Purdue Basketball: Oscar Cluff has the Right Stuff for Purdue

There are some questions about how Oscar Cluff fits into the Purdue lineup. I’ve got 3,000 words on why I’m excited.

Hi folks, I was planning on writing about Gicarri Harris and his potential claim to a starting spot, or at least significant minutes, after some of y’all felt I was minimizing his role on the team. That article is still forthcoming, but according to a few of my well-placed sources, the internet has been abuzz with Oscar Cluff hype this week. Purdue’s social media team dropped not one, but two, meaty Cluff videos for ravenous Boilermaker fans to chew on this week.

While the videos have been a much-needed basketball oasis in the middle of this insufferable heat wave, it hasn’t been all Duane Purvis burgers and chocolate milkshakes for the big man from Australia.

There have been some rumblings about the TKR / Cluff pairing not being the most, shall we say, synergistic.

Brian Rauf of Basket Review talks about Purdue’s frontcourt fit in the above article. It’s behind a paywall, and I won’t give away any critical information, but it’s a fascinating look at how Matt Painter has handled big men rotations in the past. It’s a well-researched article if you’re looking for some more hoops content. I don’t necessarily agree with the conclusions because I think the addition of Cluff is significantly different from past Purdue front courts, and TKR is in no way anchored to the paint, but it was an interesting read.

College basketball analytics expert Evan Miyakawa put out a Purdue lineup projection and grade that includes Oscar Cluff. You’ll notice that the lineup features CJ Cox, not Omer Mayer or Gicarri Harris, but that’s a topic for another day.

Today is all about the Oscar Cluff.

Purdue came into the offseason in desperate need of an upgrade at center. We all know the story of last season: 7’4”, four-star freshman Daniel Jacobson was supposed to anchor Purdue’s back line, but went down to a season-ending broken leg in the second game of the season. Will Berg wasn’t ready for the assignment, leaving Purdue in a true front-court bind.

Caleb Furst stepped up and did some good things, but defending the rim was not one of those things. According to KenPom, only six teams had a block percentage worse than Purdue’s 5.1%, and you wouldn’t consider any of those teams particularly good at basketball.

Does Oscar Cluff fix the rim protection issue?

I’m going to hedge my bets a little on this and say that Oscar Cluff fixes the rim protection issue better than any other available center transfer with the requisite rebounding and offensive skill set needed to play for Purdue. Matt Painter was ordering off the top of the big man transfer menu; he could have gone another direction, but I understand why he went with Oscar.

First off, Cluff has been a serviceable, if not good, rim protector in his prior two seasons of college basketball. According to KenPom, in 2024 at Washington State, his overall block percentage of 4.5% was 211th nationally. Looking strictly at his Pac-12 stats, his 3.9% was twelfth overall in conference play. At South Dakota State last season, Cluff’s 3.6% block percentage was good for 347th nationally, and his conference block percentage of 3.2% was good for fourth in the Summit League.

No one is going to confuse Cluff for Zach Edey. Zach’s worst season, in terms of block percentage, was 2024, and he finished at 6.9%. At the same time, no one is going to confuse Cluff for Caleb Furst, who had a 1.5% block percentage last season, according to KenPom.

Coach Painter didn’t bring in an elite shot blocker, but rim protection isn’t just about blocking shots. Last season, when a guard turned the corner and saw Caleb waiting for him at the basket, his eyes lit up. There was a line of guards and wings dying for the opportunity to drop the hammer on the soon-to-be Dr. Furst.

When a guard turns the corner this season, they’ll be met by a 6’11, 260-pound Australian who somehow looks bigger than his listed size. I’ve watched a good bit of Cluff film from his time at South Dakota State and have witnessed numerous guards decide that discretion is the better part of valor when they run into Oscar. His size alone will give Purdue the backline anchor it desperately missed last season. He may not be an elite shot blocker, but he’s decent and takes up plenty of real estate in the lane. The line to throw one down on Cluff will be significantly shorter, and I’m not sure anyone who tries will enjoy the result.

Purdue’s downfall last season was defensive rebounding.

It’s not often discussed, but Trey isn’t a good defensive rebounder. You look at his physical makeup and playing style and figure he must be decent at cleaning the glass, but his 15.4% defensive rebounding percentage says otherwise. To put it in perspective, Trevion’s defensive rebounding rate was 28.9% in 2022, and Jaden Ivey’s was 15%. T.K.R. is closer to Jaden than he is to Trey as a rebounder. That was evident last season and cost Purdue multiple games. It eventually ended their season.

Cluff, on the other hand, led the nation in defensive rebounding percentage last season at 32.4%. It almost feels like bringing in Cluff is in direct response to the 16 offensive rebounds Purdue surrendered to Houston. If you’re concerned Cluff’s board work won’t translate to the Big 10, I have some comforting news. He hauled in fourteen rebounds against Boise State, nine against Colorado, and fifteen against Alabama last season. He tried to drag his team to a win in the Summit League quarterfinal against North Dakota, but 27 points and seventeen rebounds weren’t enough to avoid an 85-69 season-ending loss.

Purdue can’t win a national championship if it gets crushed on the glass, and Cluff immediately fixes that problem. In several games last season, the Boilermakers’ problem wasn’t getting stops; it was rebounding the ball after they got a stop. While the interior defense wasn’t great, it looks much better when you’re not giving the other team tip-ins and put-back dunks.

I guarantee Purdue finishes significantly better than 332nd in the nation in two-point percentage allowed with Cluff manning the paint and Daniel Jacobson backing him up.

Cluff on Offense

Part of the Cluff “fit” equation that people overlook is his high skill level on offense. If you’re going to be on the floor at Purdue, you have to function in the offense. That means you need to set screens, make the right passes, and be in the right spot at all times. Coach Painter doesn’t want one of the most efficient offenses in America gummed up by a center who isn’t skilled or experienced enough to handle the offensive responsibilities at Purdue.

Take a player like Moustapha Thiam, for example. The 7’1”, 230-pound transfer out of UCF (currently signed with Cincinnati) was the highest-ranked center transfer in the portal this offseason. His potential long-term ceiling is higher than Oscar’s IF he develops on offense. This Purdue team isn’t about IF; it’s about putting the best players around their core three studs and winning a National Championship NOW. Thiam is a good player, don’t get me wrong, this isn’t an indictment on his ability. He’s a better shot blocker and rim finisher than Cluff will ever be, but he’s still learning to play a game that Cluff has mastered.

The difference between Cluff and Thiam is evident when you look at their usage and assist rate from last season. To be fair to Moustapha Thiam, I’ll expand the list to include the five highest-ranked post players in the portal according to On3 Sports.

Out of the available transfer centers, Cluff was the best on the offensive end. Perhaps that’s a bit skewed due to the level of competition, but the tape backs it up. I didn’t include scoring, because that’s where Purdue needs the least help. What Matt Painter was looking for, and found, in Oscar Cluff was a guy who can score when needed, but doesn’t have to score to have a positive effect on the game.

He is the best passing big man in the portal, and it’s not a particularly close race. In terms of offensive rebounding, he was tied with Morez Johnson at the top. Long-term, Morez has a higher upside, but in terms of roster fit, I’m taking Cluff all day, every day if the goal is to win a national championship this season. The only center more comfortable than Cluff with the ball in his hands might be Own Freeman, but Cluff is a better offensive rebounder on his worst day than Freeman is on his best.

My point being, yes, there were centers in the portal that filled individual needs better than Cluff, but the big man from Australia filled all of Purdue’s needs in some capacity.

What About Spacing?

That’s been one of the biggest questions regarding Cluff’s fit at Purdue. Last season, he hit four of his six attempts from three. In two years of college basketball, he’s hit five of his seven three-point attempts.

That brings up the age-old conundrum: does Cluff avoid shooting from the outside because he can’t shoot, or does Cluff not shoot from the outside because he’s 6’11”, 260 pounds, and his job is to beat people up under the basket?

The video that Purdue’s social media team released last week showing him hit seven consecutive three-pointers, paired with his small but efficient in-game sample size and 78% free-throw average, leads me to believe that he can shoot, but hasn’t been allowed to do so.

That’s understandable.

Why have your 6’11”, 260-pound center, who happens to be the best offensive rebounder in college basketball, shooting from the outside when he could be rebounding?

South Dakota State had guys capable of hitting three-pointers, but no one on their roster could rebound like Oscar. Seems logical to let your shooters shoot and your rebounders rebound.

His role for Purdue will be different. He won’t be the primary scoring option at Purdue like he was at South Dakota State. In fact, with one exception (which I’ll get to in a moment), the Boilermakers don’t need Cluff to score. Matt Painter is not going to plunk him down on the low box and muddle up the Braden / TKR pick-and-roll. When the Boilermakers go to their bread-and-butter high-pick and roll, Cluff will be flexed out to the weak side corner.

I see nothing to indicate that he can’t hit an open catch-and-shoot corner three if the defense attempts to cheat off him and clog the lane. He’s 6’11” with long arms. The defense isn’t going to bother his release. It’s a make/miss proposition, and I think he’ll hit that shot at a high enough percentage to keep the defense somewhat honest. I don’t want Cluff taking a corner three to be a staple of the offense by any means.

As I mentioned above, why have Cluff shoot a three when you could have Braden or Fletch launch one instead and let Oscar chase down the occasional miss? In this instance, I don’t mind an occasional wide-open Cluff set shot from the deep corner. It’s one of the easier shots in basketball, and he’s skilled enough to hit it. I’ve loved big men who can shoot since Kevin Pittsnogle, and hope Oscar can scratch that basketball itch for me.

Outside shooting, however, isn’t the only way to keep a defense honest. Oscar’s offensive rebounding numbers are some of the best in college basketball because he is relentless and gets to rebounds outside of his area. If Painter flexes him to the baseline corner for spacing and his man doesn’t stay at home, Oscar is going to swoop in and dominate the offensive glass. I’ll have another article illustrating the spacing I’m referring to at some point this summer, but my thought is that teams won’t want to give Cluff free rein on the offensive glass.

If his man stays home to defend the high pick and roll with three defenders, it’s going to be tough to get a body on him, and here’s the deal: you’re not keeping Oscar off the glass with a guard or a wing; you’ve got to put a big body on him at all times. Furthermore, I like Trey’s ability to hit floaters and push shots mid-lane off the short roll more than his ability to finish at the rim. If Cluff’s guy pinches into the lane, looking to shut down the roll at the rim, I expect TKR to put one of his baby soft floaters, and Oscar will either watch it go in, put it in himself, or draw a foul.

The same goes for Braden. If the other team wants to zone up the lane to stop roll, it’s an open invitation for Smith to get to his pull-up elbow jumper. More often than not, it’s going to drop, but if it doesn’t, Cluff is going to crash the glass in a way Purdue hasn’t seen since Biggie. In my humble opinion, Cluff’s elite rebounding paired with his ability to function in Purdue’s complex offense is the reason Coach Painter zeroed in on Cluff early and made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

One Last Thing

We often evaluate college basketball teams in terms of the “best-case scenario.” As we all know, things happen during a basketball game that are not involved with the “best-case scenario.”

I previewed every Purdue game from the opponent’s perspective last season. I’m pretty sure I listed getting Trey in early foul trouble as a key to victory in each preview. The allure of hacking down on an opponent’s arm, 90 feet from his basket, while trying for a lost cause offensive rebound firmly secured by the opponent in the first two minutes of the game was too much temptation for TKR to resist last season. It’s like he needed to give away a stupid foul before he could get into the flow of the game.

The same thing applied to illegal screens. I feel like the refs cracked down on Trey late in the season because Purdue’s pick-and-roll was so deadly that all the opposing coach could do was scream at the ref to call a moving screen. As we all know, opposing coaches screaming at Big 10 refs tends to pay off. I’m not even sure Izzo has to yell for calls anymore; the refs hand him an auxiliary whistle before the game to streamline the process. When TKR sets the high screen, all eyes are on him, and the other coach is screaming for a foul if he so much as flinches. He’s going to get called for some fouls.

Trey finished ten games with four or more fouls last season and fouled out of three.

Purdue’s record in those games?

4-7

That includes the losses to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament and to Houston in the NCAA Tournament.

A significant part of Purdue’s interior issues last season was that Purdue simply didn’t have a physical presence in the post on offense or defense when TKR got in foul trouble, and he got in foul trouble, especially first-half foul trouble, more often than Purdue would have liked. When TKR was out of the game, Purdue became almost exclusively jump shot-dependent to score. Purdue can win with Braden shooting jumpers off the dribble, but they’re at their best when he’s running the show.

Cluff changes the TKR foul dynamic.

I don’t anticipate Oscar being the primary scoring option for this team this year, but it sure will be nice to have a viable post presence on offense when TKR is sent to the bench in the first five minutes of a game with foul trouble. It’s not in Purdue’s best interest to run the offense through Cluff like South Dakota State did. Let’s face it, he’s good, but he’s not Braden or TKR good, and that’s fine. He was brought in to rebound more than score, but having the option to feature Cluff in the post when TKR is off the court will be a huge relief this season.

I have no problem with Oscar doing his best Zach Edey impersonation for 5-10 minutes a game. It’s not like Braden and Fletch don’t already know how to play with a post-up big. It wouldn’t be hard to dust off the old Edey playbook and let our Aussie eat on occasion. I also see Cluff playing in the post as the answer to, “How does Liam Murphy fit into the lineup?”

When TKR gets in foul trouble, it would be the perfect opportunity to bring in Murphy as a stretch four and send Cluff to the block. Oscar isn’t Zach (no one is), but he did shoot 62% from two as his team’s primary scoring option last season and was the 32nd-best player in the nation at drawing fouls. When he gets to the line, he’s a 78% free-throw shooter. If you surround him with Murphy and any combination of Loyer, Harris, Smith, Cox, or Mayer, he’s going to be a problem. Purdue has one of the best (if not the best) collections of shooters in the nation, and there aren’t many Big 10 centers who can physically hold up against him in the post-one-on-one.

Oscar won’t be featured in the post like he was at South Dakota State. He’s at Purdue because he’s a menace on glass and is roughly the size of a Winnebago, but I could see him used in spurts as the primary option on offense when Trey goes to the bench. Optimally, that’s no more than 10 minutes a game, but 10 minutes is a quarter of a college basketball game. Those are minutes Purdue tended to lose last season. I vividly remember a couple of Purdue’s patented end-of-the-first-half crash-outs that were directly caused by Trey going to the bench with foul trouble. The Boilermakers would have a comfortable lead at the four-minute mark and be in a dog fight heading into the half. A four-minute segment of play erased all their hard work from the first sixteen minutes because Trey was on the bench.

This season, instead of a frontcourt featuring Furst and Heide/Colvin trying to take up the slack when TKR isn’t on the floor, Purdue can turn to proven low-post scorer Oscar Cluff and a proven wing gunner in Liam Murphy. I’m 100% serious when I say that I’d pick Purdue to win the Big 10 this season with a starting front court of Cluff and Murphy. I know that sounds crazy because TKR is a top-five player in the conference and one of the best in the nation overall. That’s how much confidence I have in Cluff (and Jacobson, who brings something different but equally valuable to the lineup).

In Conclusion

I think Oscar Cluff is the perfect center for this team. To hell with the haters. I’m backing Painter’s play on this pick-up.

I see the vision, and it’s beautiful.

Purdue’s opponents will find it horrifying.

This may be the most excited I’ve been about a Purdue team since I started writing at Hammer and Rails over a decade ago, and that includes the Final Four run. I’m laying down my marker.

It’s National Championship or bust this season, and the addition of Oscar Cluff will help get the Boilermakers over the hump.