Purdue Basketball Off Season Homework: Oscar Mayer

The incoming freshman already has high expectations given his recent track record of producing in some tough leagues in the last two years

Purdue Boilermakers’ Head Coach Matt Painter knew what he needed when he targeted Omer Mayer out of Israel. This will be Braden Smith’s final season in West Lafayette and that is going to leave a massive hole for the 2026-2027 season and finding a potential solution to that problem now is easier than scrambling later. It also may have tipped Painter’s hand when it comes to how they see CJ Cox moving forward as well.

Mayer is a bigger point guard at 6’4 and 215 pounds as an incoming freshman. That is going to be a very different look than what Purdue has been used to having following years of PJ Thompson, Isaiah Thompson, Eric Hunter Jr., and Braden Smith. Yes, I know Hunter Jr. was 6’3 but he only ever weighed 170 pounds. Mayer comes in looking more like he could start at free safety for Barry Odom than point guard for Matt Painter, and that’s a good thing.

Mayer has played at some higher level basketball over in Europe and Israel but when placed against his peers has really shown what he is capable of. At the Nike Basketball Summit, Mayer flashed what Matt Painter values in a point guard. Being a high level facilitator to open up scoring opportunities for teammates, taking care of the basketball, using ball screens at an elite level, and having a jump shot that can make defenses pay if they go into drop coverage.

So what can Mayer do this summer to prepare himself for the grind of a B1G basketball season? Assignment number one should be attaching himself to the hips of Braden Smith and PJ Thompson any time he can. Mayer is going to have one of the conference’s greatest point guards at his disposal as soon as he steps full time onto campus and that needs to be a point of emphasis for him. He also has one of the most well regarded young coaches in the country in Thompson, who was a damn good point guard himself, to learn from.

The second thing Mayer needs to learn is likely what is going to get him playing time this upcoming season more than anything: defense. Mayer is obviously a skilled and gifted offensive player and that immediately jumps off the page when you see him. What he is going to have to do is show he can provide value on the defensive end in a similar way that Myles Colvin did last season. Mayer is not likely to take many minutes from Smith next season, but he can steal some here and there from Loyer and Cox and play alongside Smith.

In that regard, learning to play alongside Smith and becoming a guard that can handle the ball to allow Smith opportunities to play off the ball would prove invaluable. That is going to come from just getting into the gym and acclimating himself to how the guys at Purdue play. Placing a player of Mayer’s size next to Smith seems like a great idea on paper, but it means nothing if there is the chemistry there. From all accounts, Mayer sounds like a guy who understands and wanted the culture that has been developed at Purdue. Now, more than anything, it is going to be about imbedding himself into the culture as much as possible between now and November when games start up.