Matt Painter Envisions Bigger Role, More Production for Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn
Over the last two seasons, Trey Kaufman-Renn has been somewhat hidden behind Zach Edey's shadow. But with the 7-foot-4 center now in the NBA, the Purdue junior forward has walked into the spotlight with an opportunity to showcase his skills this coming basketball season.
Kaufman-Renn has seen plenty of court time in his career, playing in 74 games over the last two years. He started in all 39 of Purdue's games last year, averaging 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest.
But with Edey being the central focus of Purdue's offense the last two years, Kaufman-Renn's opportunities were sparse. That's the burden of playing with a two-time National Player of the Year — if that's even the proper word to use.
Entering the 2024-25 season, coach Matt Painter believes Kaufman-Renn has all the skills necessary to be an All-Big Ten-caliber player. He said the junior forward is looking forward to his time to shine.
"He's really worked towards it and he's primed to have a couple really good years here. He works really hard," Painter said on the College Hoops Today with Jon Rothstein podcast. "The thing that I like the most about it is the flexibility that he'll serve us. He allows us to play smaller, he allows us to play bigger, just by being that undersized (center) or the traditional power forward."
Edey's departure likely means Purdue will make some adjustments to its offensive strategy this season. The Boilermakers still have two seven-footers in Will Berg and Daniel Jacobsen, but neither will clog up the low post as dominantly as the two-time All-American.
Painter believes Kaufman-Renn's versatility can be a true asset, allowing Purdue to play more of a "small ball" style if necessary.
"If he's that (power forward), you have Will Berg, Daniel Jacobsen as two traditional guys at 7-foot-2, 7-foot-3 at that position," Painter said. "You can throw Caleb Furst in there, too, and both of those guys together are like bookends. Cam Heide can come into the fray as an undersized (forward). Just that mix ... that flexibility is really going to help us."
This isn't the first time there has been rumbling about Kaufman-Renn potentially taking a big jump in his junior season. After a summer practice, the Sellersburg, Ind. product spoke confidently about the opportunities that are coming his way.
"It's a huge opportunity for me. I'm not stupid, I feel like if I got double the amount of touches I got last year or triple the amount of touches, I'd be one of the leading scorers on the team. I mean, respectfully, honestly,” Kaufman-Renn said after the team’s first summer practice.
“But we had an incredible team. So, it's one of those things where I'm proud of the roles I've been given, but this year I've gotta step it up and take advantage of the greater bulk of shots I'm gonna get."
Make no mistake about it, Kaufman-Renn will get more shot opportunities this season. Although his moments came infrequently, he flashed his potential a few times during the 2023-24 campaign.
Kaufman-Renn was marvelous in a Jan. 5 victory over Illinois, scoring 23 points while making eight-of-12 shots. In Purdue’s first two tournament games against Grambling and Utah State, the forward totaled 29 points and 15 rebounds in a pair of blowout victories.
Even Painter though that, given more shot attempts, Kaufman-Renn could've been one of the most productive players on Purdue's roster last season.
"He can score. He can score in a variety of ways. He can play with his back to the basket, he can play faced up," he said. "We're excited about it. We've always felt this way about him. When Zach left — I felt like he had a chance to be our leading scorer last year."
Kaufman-Renn had to wait a few years for his opportunity, but it's coming this season. Painter has all the faith in the world that his junior forward will embrace the moment.
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