Why Mick Cronin Has 'Great Respect' For Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn
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When Purdue's basketball season started, Purdue senior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn missed the first two games due to a hip injury. After seeing him play up close, UCLA coach Mick Cronin is convinced the Boilermaker star is still battling through some pain.
Kaufman-Renn scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out five assists in Purdue's 69-67 loss to UCLA on Tuesday night. It was a bounce-back night for the senior forward, who finished Saturday's game against USC with just five points and three boards.
Cronin was particularly impressed with the way Kaufman-Renn battled in the post, but he doesn't believe he has fully recovered from the hip injury. The UCLA coach said he could tell by the way the forward moved up and down the court.
"Kaufman-Renn, that dude is a warrior, man. Dude is a warrior. He goes after the ball like nobody else," Cronin said after the game. "His hip ain't right, he's just playing through it. I mean, I'm seeing him run in person, that kid is playing [hurt]. In a different situation, he'd be out."
Kaufman-Renn has only missed two games this year and remains a key piece to Purdue's success. He's averaging 12.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest. He's also shooting the basketball at a 55% clip.
The reason Cronin says he has tremendous respect for Kaufman-Renn? He believes that, in today's era, a lot of players in his situation would sit this season out and attempt to get another year of eligibility from the NCAA.
"Some of these kids who are taking the year off so they can get another year of NIL, so I respect him," Cronin said. "Much respect for him. He hurt that hip early, and he could have done that, just so Purdue had to pay him next year, but he's trying to win a title with his buddies. And when everybody was tampering with Braden Smith, he didn't go in the portal. So I have great respect for the guys on their team."
Cronin's respect for Painter
Kaufman-Renn wasn't the only individual wearing the black and gold who received praise from Cronin following Tuesday night's game. The UCLA leader also spoke highly of coach Matt Painter, another longtime college basketball figure whom Cronin considers a friend.
After UCLA's win, Cronin praised Painter's character, saying he's one of the few people in the sport with "honor."
"Matt's a great guy, one of the few guys with honor in our profession. Tremendous guy," Cronin said. "One of the few guys that doesn't tamper, has never cheated a day in his life. Some kid, talking about transferring and he calls you and tells you that his agent or parent called you. We've been through this a lot, me and him."
Both Painter and Cronin have been coaching for more than 20 years and have seen several changes in college basketball during that span. But Cronin said Painter is one guy who hasn't changed much.
So, even though the two individuals were competitors on Tuesday night, it's clear how much respect Cronin has for Painter and the program he has built in West Lafayette.
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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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