Purdue Basketball: The Center Question, What is Best for This Team?

Jacobsen is out, so, is the season long answer actually Will Berg?

We can interrupt the Purdue Football Coverage of this Friday Night Game for some basketball.

Right? I am sure there will be no arguments against that. To be honest, I am just ignoring today like there isn’t even a game.

So, Purdue Fans, we received exactly one game with the center of the future, Daniel Jacobsen. He provided rim protection, athleticism, and partially filled the giant void left by the 2x NPOY, Zach Edey.

After a broken leg, the center position is up for grabs. Will Berg has been given the nod since Jacobsen left the game against Northern Kentucky on the first possession of the game.

Since Will Berg entered that game, he has averaged 3.25 points per game, and 3 rebounds per game on 12.75 minutes per game. Not exactly the face of efficiency.

Against Alabama, Coach Painter used 10 different lineup combinations. The goal of most college coaches is to average above 1 point per possession, the starting lineup against Alabama had the lowest point per possession total of that game, with an abysmal 0.692 points per possession, that group of five had the second most possessions of the game, with 13 as well, setting Purdue back early on offense.

The most effective lineup with greater than 10 possessions that game was the lineup of Braden Smith, CJ Cox, Fletcher Loyer, Cam Heide, and Trey Kaufmann-Renn, that group scored 1.4 points per possession, the most of any group that had more than 10 possessions, which was four different combinations.

If you recall, Trey Kaufmann-Renn dominated the post against Alabama, causing fits for their post players, including former Rutgers’ thorn in the side, Clifford Omoruyi.

Renn ended his night with 26 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, proving to be the most effective post player that Purdue has on the roster.

So, why the hesitation to use Renn as the starting five if he plays most of his minutes there?

The thought of having our most impactful lineup start the game should be a major draw for Coach Painter, it seems like on Twitter, the fans would love to see more of Renn at the five.

Sure, it would be one of the smallest lineups that Coach Painter has ever had, but it is a group that can run and have our best post player on the floor while removing a couple of players who have struggled against other starters this year.

Harris, while a solid defender limits the Purdue offense, as well as Berg, who provides some rim protection but not much on offense.

For the Purdue offense, it is like laying 3 on 5 with the current starting lineup, and while one loss against a talented Marquette Team is not a cause to make massive changes, bringing Heide in, who is arguably the best rebounder on the team right next to TKR and Cox, who has proven he can shoot the ball, could allow Purdue to take early leads, rather than trying to crawl back after a small or large hole they are in.

If Purdue went to the lineup of Smith, Cox, Loyer, Heide, and Renn, it would still keep two ball handlers on the court and provide a boost of athleticism by getting Heide on the floor, who can also stretch the court offensively to allow more one on one matchups in the post for Renn.

Painter loves to have a 7-footer on the floor, but with the loss of Jacobsen, I am not sure the other one on the roster should start over someone like Heide, who can space the floor and rebound at a higher clip than he can, and it allows Renn to play the post, where he is a matchup nightmare with his fleet feet and finishing skills.