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How seniors are setting the tone for Purdue basketball with championship expectations
WEST LAFAYETTE — When 7-foot-4 Daniel Jacobsen, returning after a lost freshman season due to a fractured tibia, dove head-first for a loose ball at Purdue basketball's first summer practice, it wasn't a cause for concern.
It was an expectation.
"Right now you're playing for a spot, you're playing for minutes to help this team win," senior guard Fletcher Loyer said. "If you're not diving on the ball, you're not going to play. So either you do it or sit over there and listen."
Welcome to Boiler ball.
Two seasons ago, the bar was raised with a national championship game loss. Last season, that bar wasn't met after a heartbreaking last-second loss to eventual NCAA runner-up Houston in the Sweet 16.
In the offseason, the Boilermakers lost key pieces from the past two seasons and added more in hopes of clearing the final hurdle in April 2026.
Coach Matt Painter and staff went all in on the offseason.
Camden Heide transferred to Texas and Myles Colvin to Wake Forest. Brian Waddell departed, going to Bellarmine and Will Berg left for Wichita State.
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Purdue addressed its biggest shortcomings of a year ago, rebounding and rim protection, in the addition of Oscar Cluff from South Dakota State and the return of Jacobsen from injury.
Already with Antione West Jr. signed, Purdue also snagged Israeli point guard Omer Mayer as an added luxury and gets Jack Benter's production after he redshirted last year. If that isn't enough firepower, Liam Murphy, who shot 43.3% from 3 at North Florida last season, also transferred to Purdue.
The Boilermakers are viewed as a top-5 team by most who post an early top 25 projections.
Perhaps Purdue's greatest strength is its seniority. Last year's Big Ten Player of the Year and Bob Cousy Award winner Braden Smith joins Loyer and first-team All-Big Ten selection Trey Kaufman-Renn on a star-studded senior class that now includes Cluff and Murphy.
"We're obviously very excited to see what they can bring and go from there," Smith said.
The roster appears to have no weak spots, but winning requires more than talent. Purdue returns six players who started at least one game for it last season.
"That's what it feels like on paper," Kaufman-Renn said. "Obviously you've got to get everybody together and see what it looks like practically as a team. That's the biggest process is getting guys here, not as far as just playing, but just gelling with all the new guys.
"I think if that happens, like, I don't see why we're not the best team in the country."
