This time last year, nobody knew what kind of player Trey Kaufman-Renn would be for Purdue. It was Alabama that unfortunately found out the hard way.
Kaufman-Renn had his coming-out party against the Crimson Tide, dropping 26 points and eight rebounds to help lead Purdue to a 87-78 win in West Lafayette. He caught Alabama off guard on his way to an All-Big Ten season where he averaged over 20 points per game and shot nearly 60% from the field and 43% from the three-point line.
"Kaufman-Renn obviously wasn’t their primary post-up guy, playing with (Zach) Edey for the last, pretty much his whole career here," Oats said about the Purdue star after last season's game. "So he didn’t post up as much, and I didn’t know he was that good. He kind of killed us in there."
Oats took the blame last season for Kaufman-Renn's big game against Alabama. He won't catch the Crimson Tide off guard again, but that doesn't mean Alabama will necessarily have answers for him, either.
Kaufman-Renn's status for this game was unknown until Wednesday. The star forward missed Purdue's first two games due to a hip pointer and a sore back. He is on track to make his season debut on Thursday night against Alabama in Coleman Coliseum, however.
Trey Kaufman-Renn is expected to play against Alabama
Purdue getting their frontcourt healthy is bad timing for Alabama. The Crimson Tide will be without Tarleton State transfer forward Keitenn Bristow for the third straight game as he recovers from an ankle injury he suffered in practice before the season-opener against North Dakota. Alabama will also be without freshman center Collins Onyejiaka, who Oats announced would be out for an indefinite period of time due to a "medical condition."
That leaves Alabama a little bit thin against a team in Purdue that likes to play inside-out. Alabama will need both Aiden Sherrell and Noah Williamson to avoid foul trouble and give quality minutes.
Florida State transfer Taylor Bol Bowen will likely draw the primary defensive assignment on Kaufman-Renn, but Alabama is likely going to have to rely on freshmen Amari Allen and London Jemison to log some minutes against one of the best forwards in the country.
Alabama opened as a 3.5-point favorite over Purdue on Wednesday, but Kaufman-Renn's availability just made the Tide's path to victory over No. 2 Purdue even murkier. The Boilermakers are one of the most talented and experienced teams in the country, and they are accustomed to playing in raucous environments.
It's going to take a terrific effort - similar to what the Crimson Tide gave in Saturday's win over St. John's - to earn another impressive victory.