Daniel Jacobsen preparing to tackle major opportunity as Purdue's primary center

They say players generally make their biggest strides between Year 1 and Year 2, and as Purdue needs center Daniel Jacobsen to claim a leading role now, his time is here.

Technically this is Year 3 at Purdue for the big man. That his freshman season was washed out by his recovery from a broken leg, though, effectively makes this Year 2, though.

There’s no getting that year back, but there is opportunity to make up for lost time now. Jacobsen spent most of his post-semester early summer time on campus to prepare for a crucial summer. He’ll be Purdue’s primary center — one of the most consistently productive roles in college basketball — this season to come.

The goal remains the same: To keep adding size and bulk, but more importantly just establishing as strong a base as he can.

“He’s going to be older, he’s going to be stronger, and it won’t look like it did last year,” said assistant coach Brandon Brantley, who coaches the Boilermakers’ big men. “It was his first year playing college basketball, so you’re going against the likes of that front line at Michigan, you’re going against those guys at Illinois. They’re older, they’re bigger and they’re stronger. They’re supposed to be more physical with Daniel.

“But the tide is eventually going to turn, and he’s going to be the aggressor. It was good, though. He didn’t back down from any of that.”

Jacobsen exclusively served as the backup to Oscar Cluff — those bizarre lineups in the Arizona game notwithstanding — in his first season post-injury, but in a Big Ten that got really big and really old in the paint really quick thanks to the transfer climate, there wasn’t much easing into things.

By the end of the season, Jacobsen was a marked man, getting the sort of rag-doll treatment that’s a sort of rite of passage for Purdue centers.

“We got into some games that, from a physical standpoint, just weren’t good games for him at that time,” Coach Matt Painter said. “It doesn’t mean they can’t be good games for him going forward. I believe when you back up, you get looked at a little bit differently, especially from officials, and you don’t get some calls. I think our inability to contain the dribble put him in bad spots at times. Now, he’s got to have more discipline, smacking down, staying vertical, holding his ground, whatever that might be.

“But I think he’ll have a great year. I think he’s got a chance to be an all-conference player.”

Offensively, Jacobsen gives Purdue a real weapon in finishing pick-and-roll lobs, commanding defenses’ attention. Last season he showed some progress making short hooks around the rim. He may not be a high-volume type, but he is a bona fide three-point shooter for his position and size.

Defensively, Jacobsen might be one of the better shot-blockers in college basketball next season while also benefiting from the experience he gained last season hedging and at times outright switching ball screens.

“It’s all development for him and continuing to take the next step,” said assistant coach Paul Lusk, who coaches Purdue’s defense. “Obviously, being in a position this year where he’s going to be called upon more, we need him to be a defensive presence, block shots as a primary defender and as a secondary defender, be a guy that gets rebounds for us, and then the offensive part will take care of itself.”

The rebounding piece is the hot button. It’s an enormous question for a Purdue roster that loses its best and most physically matures presences in Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn. Jacobsen can reach rebounds few others can, but it comes back to holding position and thus the size and strength component. Jacobsen took a step last summer, pushing 250 pounds, but there are gains to be made still.

“In the recruiting process, we talk a lot about the great bigs we’ve had and how we think you can be the next one, but it’s no guarantee,” assistant coach P.J. Thompson said. “You’ve still gotta go do it, and there’s a process to get there. I’ve seen it with all the great ones. It takes time, and you’ve got to be OK with that. But you’ve got to be hungry and desperate enough that you’re going to do the necessary things to get there.

“We’ve seen that with him. I think he’s hungry. I think he’s desperate. He wants it now. It’s just about staying process-based, keep watching the film, keep showing up. There are gonna be highs, there are gonna be highs and low, but If they’re about the right stuff, that’s the only way they’re gonna have a chance, and Daniel’s about the right things. If he can just lean on that, then that’ll take you pretty far.”