Purdue Basketball Practice Day 1: Trey Kaufman-Renn positioned well to thrive, Raleigh Burgess and more

Matt Painter may occasionally still slot star Trey Kaufman-Renn at center at times, flank him with a shooter and forward to turn the knife on primo offensive matchups.

More: Thoughts from Wednesday’s practice

But the majority of Purdue’s All-America candidate’s minutes now are going to come at forward, after he pressed into being almost exclusively a center nearly all last season. Being a center, though, and playing center are two different things.

Now, with the towering tandem of Oscar Cluff and Daniel Jacobsen carrying the center, Purdue’s leading scorer returns to a role flanking size, as he did as a sophomore, when he started every game next to Zach Edey for the national runners-up. It changes things, but only to a point.

“The bulk of what I do is still going to stay the same,” Kaufman-Renn said.

Spacing is a big deal for Purdue offensively, as is having personnel dynamic enough to move and cut. So bigger lineups come with pros and cons. But in this instance, for team and Kaufman-Renn alike, the pros should decidedly outweigh the cons.

He’s still going to be Purdue’s primary destination offensively in a loaded frontcourt. He’s still going to run pick-and-roll with Braden Smith, in which he was a terror last season making short-roll runners and occasionally driving past closeouts.

But now with 7-foot types rolling to the rim, as well, Kaufman-Renn’s dump-down passing opportunities should erupt. Purdue has worked on such situations extensively in practices. Between passing out of short-roll touches, high-low sets and moving the ball out of post double teams, Kaufman-Renn will be set up to shine as a passer in addition to a scorer.

“Hopefully people get to see how good a passer I am,” Kaufman-Renn said.

And rebounder.

The biggest benefit to Kaufman-Renn playing forward may lie on the glass, where he always expected more of himself last season than he was able to produce, spending the season wrestling with bigger players and constantly having to worry about foul trouble.

Cluff’s girth and motor and Jacobsen’s height and length will command blockout attention. Such things create gaps that opportunistic rebounders can hit. From Vince Edwards to Grady Eifert to Mason Gillis, Purdue 4 men who play next to legitimate size become really productive offensive rebounders, in particular.

“Personally, that’s what I’m most excited for,” Kaufman-Renn said. “When I’m playing against somebody who’s 50-60 pounds heavier than me, it’s hard to continuously try to box them out, then try to go rebound, too.

“Now, it’s the reverse. Some teams, their 4s don’t even rebound (by scheme) or I’m hitting a guy much smaller than me. I think I’m going to be one of the top rebounders in the league. That’s my goal.”

RALEIGH BURGESS’ RETURN

Wednesday marked the first full workout for Raleigh Burgess since last season.

Burgess underwent surgery on his lower right leg to repair a stress fracture in April and spent the offseason working his way back to where he could participate in practice with minimal interruptions.

“It felt great,” Burgess said. “Definitely still a little bit of ways to go in terms of my heart, my lungs, and just getting everything back in check. That comes with time.”

The 6-foot-11 sophomore appeared in 31 games, but his minutes were monitored once he experienced issues in his leg. The surgery took place about three weeks following the season-ending loss to Houston in the Sweet 16.

He spent most of the offseason lifting weights and working with Chad Young, the program’s associate director of sports medicine.

“We had an ongoing conversation, even when I was at home, about rehab and slowly working myself back into practice,” Burgess said. “It’s been a climb back to where I was before, but I’m feeling better now and a lot more comfortable.”

Burgess is part of a crowded group inside, which features Kaufman-Renn, Cluff, and Jacobsen. There’s also Jack Benter and Liam Murphy, both of whom will probably see time at the power forward spot, along with other positions.

Burgess would likely benefit from a redshirt season, but that’s not his focus as official practices begin.

“I’m just going to take every day one step at a time, and see what role I fall into,” said Burgess, who’s from Cincinnati. “I’m going to be happy with whatever that is, but I’m hoping it’s a bigger role. I think it’s about just being patient.”
— Mike Carmin

JACK BENTER STANDING OUT

Purdue may have to really work to find him minutes, but between forward and the backcourt, redshirt freshman Jack Benter is going to have a role now.

The redshirt freshman is regarded as a great shooter, but also a more-than-capable ball-handler and passer. His goal during his redshirt season was to optimize his body.

“He’s in much better physical position,” Painter said.

Today, Benter is 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, sturdier and better put-together than a year ago at this time. He didn’t just play the “power” forward position this summer, but he looked it.

“We just kind of put him there (out of need),” Painter said, “and he just naturally did some really good things. He can shoot to 30 feet, he can really pass the basketball and he’s competitive.

“He’s put himself in a good position, but it’s tough because our frontcourt and our backcourt have a lot of guys. It’s a good problem for us.”

When he plays the 4 this season, Benter might be a problematic matchup as an offensive player. The flip side is if he has to guard real power forwards, they’ll try to flip it on him.

But remember: Part of Benter’s initiation at forward this summer involved guarding Kaufman-Renn.

“You had to battle every day,” Benter said late in the summer. “It doesn’t get any better than guarding one of the best players in the country. I feel like my quickness can affect some of the 4s who try to post up, but just having to go in with the mindset of having to battle every day is going to make me better in the long run.”