Purdue basketball forward's return from injury may go international first

Indianapolis Star

20-05-2025

Purdue men's basketball center Daniel Jacobsen's return to full strength could include an international component this summer.
The Boilermakers announced Tuesday the 7-foot-4 center will participate in Team USA tryouts ahead of the FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Switzerland. The training camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado, begins June 14. Tournament competition begins later in the month.
Playing in FIBA events has become a right of passage for rising Boilermaker stars. Most recently, Myles Colvin helped Team USA win gold at the 2023 U19 World Cup.
Jacobsen is one of seven players with college experience among the 33 invited to the tryout, according to the release. The others are incoming freshmen or high school players. Jacobsen also has prior experience on that stage, helping Team USA win gold at the FIBA U18 Americup in Argentina last summer.
Caleb Swanigan (2014 and 2015), Trevion Williams (2019), Jaden Ivey and Caleb Furst (2021) all won gold at their respective age group Wold Cups. Zach Edey took bronze with Team Canada in 2021. Carsen Edwards played for Team USA's bronze-medal team in 2017.
The international competition comes as Jacobsen continues his return from a freshman season cut abruptly short by injury. He debuted with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the season opener against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Then He suffered a broken tibia one minute into the second game of the season and did not play again.
He was cleared for full contact not long after Purdue's season ended with a Sweet 16 loss to Houston in Indianapolis. While he could not play, other aspects of his development continued. For instance, Jacobsen was listed at 230 pounds last season but has grown to 250.