Washington State<\/a>, 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\nNo one is going to confuse Cluff for Zach Edey. Zach\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
Coach Painter didn\u2019t bring in an elite shot blocker, but rim protection isn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
When a guard turns the corner this season, they\u2019ll be met by a 6\u201911, 260-pound Australian who somehow looks bigger than his listed size. I\u2019ve 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\u2019s 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\u2019m not sure anyone who tries will enjoy the result.<\/p>\n
Purdue\u2019s downfall last season was defensive rebounding. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s not often discussed, but Trey isn\u2019t 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\u2019s defensive rebounding rate was 28.9% in 2022, and Jaden Ivey\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019re concerned Cluff\u2019s board work won\u2019t 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\u2019t enough to avoid an 85-69 season-ending loss.<\/p>\n
Purdue can\u2019t win a national championship if it gets crushed on the glass, and Cluff immediately fixes that problem. In several games last season, the Boilermakers\u2019 problem wasn\u2019t getting stops; it was rebounding the ball after they got a stop. While the interior defense wasn\u2019t great, it looks much better when you\u2019re not giving the other team tip-ins and put-back dunks. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Cluff on Offense<\/p>\n
Part of the Cluff \u201cfit\u201d equation that people overlook is his high skill level on offense. If you\u2019re 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\u2019t want one of the most efficient offenses in America gummed up by a center who isn\u2019t skilled or experienced enough to handle the offensive responsibilities at Purdue.<\/p>\n
Take a player like Moustapha Thiam, for example. The 7\u20191\u201d, 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\u2019s IF he develops on offense. This Purdue team isn\u2019t about IF; it\u2019s about putting the best players around their core three studs and winning a National Championship NOW. Thiam is a good player, don\u2019t get me wrong, this isn\u2019t an indictment on his ability. He\u2019s a better shot blocker and rim finisher than Cluff will ever be, but he\u2019s still learning to play a game that Cluff has mastered. <\/p>\n
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\u2019ll expand the list to include the five highest-ranked post players in the portal according to On3 Sports.<\/p>\n
2025 Transfer Bigs Comps<\/p>\n
Player<\/p>\n
Height<\/p>\n
Weight<\/p>\n
Year<\/p>\n
% Poss Used<\/p>\n
ARate<\/p>\n
ToRate<\/p>\n
OR%<\/p>\n
Comp On3 Rank<\/p>\n
Player<\/p>\n
Height<\/p>\n
Weight<\/p>\n
Year<\/p>\n
% Poss Used<\/p>\n
ARate<\/p>\n
ToRate<\/p>\n
OR%<\/p>\n
Comp On3 Rank<\/p>\n
Oscar Cluff<\/p>\n
6’11”<\/p>\n
260<\/p>\n
Sr.<\/p>\n
29<\/p>\n
21.8<\/p>\n
15.8<\/p>\n
17.2<\/p>\n
15<\/p>\n
Jayden Quaintance<\/p>\n
6’10”<\/p>\n
225<\/p>\n
So.<\/p>\n
19.6<\/p>\n
10.6<\/p>\n
18.9<\/p>\n
11.8<\/p>\n
4<\/p>\n
Moustapha Thiam<\/p>\n
7’1″<\/p>\n
200<\/p>\n
So.<\/p>\n
17.4<\/p>\n
4.8<\/p>\n
14.3<\/p>\n
9.9<\/p>\n
12<\/p>\n
Owen Freeman<\/p>\n
6’10”<\/p>\n
220<\/p>\n
Jr.<\/p>\n
26.2<\/p>\n
9.6<\/p>\n
14.4<\/p>\n
9<\/p>\n
24<\/p>\n
Henri Veesaar<\/p>\n
7’0″<\/p>\n
235<\/p>\n
Jr.<\/p>\n
20.1<\/p>\n
11.3<\/p>\n
15.4<\/p>\n
12.3<\/p>\n
25<\/p>\n
Morez Johnson<\/p>\n
6’8″<\/p>\n
250<\/p>\n
So.<\/p>\n
17.6<\/p>\n
2.6<\/p>\n
13.6<\/p>\n
17.2<\/p>\n
40<\/p>\n
Out of the available transfer centers, Cluff was the best on the offensive end. Perhaps that\u2019s a bit skewed due to the level of competition, but the tape backs it up. I didn\u2019t include scoring, because that\u2019s 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\u2019t have to score to have a positive effect on the game.<\/p>\n
He is the best passing big man in the portal, and it\u2019s 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\u2019m 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. <\/p>\n
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\u2019s needs in some capacity.<\/p>\n
What About Spacing? <\/p>\n
That\u2019s been one of the biggest questions regarding Cluff\u2019s fit at Purdue. Last season, he hit four of his six attempts from three. In two years of college basketball, he\u2019s hit five of his seven three-point attempts. <\/p>\n
That brings up the age-old conundrum: does Cluff avoid shooting from the outside because he can\u2019t shoot, or does Cluff not shoot from the outside because he\u2019s 6\u201911\u201d, 260 pounds, and his job is to beat people up under the basket?<\/p>\n
The video that Purdue\u2019s 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\u2019t been allowed to do so. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s understandable. <\/p>\n
Why have your 6\u201911\u201d, 260-pound center, who happens to be the best offensive rebounder in college basketball, shooting from the outside when he could be rebounding?<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
His role for Purdue will be different. He won\u2019t be the primary scoring option at Purdue like he was at South Dakota State. In fact, with one exception (which I\u2019ll get to in a moment), the Boilermakers don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
I see nothing to indicate that he can\u2019t hit an open catch-and-shoot corner three if the defense attempts to cheat off him and clog the lane. He\u2019s 6\u201911\u201d with long arms. The defense isn\u2019t going to bother his release. It\u2019s a make\/miss proposition, and I think he\u2019ll hit that shot at a high enough percentage to keep the defense somewhat honest. I don\u2019t want Cluff taking a corner three to be a staple of the offense by any means. <\/p>\n
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\u2019t mind an occasional wide-open Cluff set shot from the deep corner. It\u2019s one of the easier shots in basketball, and he\u2019s skilled enough to hit it. I\u2019ve loved big men who can shoot since Kevin Pittsnogle, and hope Oscar can scratch that basketball itch for me.<\/p>\n
Outside shooting, however, isn\u2019t the only way to keep a defense honest. Oscar\u2019s 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\u2019t stay at home, Oscar is going to swoop in and dominate the offensive glass. I\u2019ll have another article illustrating the spacing I\u2019m referring to at some point this summer, but my thought is that teams won\u2019t want to give Cluff free rein on the offensive glass. <\/p>\n
If his man stays home to defend the high pick and roll with three defenders, it\u2019s going to be tough to get a body on him, and here\u2019s the deal: you\u2019re not keeping Oscar off the glass with a guard or a wing; you\u2019ve got to put a big body on him at all times. Furthermore, I like Trey\u2019s ability to hit floaters and push shots mid-lane off the short roll more than his ability to finish at the rim. If Cluff\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The same goes for Braden. If the other team wants to zone up the lane to stop roll, it\u2019s an open invitation for Smith to get to his pull-up elbow jumper. More often than not, it\u2019s going to drop, but if it doesn\u2019t, Cluff is going to crash the glass in a way Purdue hasn\u2019t seen since Biggie. In my humble opinion, Cluff\u2019s elite rebounding paired with his ability to function in Purdue\u2019s complex offense is the reason Coach Painter zeroed in on Cluff early and made him an offer he couldn\u2019t refuse.<\/p>\n
One Last Thing<\/p>\n
We often evaluate college basketball teams in terms of the \u201cbest-case scenario.\u201d As we all know, things happen during a basketball game that are not involved with the \u201cbest-case scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n
I previewed every Purdue game from the opponent\u2019s perspective last season. I\u2019m 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\u2019s 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\u2019s like he needed to give away a stupid foul before he could get into the flow of the game.<\/p>\n
The same thing applied to illegal screens. I feel like the refs cracked down on Trey late in the season because Purdue\u2019s 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\u2019m 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\u2019s going to get called for some fouls.<\/p>\n
Trey finished ten games with four or more fouls last season and fouled out of three. <\/p>\n
Purdue\u2019s record in those games? <\/p>\n
4-7<\/p>\n
That includes the losses to Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament<\/a> and to Houston in the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\nA significant part of Purdue\u2019s interior issues last season was that Purdue simply didn\u2019t 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\u2019re at their best when he\u2019s running the show.<\/p>\n
Cluff changes the TKR foul dynamic.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t 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\u2019s not in Purdue\u2019s best interest to run the offense through Cluff like South Dakota State did. Let\u2019s face it, he\u2019s good, but he\u2019s not Braden or TKR good, and that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
I have no problem with Oscar doing his best Zach Edey impersonation for 5-10 minutes a game. It\u2019s not like Braden and Fletch don\u2019t already know how to play with a post-up big. It wouldn\u2019t 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, \u201cHow does Liam Murphy fit into the lineup?\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019t Zach (no one is), but he did shoot 62% from two as his team\u2019s primary scoring option last season and was the 32nd-best player in the nation at drawing fouls. When he gets to the line, he\u2019s a 78% free-throw shooter. If you surround him with Murphy and any combination of Loyer, Harris, Smith, Cox, or Mayer, he\u2019s going to be a problem. Purdue has one of the best (if not the best) collections of shooters in the nation, and there aren\u2019t many Big 10 centers who can physically hold up against him in the post-one-on-one. <\/p>\n
Oscar won\u2019t be featured in the post like he was at South Dakota State. He\u2019s at Purdue because he\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
This season, instead of a frontcourt featuring Furst and Heide\/Colvin trying to take up the slack when TKR isn\u2019t on the floor, Purdue can turn to proven low-post scorer Oscar Cluff and a proven wing gunner in Liam Murphy. I\u2019m 100% serious when I say that I\u2019d 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\u2019s how much confidence I have in Cluff (and Jacobson, who brings something different but equally valuable to the lineup).<\/p>\n
In Conclusion<\/p>\n
I think Oscar Cluff is the perfect center for this team. To hell with the haters. I\u2019m backing Painter\u2019s play on this pick-up. <\/p>\n
I see the vision, and it\u2019s beautiful. <\/p>\n
Purdue\u2019s opponents will find it horrifying.<\/p>\n
This may be the most excited I\u2019ve 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\u2019m laying down my marker.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s National Championship or bust this season, and the addition of Oscar Cluff will help get the Boilermakers over the hump.<\/p>\n