Purdue Basketball: Omer Mayer – Day One Starter?

Omer Myer’s summer of international basketball ended against Italy in the U-20 quarter-finals. Let’s talk about where he fits on the roster.

I’ve been waiting for Omer to finish up his international duties with Israel this summer before writing this article. I wanted an adequate Mayer sample size before making any grand prognostications. Two days ago, I was listening to our good friends at Sleepers Media’s YouTube channel while trying not to suffer a heat stroke moving a pile of mulch in the mid-July Georgia heat, and they did a segment on a poll we conducted last week.

Seriously, folks, if you don’t already follow Sleeper’s Media, I highly recommend it for their Big 10 coverage. In a sports media world of hot-take artists screaming into my headphones, these dudes do an excellent job of straddling the line between information and entertainment. I don’t get any kickback for saying this, but it’s my go-to spot for college basketball…now back to the article.

The poll covered our expectations for incoming Israeli guard Omer Mayer at Hammer and Rails.

At the end of the segment, the co-hosts Deion and Carter make a fifty-dollar wager on Omer Mayer being an opening day starter for the Boilermakers. Deion has him as the opening day starter, and Carter is rolling with the Hammer and Rails readers.

I want to make the Hammer and Rails case for CJ Cox as the day one starter.

• First, and probably foremost, the early-season schedule is going to require Purdue to be good right out of the gate. The Boilermakers have three warm-up home games before hitting the road for a showdown with Alabama on November 13 in Tuscaloosa.

I’m a firm believer that Purdue is a great early-season team because they know who they are before other teams. The Boilermakers know precisely who they are with CJ Cox in the lineup. Omer is a baller, but Matt Painter knows what he’s getting from the soon-to-be 21-year-old Cox on the road in Tuscaloosa in November. The same applies to a game against Memphis and a potential matchup against Texas Tech in the Bahamas, as well as non-conference games against Iowa State, Marquette, and Auburn.

Painter didn’t mess around with scheduling this year. If everyone stays healthy, I have my expectations firmly set on another Final Four run, and that’s a much easier proposition with the overall number one seed in the tournament. The Midwest Regional runs through Chicago, and I love Purdue’s chances to make a Final Four going through the United Center. Otherwise, the Boilermakers are going to have to hit the road to either San Jose, Houston, or Washington, D.C.

If Purdue wants to play in Chicago with a chance to go to Indianapolis, they need to win most of these early games. If you reeeeally like this Purdue team and think they can do something historically significant (like going undefeated…I know crazy talk), starting the season with the same group that was a couple plays away from knocking off Houston in the Sweet 16 last year, with the massive upgrade of Oscar Cluff at center, seems like best way to win early-season games. If this returning Boilermaker group had a rebounder like Cluff last season, they’re at minimum an Elite 8 team, and a final four seems reasonable. I’m

Once Mayer is fully integrated into the team, he will raise the ceiling and may take the starting job; however, I think CJ’s experience and maturity will be more valuable in the starting line-up, at least initially.

• While all the summer talk has centered around Omer, and for good reason, don’t forget that CJ Cox is coming off a solid freshman campaign. He averaged 6 points, 2.8 rebounds, and .7 assists in his freshman campaign and gained a wealth of big-game experience. His stats aren’t eye-popping, but he was usually the fourth option. Even then, he had a couple of flashes of brilliance, including coming off the bench and burying Alabama with 11 points, including a couple of threes in rapid succession to blow the game open.

He shot 40% from deep on 33-83 shooting, had the best overall turnover rate in the Boilermaker backcourt, and hit 78% from the free throw line. Efficiency, thy name is CJ Cox, and from what I know about Coach Paint, efficiency is next to godliness in his book.

Mayer, on the other hand, while electric this summer, had a couple of real duds. Some of that was the other team focusing their game plan on shutting him down, but some of it was missing open shots and forcing bad shots. He also missed significantly more free throws than I expected.

If we’re talking higher upside, it’s Mayer all day, but CJ looks like the more efficient player in Purdue’s system. Omer will be more efficient for Purdue than he is for Israel. He won’t be asked to carry Purdue, and he’ll never be the top line on the opposing scouting report. Still, I’d like to see what that looks like on the court before turning him loose against Alabama.

• Mayer would give Purdue the juice off the bench that the Boilermakers were missing last season. I thought Colvin and Heide would provide that last season. I was wrong, and they’re no longer on the roster.

As mentioned above, CJ Cox had a couple of big scoring games off the bench, but those tapered off once he was inserted into the starting lineup and had to share the ball with TKR and Braden instead of being the fresh guy on the floor looking to get buckets.

Purdue doesn’t necessarily need another dynamic scorer on the court to start the game. There is only one ball, and Braden, Fletcher, and TKR are going to get their shots up. CJ Cox doesn’t need the ball in his hand and doesn’t need to get up shots. He’s content with his role being 40% spot-up shooter and tough defender. Mayer is a point guard; he needs the ball in his hands to be at his best. CJ is a true combo guard and may be a better fit with Braden and Fletcher in the starting lineup, at least early in the season.

I’d love to see Mayer inserted into the game after the second media timeout. I envision Braden moving off the ball, Mayer taking over at point guard, and Purdue hitting the gas in the mid-first half, with Mayer pushing the pace and Braden playing the role of finisher from the 12- to 8-minute mark. Then you can pull Braden at the 8-minute break, let Mayer run the show until the under-4, and get a fresh Braden Smith on the court to finish the half while getting Mayer experience running the show.

• I could see something similar in the second half, with Painter picking between CJ and Mayer down the stretch, depending on what the team needs in that particular game. Maybe Mayer grows out of that role by the time the Big 10 season rolls around, or maybe he’s excellent in that role and keeps Purdue’s offense from getting bogged down when Braden gets tired or TKR gets in foul trouble before transitioning into the starting point guard for the 2026-’27.
• Last, but not least, it might be better for Mayer’s overall development not to have the immediate pressure of starting. I know he’s already a pro, and maybe he’s built differently, but we’re asking an 18-year-old to move from Israel to West Lafayette, Indiana. It might take him a minute to get assimilated into the Purdue program both on and off the court.

There’s no reason to rush him along with CJ on the roster. He can take his time, and if he’s ready to start, Painter will make the move.

In Conclusion

The fun part about writing for Purdue is that we’re going to get the answer to this question. Coach Painter will do what’s best for the team. If Omer’s ready to start, he’ll start; if he’s not, Purdue will have a dynamic scoring option off the bench to start the season.

Either way, the Boilermakers, with Omer Mayer, regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench, are going to be a problem on offense, and I don’t think any team in the Big 10 has a solution. If you want to clip Painter’s group in ‘26-’27, you better be ready to put up 80+ to have a chance.