WEST LAFAYETTE — After spending the better part of three seasons in Washington, South Dakota and Indiana, even an Australian such as Purdue basketball’s Oscar Cluff must be accustomed to the cold, right?
Guess again. While Groundhog Day is a purely American phenomenon, the Boilermakers big man experienced his own version this week.
“I’m just counting down the days until it gets warm again,” Cluff said. “I looked outside today and it was snowing again and I was like, it just keeps going!”
Cluff could have picked a warmer climate in which to continue his basketball career. The Boilermakers are glad he chose West Lafayette, both for his expected rebounding impact and other contributions which enhanced an already highly efficient offense.
He leads the nation in KenPom’s offensive rating, ranks second in offensive rebound percentage, possesses the Boilers’ fourth-highest assist rate and ranks in the top 40 nationally in turnover percentage.
“He’s been everything we needed and more,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
Depending on what happens in a Tennessee court room next week, Cluff may have the choice of enduring another Indiana winter.
Cluff spent two seasons sweating in the desert at Cochise College before his chilly winters at Washington State and South Dakota State. When Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia received a temporary injunction in December 2024 to not have his junior college years count against his Division-I eligibility, the NCAA granted a blanket waiver for such athletes while appealing the ruling. That waiver allowed Cluff the year of eligibility he is using at Purdue.
Last week, Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar was granted a temporary restraining order as he also seeks additional eligibility. Aguilar spent a redshirt season at one junior college, City College of San Francisco, and played two seasons at another, Diablo Valley.
If Aguilar is granted a fourth year of Division-I eligibility, it could open the door for Cluff to use one as well. The 24-year-old has not decided whether he would take that option if it became available. Yet it intrigues him enough that he knows rulings could begin coming as early as Tuesday.
“I’ve worked 40-50 hour weeks and I’ve done all that,” Cluff said. “Coming back to college, it’s nothing like that. Basketball is still pretty intense, but it’s way more relaxed than working in a factory or whatever. It’s not fun.”
Oscar Cluff has been a perfect transfer fit for Purdue basketball
Painter developed a reputation for transfer portal abstinence. You can blame his occasional grumbles about a culture in which players jump too quickly rather than pushing through adversity.
In reality, shrewd portal pickups keep showing up as crucial to Purdue success.
Rapheal Davis and the freshman class receive a lot of praise for leading the program back to the NCAA tournament in 2014-15. However, it probably does not happen without Colorado State grad transfer Jon Octeus. Johnny Hill, Spike Albrecht, Evan Boudreaux and David Jenkins filled important roles for March Madness teams. Lance Jones came in from Southern Illinois and started all 39 games of the run to the 2024 national championship game.
All came to Purdue to fill a singular positional or operational need. Cluff, after leading the nation in defensive rebounding at South Dakota State, followed that tradition. Purdue ranked 176th nationally in defensive rebounding percentage last season. Painter saw a team with potential for another deep postseason run hit a ceiling in part because it failed to carry its defensive stops to completion.
Cluff’s work on the glass alone made him the primary solution to the Boilermakers’ most critical vulnerability.
“The rebounding would have been enough,” Painter said. “Sure, you want more than that, but the rebounding would have been enough after you swallowed that pill last year and you had to live through it.”
Other Boilermakers expected Cluff to show up and dominate the boards in summer practices. Other aspects of his game, though, caught them by surprise.
Despite being one of the few players on the floor with no experience in the system, Cluff quickly fit in offensively. He ranks 10th nationally with 74.6% shooting on 2-point attempts. His offensive rebounding acumen helps, but he also possesses a creative low-post game and ability to create scoring opportunities one on one.
Those talents draw extra attention, often in the form of an extra defender helping down to limit Cluff around the basket. As far back as last summer, he used those opportunities to show up his passing skills.
Cluff credits the rugby he grew up playing in Australia and the coordination he acquired while learning to lead teammates with passes.
“It’s just something you don’t expect a big man to be able to do, having not played with him,” senior guard Fletcher Loyer said. “Whether he was getting double-teamed or whether he was just in the post finding cutters, he helped his open gym team win games immediately.”
To some extent, all of the above showed up in Cluff’s prior work. Yet he made massive strides in one other factor on offense.
Cluff has not turned the ball over in the past three games. It’s the fourth time this season he’s gone at least back-to-back games without a turnover. His only two-turnover game came Dec. 13 against Marquette. It came on the same day he went 9 for 9 from the floor, 4 for 4 at the free throw line and grabbed 11 rebounds.
After posting turnover rates of 18.6 and 15.8 in his first two Division I seasons, Cluff sits at a sparkling 7.0 through 22 games. His 11 turnovers match his total from his first give games at South Dakota State.
“He keeps things simple,” Painter said.
How Oscar Cluff would fit Purdue basketball next season
Painter sees in Cluff some of the same qualities he saw in former Purdue walk-on-turned-starter Grady Eifert. Neither grew up with prospect hype. Both evolved with an appreciation and gratitude for every opportunity they encountered.
At age 24, one might assume Cluff is ready to get on with his life. For him, though, the working world is not a theory.
Cluff used to rise at 5:30 a.m. before heading to his skilled trade job welding and bending metal – yes, they call them “Boilermakers” back home. He would work until 2:30, then head to the gym. After that, a late basketball practice before a 45-minute drive home. Getting home around 8:30 or 9 p.m., his head soon hit a pillow so he could repeat the process.
“Sometimes I wake up and I’m like, I don’t really want to go to practice,” Cluff said. “But I’m like, ‘Oh well, I could be waking up at 6 a.m. to go sit in a factory for eight hours, and I’m not doing that. So let’s go enjoy it.’”
So regardless of Indiana winters, the idea of spending another year at the college level appeals to Cluff. Being able to make an income via revenue share and name, image and likeness deals also helps. Players no longer need to leave college with eligibility on the tale in order to make a living at their sport.
Another year at Purdue also would allow Cluff to complete – and pay for – his masters program in sports management.
At the same time, Cluff is not a young man even by the rapidly aging standards of college basketball. He also feels the pull to move on with his life. He envisions earning an invite to the NBA Summer League, trying to latch on to an organization there. He almost certainly can establish a long career overseas.
Cluff said he has not spoken with Purdue’s coaches in-depth about the possibility of another season. (He said he “most likely” would use that still-hypothetical year of eligibility in West Lafayette.) No reason to make concrete plans in a still-fluid situation.
Purdue could use him next season, though. Trey Kaufman-Renn’s departure removes an All-Big Ten caliber player from the frontcourt mix. While Painter continues to pursue former Ivy league Player of the Year Caden Pierce as a one-year replacement, competition for his transfer commitment remains fierce.
Cluff and Daniel Jacobsen currently combine for one of the nation’s more productive center tandems. It would allow redshirting Raleigh Burgess to spend more time at the 4. It would lessen the need for immediate impact from incoming 7-footer Sinan Huan.
Of course, at least one court case in Tennessee needs to go his way. When Pavia first sued the NCAA, the organization granted a blanket one-year waiver for all former junior college players. It is not yet clear whether rulings in the Pavia or Aguilar cases could apply to other players, or if Cluff would need to pursue his own relief.
As of Thursday, he did not even have an agent. That and any considerations about next season will wait until this one is finished. He came to Purdue to help this team reach its potential first and foremost.
“When you’re going year to year, everything happens quick,” Cluff said. “So I’m not going to start worrying about it until that time.”
Neither will Purdue. Cluff’s arrival already addressed one of their biggest worries – and then some.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Oscar Cluff has made big impact on Purdue basketball, and could next season
Reporting by Nathan Baird, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
