Men’s Hoops must reinvent itself offensively, but how much?

Purdue’s become one of the top offensive programs in college basketball in recent years, but will look very different this season.

Zach Edey is gone. Obviously, that’s an enormous void created, as Edey was Purdue’s foundation the past two seasons. Lance Jones‘ full-court explosiveness and long-range potency will be missed, also.

Reinvention is the heart of college basketball, though, and now Purdue must do so again.

The returning core is strong, highlighted by an elite point guard in Braden Smith, proven veteran Fletcher Loyer, ready-to-emerge big man Trey Kaufman-Renn and a couple of athletic and versatile wings bound for more.

“It’s going to be something new,” Smith said, “but nothing we’re not able to do.”

A quick look at some of the undercurrents as Purdue transitions offensively post-Edey.

PURDUE PICK AND ROLL

Purdue elevated itself to a new level offensively last season not because of Edey but because of the combination of Edey and Smith. With the sophomore point guard empowered to look to score off pick-and-roll, defenses were confounded and Edey fully weaponized to show the area of his game that’ll loom large Wednesday night as he’d drafted into the NBA.

That was a mutually beneficial a partnership as could be. Smith’s shooting and driving and passing savvy and Edey’s destructiveness complemented one another ideally and gave defenses no correct answers.

If Purdue has a player who can partner with Smith the same way this season, that remains to be seen, but there will be much to explore.

“When you’ve got a point guard like Braden, your offense moves,” Loyer said. “It’s going to be a good offense.”

Kaufman-Renn figures to now become Purdue’s destination player in low-post offense, so actions will be geared toward him. And he’ll be heavily involved in pick-and-roll; there’s significant overlap between the two areas, as post position and post entry often starts with a ball screen.

“I think a lot of stuff we ran we good action that created advantages for us,” said assistant coach P.J. Thompson, Purdue’s offensive coordinator. “Sometimes that advantage was just us getting an angle, playing off two feet and throwing it in to Zach. Now, some of those advantages are going to have to be scoring opportunities for our guards. But also still getting the ball inside.”

Kaufman-Renn is different than Edey, much different. He won’t be the same sort of battleship cruising down the lane, barreling into post-ups or menacingly looming over the offensive boards, but he can pick-and-pop from three — his off-season emphasis — and operate more out of shorter rolls, either for runners or rip-and-drive opportunities. Shown below.

“There was some stuff we didn’t do when Zach was here, reversing the ball through the 5 with the pass, playing out of short rolls,” Thompson said. “There was a lot of stuff we didn’t do, even though he was capable. We thought it was his strength being sent to the rim. We tried to stick to his strengths and our team’s strengths. But there’s some stuff that I’m excited to see if we can tap into.”

When Purdue hosted Illinois early in the Big Ten season, Edey got in foul trouble. Kaufman-Renn became the guy in a pinch. He scored 27.

“I don’t think it’s a situation where we have to throw everything out,” Thompson said, but I also don’t think it’s a situation where we can’t run a lot of the same stuff.”

Kaufman-Renn will play both center and forward. At center, generating space for him will be one of Purdue’s conceptual priorities.

Coach Matt Painter said Purdue may be able to play “five out” offense — more than ever, perhaps — with Kaufman-Renn, opening possibilities for this team to shoot a lot of threes or really be an effective cutting team.

It is too early to really project much, as big men Daniel Jacobsen, Will Berg, Raleigh Burgess and Caleb Furst all have chances this summer to earn their place.

It would seem likely that Kaufman-Renn will play some center — that doesn’t mean he has to play like one — but also at forward next to more traditional size like 7-footers Jacobsen and/or Berg.

WINGS CAMDEN HEIDE AND MYLES COLVIN

The two highly athletic sophomores may bookend in Purdue’s frontcourt, a lot if not primarily.

The possibilities there then suggest Purdue could really be formidable running the floor but also putting four or five shooters on the floor at all times.

But their screening, too, could come to the forefront, as it could benefit either of them to be in pick-and-roll actions themselves to force switches, to create opportunities for threes, angles to drive or dives to the rim, where both are high-end finishers. Wings in the NBA are often used as such. And in Purdue’s basic motion offense, more or less everyone winds up in such actions.

“There’s no reason they shouldn’t be able to set a pick, then roll, and create an advantage,” Thompson said.

FLETCHER LOYER

After spending his first two seasons playing more off others, things may change ever so slightly for Loyer.

An elite shooter, the junior will have the ball in his hands more this season.

“My mentality is to win,” he said. “Going out there and getting 20 or 15 or 10 or two, it’s about winning. But yeah I have to be more aggressive (now) and look to attack gaps more, get into closeouts more, but ultimately it’s just me playing my game.”

That means facilitating for others, too.

“He’s really good at playing off other people. He has to get better with his decision-making,” Thompson said. “Like, just because you run something for him to create an advantage for him, that advantage doesn’t always have to mean him scoring. If he can become a better passer, a better decision-maker and read plays better, it’ll open up all different kinds of things for himself and everyone else.

“He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve been around at this level. He doesn’t get enough credit for how intelligent he is, and he’s super, super mature and wants to be great.”