How Purdue basketball’s freshmen fared in college debuts vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Purdue basketball‘s 2024-25 season began with two freshmen in the starting lineup and two more who saw the court in Monday’s season-opening win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. While most program in college basketball rely on the transfer portal to replenish their roster, Purdue is an outlier, focusing nearly primarily on high school seniors.

Matt Painter took five freshmen in the 2024 class. Jack Benter (Brownstown Central) will redshirt, while Raleigh Burgess impressed the staff enough to forgo a redshirt.

Two freshmen started (Gicarri Harris and Daniel Jacobsen) went straight into the starting lineup. Here’s how they fared in a less-easy-than-expected 90-73 win at Mackey Arena.

Purdue vs. Texas A&M-CC player ratings: Guard duo steady, Microwave Myles

Daniel Jacobsen

At 7-4, Jacobsen slotted right into starting lineup, taking Zach Edey’s spot. No pressure, kid.

It was easy to see how the big man out of Chicago will make a difference on defense. His length clearly affected the Islanders on Monday. He finished with three blocks thanks to a Pterodactyl-like wingspan. He got beat a few times on the block, and he’ll get stronger with age. You can’t teach height.

During the broadcast former Purdue star Robbie Hummel said Painter compared Jacobsen to JaJuan Johnson

He got one of those patented lobs at the rim for a dunk that Edey feasted off of with six minutes to go and the Boilers only up by three. He added another alley-oop on a breakout after hustling down the floor to grab a Braden Smith lob for a jam, pushing Purdue’s lead to 10 late.

He finished with 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting (5-of-7 at the line) with seven rebounds in 25 minutes. A solid debut. You can see the potential of Jacobsen to be the latest standout on Purdue’s big man assembly line.

Gicarri Harris

Harris doesn’t have the offensive firepower his dad, Glenn Robinson, did but he’s still got some dog in him. A defensive nuisance, Harris did enough this offseason to get 23 starters’ minutes in his freshman debut. He finished with five points (2-of-5) shooting with one rebound and one assist. His made 3 with three minutes left came an opportune time to help put the game away.

C.J. Cox

Certainly plays with confidence. A capable ball-handler with impressive shot-making ability, Cox figures to be a nice depth piece for Painter. He hit a 3, forced a tie up with some defensive hustle in the backcourt and grabbed two rebounds in his 11 minutes. Underrecruited, Cox looks like another nice find by Painter and staff.

Raleigh Burgess

Fresh off the news he’ll contribute this season rather than redshirt, Burgess played five scoreless minutes, grabbing one rebound and missing his only shot attempt. If Will Berg can’t make his free throws (1-of-6), then Burgess might find minutes in the frontcourt as Purdue tries to find the right mix to replace Zach Edey in the aggregate.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How Purdue basketball freshmen played vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi