Matt Painter Expects Big Jump from Purdue Center Daniel Jacobsen
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With Oscar Cluff no longer in the picture, Purdue's situation at the five spot is wide open. Right now, the successor appears to be Daniel Jacobsen, but redshirt sophomore Raleigh Burgess and incoming freshman Sinan Huan will both factor into the equation, as well.
For Purdue's success to continue into the 2026-27 season, Matt Painter says Jacobsen needs to make some improvements during the offseason. The 7-foot-4 center is coming off a year in which he averaged 5.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest.
"Daniel Jacobsen has got to make a big jump here for us," Painter told the For Pete's Sake podcast.
Jacobsen was Purdue's starting center to open the 2024-25 campaign, but a leg injury in the second game of the year sidelined the big man for the remainder of the year. Last season, he played behind Cluff, providing the Boilermakers with a lob threat offensively and a rim protector on the defensive end.
Last year, Jacobsen found himself in a unique situation. Purdue had multiple options at the center spot. Cluff provided the Boilers with great rebounding and a post scorer. Painter could also switch Kaufman-Renn into the five spot if he wanted to play small.
Those different lineups may have hindered Jacobsen's growth in his first full season. Although he logged almost 13 minutes per game, he was unable to play through his mistakes because of the options Painter could utilize.
"To be able to grow and develop, you've gotta be able to play through your mistakes," Painter said. "Everyone goes, 'Let him play through his mistakes.' Well, it's all in comparison; it's all relative. Who's there with you? At times, I didn't play TK as the undersized five ... then we'd get against certain people, and he would just wear people out if I put him at the five.
"When we did that more with TK, it's going to affect somebody, and it affected Daniel. Whether that's fair or not, that's the way it is. That's basketball."
Jacobsen will have more opportunities this season
As the Big Ten season wore on, Jacobsen's minutes declined. At times, it appeared as though the grind of a college basketball season wore down Purdue's backup big man.
Physically, Jacobsen must improve his strength to compete with some of the stronger post players the Boilermakers will face during the 2026-27 season. He has shown flashes of brilliance as a scorer and shot blocker, but must improve as a rebounder and withstand physical post battles.
With Cluff and Kaufman-Renn departing, though, Jacobsen will have more opportunities to work through those mistakes and carve out a bigger role for himself in Purdue's rotation.
"Now, he's going to have more of an opportunity," Painter said. "He stayed, he wants to be here, and I expect him to have a big year."
Purdue has developed big men into NBA-caliber prospects over the years. JaJuan Johnson, Isaac Hass, Caleb Swanigan, A.J. Hammons, Zach Edey and Trey Kaufman-Renn are just a few names who transformed into big-time players while in West Lafayette.
Could Jacobsen be the next in a long line of big men to have a high level of success at Purdue?
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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.
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