How Purdue's Jack Benter 'Put Himself in Good Position' to Play After Redshirt Season
In this story:
Before summer workouts, Jack Benter may not have been a name many expected to hear very often from Mackey Arena's public address announcer. Over the last year, though, the Indiana native has put himself in a position to see the floor.
Benter, a 6-foot-6 product from Brownstown, utilized a redshirt year during the 2024-25 campaign, using it as an opportunity to improve his game. He's done exactly that, and now there's a good chance he gets onto the floor for a team with championship goals.
"He's put himself in a good position," coach Matt Painter said. "It's tough because our frontline and our backcourt have a lot of guys. It's a good problem for us."
When Benter arrived at Purdue, he was expected to play in the two and three positions, providing the team with depth around the perimeter. He can certainly still do that, but he's also capable of playing the four.
Benter developed physically during his redshirt season, which allows him to play multiple positions on the floor. The ability to move into the four spot really helped the Boilermakers during the summer, when Daniel Jacobsen and Oscar Cluff were off campus, and Liam Murphy and Raleigh Burgess were dealing with injuries.
"We really used him as a four in practice because all of our big guys were out, besides [Trey Kaufman-Renn], in the summer," Painter said. "So, we put him there, and he naturally did some really good things. He can put the ball on the floor, he can shoot from 30 feet, he can really pass the basketball, and he's competitive."
Yes, the Boilermakers are loaded in the frontcourt with Kaufman-Renn, Cluff, Jacobsen, and Kaufman-Renn, but Benter's development over the past year has him competing for playing time on one of college basketball's deepest rosters.
Benter's versatility is an asset
What makes Benter so playable isn't just his physical development. He's one of the more versatile players on Purdue's roster this season.
Painter mentioned all of the things Benter does well, but he's also capable of playing multiple positions. It's unlikely that they'd ever need him to bring the ball up the floor, but he has experience doing it.
It speaks to his ability to play multiple positions.
"Jack is a big guard; he played point guard in high school. Not all the time, but when I went to see him, he brought the ball up a lot," Painter said. "So, it kind of gives you a guy who you can slide into that spot who can give you some things that other people can't give you."
Carving out minutes on this year's Purdue team isn't going to be easy. Through a redshirt season and an impressive summer practice season, Benter has put himself in a position to play.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
CHALLENGES OF A DEEP ROSTER: Depth is generally a positive for a college basketball team. But it also creates some complexities, something Matt Painter talked about recently. CLICK HERE
PURDUE'S PRACTICE HIGHLIGHT VIDEO: On Wednesday, Purdue held its first official practice for the 2025-26 college basketball season. The creative team shared a highlight video from Day 1. CLICK HERE
EMBRACING CHAMPIONSHIP EXPECTATIONS: There are high expectations in West Lafayette. Matt Painter explains how Purdue is embracing the hype heading into the 2025-26 college basketball season. CLICK HERE
Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
Follow SchutteDustin