now. Burgess’ preseason play made this decision tougher than it might have seemed at the beginning of the summer.

Will Berg. No. 44, center for second graders

After playing just 3.9 minutes per game last season, the 7-2 Swede’s role should increase this season. He presents another option in big lineups — one with a proven presence on the rebound and one expanding on offense. While Purdue can’t replace Edey’s star power, it can try to put some of its production together, and Berg’s size will be a factor.

Despite that small sample size, over 40 percent of Berg’s redshirt freshman rebounds came on offense. This is not usually an accidental skill, and one that can be crucial in a post-Edey world. Berg continues to hone his skills on offense and could be an asset in that aforementioned pick-and-roll offense.