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Purdue Men’s Basketball: Now what?

On3 imageby: Brian Neubert03/30/26brianneubert

SAN JOSE — After Purdue’s season came to an end Saturday in Northern California, the Boilermaker program faces a reboot now that one of the great senior classes in school history is done.

Some short-term hot buttons as Matt Painter and Co. decompress, then turn all attention to what comes next.

THE ROSTER

Obviously, every school in the country ends its season and immediately turns its attention to who’s coming back and who might be leaving. Last year at this time, Purdue had a couple of guys with a foot out the door already and a couple of others who had decisions to make regarding their playing-time outlook.

Purdue may have a few players with the latter consideration to take into account, but there don’t seem to be any slam-dunk situations where moving on is clearly the sound decision from an opportunity perspective. Last year, there were.

Purdue loses a ton from this year’s roster, and that opens up a million minutes for those ascending up the ranks, regardless of where they might’ve ended this regular season.

The Boilermaker program is built largely on continuity and development, and there are guys on this roster who would be really wise to stick it out and keep developing in anticipation of a better opportunity to come right where they are at this moment.

TRANSFER ADDITIONS


Purdue already got its first priority when it landed power forward Caden Pierce mid-year to come in this summer and spend his final season of college eligibility at Purdue. But at least on paper, there are frontcourt considerations to take into account, as only Daniel Jacobsen and Raleigh Burgess are slated to return next season, provided no other interesting developments occur.

Purdue could really use some more size and physicality around the basket so as not to run the risk of falling off a cliff as a rebounding team, and for depth, obviously.

Adding Burgess into the mix could be impactful. Freshman Sinan Huan could factor in at center, but counting on a freshman isn’t always ideal.

OSCAR CLUFF


Purdue wants him back and he wants to come back. The question now is whether he can. That question remains to be answered by factors Purdue will now start digging into to see what it has to do to get him another year, potentially.

Cluff said he doesn’t want to circumvent any rules to come back to Purdue, but that he would like to return. There are ongoing court cases to be settled that could lay a precedent that could create a pathway to Cluff coming back another year, but whether or not he would be willing to hire an attorney and actually fight for that year remains to be seen.

There’s just not enough information right now to make any sort of projection as to whether or not Cluff can come back for another year at Purdue. If he does, the portal topic outlined above becomes less of a thing.

THE COACHING STAFF

It is quite possible that there could be changes to Purdue’s coaching staff. Assistant coach Terry Johnson has been in the market for a head coaching job for a few years now, and while that market might be drying up as the carousel turns, that doesn’t mean there couldn’t be another move between this and that.

Beyond that, we know that both Purdue graduate assistant coaches, Carson Barrett and Isaiah Thompson, have run their course in their two-year GA terms and will need to be replaced by fresh faces. Keep an eye on former Boilermaker Lance Jones for one of those spots. Considering Purdue’s seniors all figure to get professional playing opportunities, the chances of a player moving right into a GA role appear unlikely, but Painter really values having players’ contemporaries in those roles.

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