Breakdown: New Purdue transfer Oscar Cluff

Purdue got its man Monday night, landing its apparent top transfer target to fill a position of urgent need: Center Oscar Cluff from South Dakota State.

Below, a comprehensive look at the new 6-foot-11, 260-some-pound Boilermaker big man based off several of his games this season for the 20-win Jackrabbits.

First some numbers (per KenPom and Synergy Sports) …

• Cluff was one of the best rebounders in college basketball this season, No. 1 nationally in defensive rebounding percentage (32.4) and No. 5 in offensive rebounding percentage (17.2) and second nationally at an average of 12.3 total rebounds per game.
• With Cluff patrolling the interior, South Dakota State allowed the lowest offensive rebounding percentage in college basketball, at 21.6 percent. Purdue was 31.8 percent this season, 123rd nationally.
• In a loss at powerhouse Alabama this season, Cluff went for 21 points and 15 rebounds, seven of them on the offensive glass.
• Offensively, Cluff shot 62 percent on two-point field goals, with a free throw rate of 55.1 percent — for context, Trey Kaufman-Renn was 42.8 percent — and shot a robust 78 percent at the line.
He drew 150 fouls this season and committed only 65.
Cluff was 4-for-6 this season shooting threes.
Cluff shot 53.8 percent on jumpers of any kind, per Synergy, and South Dakota State averaged 1.38 points per possession in those instances.
• As South Dakota State’s leading scorer, Cluff registered a plus assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.29.

CLUFF ON OFFENSE

At South Dakota State this season, Cluff averaged a team-best 17.6 points, mostly as a traditional back-to-the-basket post-up player, though the Jackrabbits did use him facing up on the wings to let him dribble into post-ups, too.

The sparse ball-screen offense they ran under now-Drake coach Eric Henderson more often than not slipped Cluff into post-ups, where he relied largely on sweeping hook shots.

Cluff is right-handed and seems especially eager to get to his right-hand hook, but at close range, the left works, too.

There is some relevant pick-and-roll body of work here, too.

For a relative newcomer to basketball, having only played since he was 15, Cluff exhibits really solid fundamentals as a post scorer, understanding angles and positioning and how to present optimal targets for entry passes.

He can dribble a bit, too.

South Dakota State put Cluff in lots of dribble-handoffs on the perimeter, a Purdue staple.

This lift-out is not a play many of Purdue’s typical traditional center types could make.

Cluff boasts exceptional footwork.

And really solid, strong hands.

And like many international players, he has a cleverness to him in the post.

At Purdue, Cluff will be part of pretty dynamic offense, meaning he’ll be integral to complex screening actions and moving around a lot.

He seems capable.

Cluff wasn’t a high-volume three-point shooter this season — just six attempts, making four — and may not be at Purdue, but he sure looks good doing it.

CLUFF ON THE GLASS

What stands out about Cluff as a rebounder isn’t as much as his ability to overmatch people, but rather his motor. He rebounds all over the floor — not every big man does that — and goes after every rebound.

Cluff isn’t Zach Edey dimensionally — no one is — bit his reach is top-notch and he seems to have a natural feel for rebounding and contacting the ball higher than anyone else on the floor.

Cluff is good rebounding with two hands, but excellent, too, at tapping the ball around until he can secure it, kind of a natural in that regard.

This shows up on the offensive glass, too, as Cluff has a knack for having a hand at or above the rim tipping the ball around.

He’s not the quickest, most explosive player in college basketball, but he moves well enough to transition fairly cleanly from defensive posture to rebounding, suggesting his mind doesn’t stray very far from the glass normally.

This is former Purdue nemesis Cliff Omoruyi he’s rebounding against here.

The biggest thing, though, is that Cluff tries really hard.

As noted above, Cluff has a real feel for being active on the offensive glass.

Again, he’s not the bounciest guy out there, but his second jumps tend to be purposeful.

And his efforts to carve out offensive rebounding position go hand in hand with his sealing off rim-protectors to help his guards get to the basket, a really valuable skill Purdue bigs tend to be good at.

CLUFF ON DEFENSE

The 6-foot-11 center isn’t necessarily a game-changing shot-blocker like Daniel Jacobsen will be, but blocking shots and protecting the rim aren’t always the same thing, and Cluff may qualify as more the latter than the former, a textbook drop-coverage player suited to play the style of defense Purdue has run in recent seasons with “ultimate size.”

He’s certainly capable blocking shots, though.

He is not the quickest player laterally, but long enough to occupy a ton of space when trying to close off the lane in ball-screen defense.

Cluff isn’t terribly quick, but for such a big guy, doesn’t seem prohibitively slow, either.

Purdue probably won’t use him like this, but this is a very effective middle hedge here. Slow guys can’t do this. Note the fact too he ran the floor after and scored.

As is essential for low-post defenders, Cluff is hard to move.