Trey Kaufman-Renn — 6-foot-9, 240 lbs

Senior | Purdue | 23 years old
28 MPG | 14 PPG | 8.3 RPG | 2.5 APG | 58% FG

There are certain power forwards who when you watch live it’s apparent they have a good grasp on what’s happening—where they need to be and what they need to do on any given possession.

Trey Kaufman-Renn fits that category. When you watch Kaufman-Renn play, especially in person, he knows what he needs to do on the court — Setting screens, getting into actions, crashing the boards, and attacking to keep the defense honest. He’s fully locked in to what the team is doing, and he’s hard on himself in a good way–it’s like he cares, no matter the score or circumstance.

That’s the first thing that jumps out about Kaufman-Renn. But still, paramount to everything is this: For Kaufman-Renn to stick in the NBA, he will need to develop a semblance of a jump shot. A real, two-handed jump shot.

Now of course there are many areas to his game, and more he needs to develop, like his handle—nothing crazy, just enough to sell the handoff on DHOs, keep it and drive to the rim without losing control. And there’s also many strengths to his game (like, for example, being an animalistic rebounder) but for now, stick with me on his offense.

At this stage, Kaufmen-Renn’s scoring package is solely a one handed push shot or a running hook. That’s it. No actual shooting form. For someone who averaged 14 PPG and shot 58% from the field, Kaufman-Renn was damn good at those push shots, but that package can only translate so much in the NBA. Kaufmen-Renn attempted only 13 three-pointers this season, making 2, and no jump shooting form aside from those 13 attempts.

But if a jump shot comes along, the rest of his game makes me believe he can find a way to make it.

His real strengths include:

—An elite rebounder. He averaged 8 rebounds per game and ranked top-5 in the Big Ten in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. He gives maximum effort rebounding, tracks the ball well (i.e. his game-winning tip vs. Texas in the Sweet 16), and against bigger/taller players he does a good job of putting a body on them so even if he can’t get the rebound he prevents them from getting the rebound, too. This showed in the film vs. Arizona—Kaufman-Renn finished with just 2 rebounds, but consistently put a body on Krivas to limit his impact on the glass. Krivas ended up with 12 rebounds, but most did not come against Kaufman-Renn.

—He has great patience when backing down his defender, using his wide trunk and clever head fakes to carve out space and rise up for his hook shot

—He’s an underrated passer, possessing really good court vision to pass from the mid- or low-post, both in terms of hockey assists and actual assists.

—He’s a solid defender. Not elite or super athletic and doesn’t block shots—but he can switch effectively, slides his feet better than expected on the perimeter, and has a wide base when defending the post that allows him to hold his ground.

—For as much as I bemoaned his lack of a jump shot, the fact remains that he shot 58% from the field, primarily due to his effective push shot. He has great accuracy and touch to release this shot from 15 feet and in and make it.

Areas of improvement include:

—His aforementioned need to extend his range and develop his shooting form.

—Developing a left hand. I don’t have the split data available, but on film it’s clear Kaufman-Renn almost exclusively goes to his right. Even on the left side of the basket, he typically tries to bring it back to his right or finishes with his right hand from that side. Getting comfortable with his left hand—especially finishing on the left side—should be an immediate priority.

–Developing his ball handling so he has more control when rolling to the rim

Strengths

Rebounding

Effort Rebounds