It’s almost here!
It’s time. We love football around here, but we all know that deep down in our hearts it’s all about basketball. This is the state of Indiana after all. When I lived in Maryland, for over a decade, I did not see the number of basketball goals over that entire period that I see within one mine in my neighborhood. It truly is an obsession in this state. There’s no denying it. With the 2025-2026 season coming up fast, it’s time to take a look at the Purdue basketball roster. Two years ago Purdue was in the Final Four. Last year Purdue “underachieved” by only making it to the Sweet 16 and being one possession away from the Elite Eight. So what did Matt Painter do after getting to the Sweet 16 knowing that the Final Four was in Indianapolis the next season? Well, he went out and got exactly what he needed to get especially in Oscar Cluff.
For now, Casey is back with us here at Hammer and Rails to get men’s basketball coverage back up to full steam. He’s got an article coming on Wednesday looking at the season overall. Let’s start off our countdown with a look at the new senior Oscar Cluff.
Who: Oscar Cluff
Position: Center
Class: Senior
Height: 6’11”
Weight: 255
Previous School: South Dakota State
One of the big problems with last year’s Purdue team was a struggle on the boards. With the loss of Daniel Jacobsen early in the season it threw a wrench into what Purdue thought they would be down low. That led to Purdue trying a patchwork of things at the center position, none of which were extremely successful. That ultimately resulted in Matt Painter hitting the transfer portal in the offseason and landing the Jackrabbit Oscar Cluff. He was largely considered to be the best rebounder in the portal. On3 listed Cluff as the best overall player in the transfer portal. You can’t ask for much more as a Purdue fan. Add Cluff to the addition of a healthy Daniel Jacobsen and Purdue should look completely different at the center position this year. You can read more about Cluff right here in our offseason homework series.
You want to see some stats you say? Well, here are the highlight directly from the Purdue sports website.
• Cluff averaged 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, while shooting 63.4 percent from the field and 77.8 percent from the free throw line for a South Dakota State team that posted a 20-12 record last season and finished the year ranked 136th in KenPom.
• He joins now-teammate Trey Kaufman-Renn as the lone players in America to average at least 17.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting at least 59.0 percent from the field a year ago.
• His season makes him one of just 10 players in NCAA history to average at least 17 points, 12 rebounds and two assists and shoot at least 60.0 percent from the field, joining Zach Edey, Blake Griffin, Andrew Bogut, Tim Duncan, Hank Gathers, Rick Raivio, Larry Smith, Cedric Maxwell and Bill Walton on the list. He is the only one in the group to shoot at least 77.0 percent from the free throw line.
Purdue needed rebounding so Painter went out and got rebounding. It’s unclear to me at this point if Cluff will start or if Jacobsen will start. I’d give the edge to Cluff just based on age, experience, and health, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Jacobsen eventually take over the starting spot. That doesn’t mean that Cluff is an unimportant addition, in fact I’d argue he is the most important addition to this Purdue roster over the offseason. You never want to be too reliant on one person at any single position. We saw what happened last year with Daniel Jacobsen’s injury, and so Matt Painter now has two players that he trusts at the center position. It’s fascinating too that Cluff and Jacobsen have completely different builds and will play completely different games.
It also can’t go unrecognized that one additional struggle of Purdue last season was poor interior defense. Cluff is a solid post defender and with his height can be an intimidating presence as opponents get closer to the lane. I can’t say enough things about what this addition means for this Purdue team. I can’t wait to see him play in a real game. We are less than 45 days away from the start of the season. I’ll be counting them down.
Category: General Sports
