ST. LOUIS — The last time Purdue men’s basketball fans saw Trey Kaufman-Renn, the senior forward was doubled over at the United Center scorer’s table, grimacing in pain after harming his left shoulder.
Fans attending Thursday’s practice at Enterprise Center saw the Boilermakers’ senior forward operating without restrictions. He said before practice there were no lingering effects from the championship game victory over Michigan which would prohibit him from playing in Friday’s opening round West Region game against Queens.
He said he tried to go back into the final minute of the 80-72 victory over the Wolverines. Kaufman-Renn classified the injury as something resembling a hyperextension.
“It’s good,” Kaufman-Renn said, “Kind of the same thing happened when we played Northwestern. But the next day it was perfectly fine.”
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Kaufman-Renn hurt the shoulder with 1:39 remaining. He went up for a shot which blocked by Aday Mara and got tangled up with guard Elliott Cadeau in the process.
He did not return to the game, with Jack Benter replacing him on the floor. However, that alignment proved beneficial in that stretch anyway, with Benter providing more of a guard’s skill set for handling the ball in the open court against pressure and hitting free throws.
Benter made four free throws in those final 99 seconds, and assisted on a dunk by Oscar Cluff which helped keep Michigan at arm’s length.
Benter, too, has played through an injured right wrist since the March 1 loss at Ohio State. He missed no games and played 24 minutes against Michigan.
By winning that game, Purdue moved up the seed line and, in correlation, moved to a site with first-round games on Friday. That allowed an extra day of rest and recuperation for the entire roster, as opposed to being back at practice Wednesday and on the court for a Thursday game.
“Any days that you can get days off, I feel like that really helps, personally, but also as a team just for preparation for the game,” Benter said.
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He added his wrist still hurts “quite a bit,” but the extra day of rest this week helped.
Kaufman-Renn averages 13.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 57.9% from the field. He keys lineup versatility against the unpredictable tournament field. He pairs with center Cluff in the starting lineup to create a rebounding force, but at times also plays center when a smaller look makes more strategic sense.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How are Purdue basketball injuries suffered in March? ‘Perfectly fine’
Reporting by Nathan Baird, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
