• Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn has evolved into a decision-maker and passer.
• Kaufman-Renn averages 2.2 assists per game, a significant increase from previous seasons.
• Purdue is 10-2 when Kaufman-Renn has at least three assists in a game.

INDIANAPOLIS — Purdue basketball rode dominant center Zach Edey to last year’s Final Four.

If the Boilermakers get there again, they’ll need more than starting forward turned All-Big Ten center Trey Kaufman-Renn‘s team-leading 20.3 points per game.

To beat top-seeded Houston in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 on Friday, they’ll need Kaufman-Renn the evolved decision maker and passer.

“His biggest improvement is being able to stay calm and comfortable while having options,” said junior forward Sam King, tasked with defending Kaufman-Renn during practices. “Last year he struggled passing the ball out of the post. He got the ball and thought he had to score every time.”

Last year, Kaufman-Renn was a complementary post presence to Edey.

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Now the offense filters through Kaufman-Renn, who wasn’t sure he’d develop beyond his score-first mentality.

“That’s not a trait that I thought I was going to develop,” Kaufman-Renn admitted Thursday at Lucas Oil Stadium. “It’s just one of those things where there’s going to be people doubling me or we’re going to have open shooters that knock down a high percentage of shots, you’ve got to get it to them. You’ve got to get it to people who can score the ball.”

Trey Kaufman-Renn’s evolution as passer for Purdue basketball

Kaufman-Renn is averaging 2.2 assists after totaling 63 combined the previous two seasons. Against McNeese State on Saturday, his three first-half assists got the Boilermakers off to a hot start.

“He is always thinking score first so the defense has to respect that and they have to take that away,” senior Caleb Furst said. “Therefore, when they take that away, it opens up those passing lanes for him, opens up those skips, those kickouts for easy 3s.”

Kaufman-Renn’s advantage offensively has been his knack for manipulating defenders.

It’s not by accident Kaufman-Renn is shooting 59.9%.

“If you are resisting Trey, he’s going to be able to move and shift and spin,” King said. “Wherever you’re leaning against, he’s going to be able to use that to your disadvantage to get to where he wants to be on the floor.”

Houston will throw multiple defenders at Kaufman-Renn and defend the pick-and-roll as well as anyone.

Kaufman-Renn’s decision-making could be the difference for the underdog Boilermakers, who are 10-2 when Kaufman-Renn has at least three assists.

“We’ve seen great doubles in our league,” Purdue assistant coach PJ Thompson, the team’s offensive coordinator said. “Northwestern is a team that doubles the basketball. Nebraska doubles really well and we kind of put on an offensive clinic against those guys. Houston is another level. They are great at what they do.”

Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X and Instagram @samueltking.