The first transfer portal addition of the off-season for Purdue basketball is a big one. Literally. Matt Painter and the Boilermakers landed a commitment from former South Dakota State center Oscar Cluff, on the heels of his visit to West Lafayette on Sunday.
The Boilermakers edged out Iowa State to land what is widely regarded as one of the top available transfers to enter the portal this cycle.
Cluff will play for his fourth school since coming to the United State from Australia to play his college basketball. The 6-foot-11 Aussie began his college career at Cochise College in Arizona, before heading to Washington State for the 2023-24 season. He then transferred to South Dakota State last season and broke out for the Jackrabbits.
The Summit League First Team selection averaged 17.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, while shooting 63.4% from the field. Cluff excels in the low post, which fits the mold Matt Painter likes out of his centers, playing with his back to the basket. While that may be his strong suit, Cluff has also shown the ability to space the floor and knock down midrange jumpers and even stretch to the three-point line on occasion, where he was 4-6 this season.
That skillset could come in handy as Cluff looks to slide into the rotation next to All-Big Ten First Team big man Trey Kaufman-Renn in the post for the Boilermakers.
While Cluff's offensive pedigree made him one of the top centers on the transfer market, his rebounding could be most valuable as he prepares to join the Boilermakers this summer. Purdue struggled in the rebounding department, ranking 124th in offensive rebounding percentage and 175th in defensive rebounding percentage, via Kenpom.
Oscar Cluff should improve those marks considerably. The now former South Dakota State big man ranked fifth in in offensive rebounding and first in defensive rebounding in the country, according to Kenpom, while averaging the second most rebounds per game in college basketball this season. In those same categories, Purdue had two in the top 175 of offensive rebounding (Trey Kaufman-Renn and Caleb Furst) and one in the top 500 of defensive rebounding (Camden Heide).
Cluff becomes the first addition to the roster this off-season and will join forces with Daniel Jacobsen, who will be back in action after missing all but two games due to injury during his freshman year. That duo could also help Purdue's interior defense efforts, which was another point of emphasis for the Boilermakers this season. Cluff was also a Summit League All-Defense selection for South Dakota State and he will bring that pedigree to pair with Jacobsen's shot blocking ability at 7-foot-4 to form a formidable duo to defend the rim.
Cluff becomes the first portal addition for Matt Painter and company since Lance Jones in 2023 and just the fifth since 2018, joining David Jenkins Jr., Evan Boudreaux and Jahaad Proctor.
Purdue now has four scholarships open for next season with the addition of Cluff.
