Freshman Daniel Jacobsen Makes Veteran Plays to Help Purdue Secure Win in Opener
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — You could feel the anxiety permeating throughout a sold-out Mackey Arena crowd. With 6:43 left to play in the second half, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Garry Clark hit a 3-point shot to make the score 70-67, slicing Purdue's 16-point halftime lead down to just three points. The Boilermakers needed someone to make plays.
How appropriate that Purdue had a 7-foot-4 center come through at the game's most pivotal stretch.
Following Clark's triple, Fletcher Loyer connected with Daniel Jacobsen on an alley-oop to push Purdue's lead back to five points. At the 4:03 mark and with the Boilermakers leading 77-69, Clark attempted a shot at the basket that was swatted away by the long, slender arm of Jacobsen. Braden Smith got a layup on the other end to get the lead back to double digits.
At 3:32 mark, Jacobsen made another big play, slamming home an easy dunk to give Purdue an 81-71 advantage, which essentially sealed the deal for the Boilermakers. The freshman scored two more points down the stretch, leading Purdue to a 90-73 win to start the year 1-0.
"It was probably the best minutes he's had here, I know we're just starting the season,"coach Matt Painter said of Jacobsen's play down the stretch. "I thought he did some good things for us, I thought he did some really good things. Something to build on for him."
In a matter of 40 minutes, Jacobsen showed some serious growth. When the pressure was on, the freshman didn't bat an eye. Instead, he scored six points and came up with a huge block to help his team secure an important victory.
Jacobsen ended the night with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
The freshman has played in just three games at Purdue — counting the two exhibition contests — but Painter says he plays like another former Boilermaker.
"He reminds me a lot, even though he's taller, of JaJuan Johnson at that age," Painter said. "A lot of people just think that you just show up and you're great. It takes time. He had some tough moments as a freshman and as a sophomore he was first-team All-Big Ten."
Jacobsen didn't single-handedly lift Purdue to a win Monday night. The Boilermakers gots 21 points from Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith posted a double-double with 12 points and 15 assists. Trey Kaufman-Renn ended the night 15 points and nine rebounds and Myles Colvin provided a spark off the bench with 14.
What stood out, though, was that Jacobsen didn't back down in a critical moment. He accepted the challenge, which is part of the learning process when you're playing big-time basketball in a big-time conference.
"I think for him, it's just getting used to playing in real games and not just practice," Kaufman-Renn said of Jacobsen. "Obviously, practice gets called a little different than the game gets called. Just him working, especially in ball screens with Braden and getting to his spots. As a big man at Purdue, he's got plenty of people to look at and learn from. He's done a terrific job."
Jacobsen still has a lot to work on before he transforms into an All-Big Ten-caliber player like those 7-footers that came before him at Purdue. The big thing, at least right now, is learning to play in the post when he's swarmed by the defense.
"The thing that he has to improve on is just getting into crowds," Painter said. "Catching the ball and being able to finish, catching the ball and being able to pass. Being able to take contact and be able to play."
Over the course of the season, Jacobsen is going to deal with plenty of ups and downs. That's part of college basketball. But in just one game, he's already showed his potential as Purdue's next great big man.
At the game's most pivotal juncture, the 7-foot-4 freshman played like a veteran.
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