No Cluff-ing around: Oscar boiling Purdue's offense

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Australian centre Oscar Cluff is the engine room on the highly ranked Purdue Boilermakers, delivering the nation's top offensive rating and second in offensive rebounding percentage.

Cluff's Offensive Rating of 164 is first among all players with more than 200 minutes in the 2025-26 season.

The Sunshine Coast product is also second among players with more than 200 minutes for offensive rebound percentage at 23.8, only trailing Arizona's Tobe Awaka at 23.9.

Cluff's influence on the Boilermakers is easily seen through several factors. Firstly, Purdue are ranked third in offensive efficiency among teams in NCAA Division 1 men's basketball - only behind Akron and Illinois - and most of all through their record and ranking, sitting at 12-1 and fifth in the nation.

It also reinforces why the 24-year-old chose to join legendary coach Matt Painter at Purdue for his senior year after entering the transfer portal from South Dakota. Painter is known for developing bigs into stars with his most recent being Memphis Grizzlies centre Zach Edey.

"Purdue is a great program and Oscar is looking forward to training with the high-calibre coaching staff and joining the roster," his dad, Stephen Cluff, told basketball.com.au in April.

"(The move) is all about how good the coaching staff are in developing bigs. Oscar sees he still has a long way to go in his development."

To go along with his impressive offensive rating and offensive rebound percentage, Cluff is ranked 11th in the nation for efficiency, seventh in plus-minus and seventh in offensive rebounds per game.

The 6'11" and 115kg enforcer is almost averaging a double-double at 11.4 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting at 74% from the field.

"Obviously I knew it was going to take a little bit of time to be comfortable, especially with the arena and the fans, that's all a little bit different than anything I've played in before," Cluff said about fitting in to Purdue's offensive system after their 79-59 win over Marquette on December 14.

"I was certain it was going to come over time and it's still going to continue to get better."

Cluff, who has clearly found his groove and established himself as an NBA prospect alongside fellow Aussie big man and Florida Gators star Alex Condon, also spoke about what goes into making himself into a rebounding force on the big stage.

"I like to think it's just playing harder and wanting it more and doing my job as best as I can, " Cluff said.

The influence Cluff and fellow Boilermakes big man Trey Kaufman-Renn hasn't gone unnoticed from their teammates either.

"I just feel like (opposing team) don't have a whole lot of answers," Cluff's teammate, Braden Smith, said in the post-match press conference after the Marquette victory.

"I think we have a very talented guard group and then if they're guarding us the way they do then they can't stop everything. Then it's just for us getting (Cluff and) the ball, and with how talented they are down low, it makes our job so much easier but two makes (the defence's) job so much harder because they can't do everything."

While Cluff is yet to feature heavily on NBA mock drafts for later this year, it's almost guaranteed he'll work his way in there if this form continues for Purdue.

And you never know, he may be appearing on an up and coming episode of 'Cut to the Jase' with NBL legend Jason Cadee.