Oscar Cluff Explains How Purdue Prepared Him for Next Stage of His Career
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Oscar Cluff's first order of business when he arrived in West Lafayette was to help Purdue chase a national championship. It was his top priority in his final season at the college level. In that process, though, the Australian believes he developed into the kind of player who can perform at the next level.
Cluff earned a pre-draft workout with the Golden State Warriors last week, hoping to prove to the franchise that he possesses the skill set necessary to play in the NBA. The 6-foot-11 center was a solid prospect before arriving at Purdue, but he says his one year with the Boilermakers elevated his game to another level.
"They're an elite program. Everything they do is professional," Cluff told reporters following his workout. "Everything they've done has prepared me for the next step. I'm grateful for that. They're so elite in what they do."
In his lone season at Purdue, Cluff averaged 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds, helping the Boilers to a 30-9 record and a trip to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament. He had arguably his best stretch in the Big Ten Tournament, when he averaged 17.0 points and 9.5 boards per contest, leading Purdue to a tournament championship.
Along with the coaching staff's help, Cluff said playing alongside the trio of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn also helped develop his game. After all, those three players each received either a G-League or NBA Scouting Combine invitation.
"Just playing with guys like Braden, Fletch and TK. They're all high-level, elite players. NBA players," Cluff said. "Being able to play with them and learn from them and fitting my game in with theirs really [helped me progress] for the NBA level."
Cluff speaks on not pushing for one more season
When Purdue's season ended in the Elite Eight, there was a thought that Cluff could return to Purdue for one more season. Although he had just played his fifth season at the college level, two of those years were spent at the junior college level.
Cluff looked into the possibility of a court ruling in his favor and the NCAA allowing him to play one more year, but that dream ended pretty quickly after the season concluded in San Jose.
"Obviously, it would be nice to have another year. But, sometimes, when it's done, it's done," Cluff said. "You can chase that, but you're trying to change rules and trying to get around little things. It's not something that I needed to die on, if that makes sense."
As much as Cluff would have loved to play one more season for Matt Painter and the Purdue staff, it wasn't worth the time and effort to bend the rules.
Where can the big fella still improve?
Now that he's officially pursuing his dream of playing basketball at the professional level, Cluff knows there are a few areas of his game that need to be developed.
"I think I already know, whether I hear it from them or not," Cluff said. "The biggest steps and improvements I need are being able to guard on the perimeter, guard ball screens and being able to step out and extend my range. Those are my areas of emphasis this offseason."
Cluff proved he can defend the perimeter as a big man at the college level, but being able to do it in the NBA is a completely different task. Still, his recognition of where he can improve should be viewed in a positive light from teams at the next level, whether that's in the league or internationally.
Cluff will continue to work out throughout the summer, hoping to get an opportunity. Even if he doesn't hear his name called during the NBA Draft, there's still a chance he winds up on someone's Summer League roster with another chance to prove himself.
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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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