Last Year
One last ride for the trifecta of Smith, Loyer and Kaufman-Renn was not at all a failure. They finished 30-9 and 13-7 in conference and won the Big Ten Tourney by clipping Michigan. That was good for a two seed in the tourney, where they were NOT upset in the first round by Queens, and in fact then beat Miami(FL) and Texas before getting clubbed by Arizona in the Elite Eight. It did probably feel a little disappointing, though, since the Big Ten landed two teams in the Final Four and neither was Purdue.
Happy Trails
- Braden Smith was drafted in the second round and is trying to get on with the Pacers
- Fletcher Loyer wasn't drafted but is trying to catch on with the Clippers
- Trey Kaufman-Renn was drafted by the Timberwolves, but didn't sign a contract and instead is trying to come back to college, apparently for Kansas
- Oscar Cluff and Liam Murphy also ran out of eligibility
Starters
- PG Omer Mayer, 6'4'' Sophomore: Omer John Mayer got some reserve time last season and mostly stood out for being bigger than Braden Smith and he could shoot some. Purdue is going to need more than that to replace Braden Smith, but a year in the Painter By Numbers System might show a different guy.
- SG CJ Cox, 6'3'' Junior: The only returning starter. Cox is a very capable three pointer shooter and one of Purdue's better on ball defenders. He's shown glimpses of being able to get his own shot, but can he be the guy when hes the focus of the scouting report?
- SF Gicarri Harris, 6'3'' Junior: Harris makes for a smaller three guard lineup, but he's in Year Three and has always shown some shooting, so if Purdue finds someone who can get some gravity under the basket, they could rain down from outside.
- PF Caden Pierce, 6'6'' Senior: Pierce comes over from Princeton, where he was the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2024. After his 2025 season wasn't as good, he decided to redshirt in 2026 and take his talents to Purdue. Probably more of a do everything guy - he rebounds, will pass, can shoot outside, but doesn't stand out in any particular area. Pierce is still working on getting back into game shape after taking a year off.
- C Daniel Jacobsen, 7'4'' Junior: The ceiling of this team is defined by how much he has improved and continues to improve. Jacobsen is more comfortable on the perimeter offensively but has good agility and the ability to catch and dunk. You probably aren't going to see the ball just thrown to him posting up on the low block very often. He's put on some weight & muscle but is still undersized for his height and will get pushed around by the grown men in the sport. If Jacobsen can hold his own rebounding and not get pushed around or lose track of where he should be defensively, he's a real asset as a rim protector.
Bench
- SG Antione West Jr., 6'3'' Redshirt Freshman: Some have predicted West to be the leading scorer of this team. He certainly has the highest upside. But after redshirting last season, he is unlikely to start at the beginning of the season. A three level scorer, West is one of only two Purdue guards that can get to the rim. He's a pest defensively with a long wingspan. I think the best version of this team offensively and defensively replaces Mayer with West but with two true PGs on the roster it seems unlikely that Painter will force Cox or Harris into a PG role.
- F Jack Benter, 6'6'' Sophomore: Benter got some run as a freshman last season and showed he could put the ball through the hoop. Show some other things and he could crack the starting lineup. Benter is a bit of an undersized PF but that's his position on this team.
- PF/C Raleigh Burgess, 6'11'' Redshirt Sophomore: Burgess redshirted last season to recover from offseason surgery after playing a bit as a true freshman, but seems in line for some more minutes. He's not the mutant center Painter likes, but he is athletic and more burly than Jacobsen.
- C Enzo Shahrvin, 6'8'' Freshman: Enzo is an old Frenchman that has been playing professionally. He was somehow cleared by the NCAA. He is the only guy on the roster that can't shoot threes. He will likely see 5-10 minutes a game at the center spot, grab 4-6 boards, commit 3 fouls, and show surprising athleticism. He is the best rebounder on a team filled with bad rebounders which means he has a role in certain matchups.
- SF Jacob Webber, 6'6'' Freshman: Pure shooter. Webber was described as the best shooter in his recruiting class and he can let it go from anywhere. At 6-6" and with a quick release, he doesn't need much room to get his shot off. However, Webber isn't nearly ready physically to play defense in the Big Ten. He will see minutes because of how good a shooter he is, but on nights where it's not falling in the first half he might not get another look in the second half.
- PG Luke Ertel, 6'2" Freshman: Ertel is expected to receive minutes as the backup point guard. He's a good distributer, shooter, scorer, and defender. Ertel is also a surprisingly good rebounder for his size/position.
- Two other freshmen in center Sinan Huan and forward Rivers Knight, but neither is expected to contribute much, if anything, this season. Painter has publicly said neither will play and that should be true with the exception of blowouts.
Outlook
BoilerUp89: Purdue is going to live and die by the three pointer this season. For this offense to evolve past that one of three players has to make another leap beyond what's been shown so far this offseason: Harris, West, or Jacobsen. Purdue has a very balanced roster where it could be any of the five starters or West/Benter that is the best player any given night. But they don't have a go to guy. West and Harris have the tools to become that guy but West has to develop better court vision and a willingness to pass while Harris needs to prove that he can attack the rim against high level defenses. Jacobsen has the genetics to become a monster on the defensive end and a superb rebounder. He has to embrace the physicality of the game more though.
Expect Purdue to have a roller coaster of a season and lack consistency. They will beat some great teams when they shoot out of their minds (to be fair it's going to be a great three point shooting team in general). They will lose to some terrible teams when they can't buy a shot and get bullied on the glass. Overall that probably works out to a mid-pack finish in the Big Ten. Only Enzo and Pierce run out of eligibility after this season. I suspect it's also Mayer's last season at Purdue as well. Hopefully some of the other guys continue to develop and show enough potential that the two incoming freshman next season make Purdue a contender again. It's a two year plan, but for the two year plan to work year 1 has to show progress and continued improvement along the way.
glass: The starting 5 of Cox, Mayer, Harris, Pierce and DJ is pretty much nailed on. The rumor and enuendo suggests that Painter more or less promised as much (inasmuch as Painter promises those things) to all 5 players before the season started and the first 2 exhibition games have reflected that.
West will be the first player off the bench because of his ability to score and I would not be shocked to see him start a fair amount later in the season. Ertel has more upside than Mayer and will likely be the guy at PG at some point in the near future. I'd wager that Enzo will see more than 10 minutes a game out of necessity because DJ still hasn't shown he can stay out of foul trouble. The only other player I can see getting more than 10 minutes a night is Benter who will be a nice change of pace from Pierce/Harris at the 3 or 4. Burgess and Webber will certainly get their shot but (aside from Ethan Morton) Painter has consistently shown an unwillingness to go more than 9 deep after a certain point during each season and I suspect they'll both see their fair share of "DNP - coach's decision" stat lines once league games start. Don't be shocked to see Burgess enter the portal at his earliest convenience.
As far as predictions go, I think the Boilers get spanked by Gonzaga in Vegas on opening night and the bot collective freaks right the fuck out. But ultimately Painter does Painter things that will right the ship and he guides the team to 6 or 7 seed in the NCAAs.
HoustonBoiler: This Purdue team will be very different from those of the recent past in that they will be better on defense, shoot more 3-pointers, and play at a faster pace. Unlike recent Purdue teams, this team has several capable perimeter defenders in Cox, Harris, West, and Ertel so you can expect to see tighter defense. The question will be how well they can play off-ball defense and avoid getting into foul trouble for being a little too handsy. Pierce is also an athletic upgrade at power forward and is expected to be a better defender than, but not the scorer, Kaufman-Renn was. The obvious shortcoming of this team is rebounding. They will not have a dominant rebounder patrolling the lane compared with recent Purdue teams.
With a more athletic lineup, Purdue will be looking to turn their defense into opportunities to run. They will also be looking to shoot more 3-pointers as was seen in their trip to Canada in August and in their exhibition games to date. As noted above, Shahrvin is the only guy on the roster who cannot shoot threes. Purdue will also need to value possessions. With not being a good rebounding team, they will need to take good shots and avoid turnovers.
This team has potential but will suffer from a lack of experience and strength inside. I think Purdue will finish the B1G lower portion of the top half, i.e., sixth to nineth place, which will probably be good for a 6 to 8 seed. Making the second weekend will be a huge success.
