Purdue Freshman to be turns head at Team USA Camp

While the state of Indiana is watching cars round in circles, the future of Purdue bigs was in Colorado Springs, Colorado as part of USA Basketball's Junior National U18 Team Training Camp that began on May 23rd as it prepares to go from 30 invitees to a final roster of 12 players for the Men's U18 Americup scheduled for June 3-9 in Buenos Aires.

If early indications from camps are to be believed, Purdue commit, Daniel Jacobsen won't just be making the final roster, but likely a starting role as the 7-3 big man has shown the kind of mobility on the defensive end that made him an absolute must offer for Purdue coach Matt Painter.

Jacobsen has already survived the first round of cuts and doesn't appear to be in jeopardy of not participating on the upcoming trip.

Draft Express's Jonathan Givoney who has been able to watch the camp has frequently tweeted about the impact that Jacobsen has been making.

Jacobsen is an old fashioned unicorn. He is a big that can defend the rim at one end of the floor and stretch the floor at the other. Jacobsen is just the next of a long list of Purdue 7+ footers and his arrival on campus could be quite fortuitous for both parties.

Purdue's Zach Edey graduated this year and has entered the NBA Draft instead of taking his fifth COVID year.

That means that the big man role will be filled in by two knowns, Caleb Furst and Trey Kaufman-Renn, but will need either Will Berg, a 7-2 sophomore, or the freshman Jacobsen to step up and take important minutes. Purdue looks to be a team void of a natural shot blocker on the roster, so Jacobsen's defensive ability could earn him minutes right away with a good summer under Painter and big man coach Brandon Brantley. Another true freshman, Raleigh Burgess, will also have a chance to earn minutes alongside Jacobsen though one is likely to redshirt without enough minutes available for five bigs.

For those not familiar, Jacobsen spent his last year at Brewster Academy, a prep school that also had Aaron Wheeler as an alumni.

Here's a nice twitter thread of some highlights from our buddy Joe Jackson of Boilers in the Stands.